**July 30, 2007 FEMA Emergency Management Higher Education Project
Report**

\(1\) ARTICLES, PAPERS, AND PRESENTATIONS SECTION OF THE EM HI-ED

WEBSITE \-- CONTRIBUTIONS:

Received permission from Dr. Samuel D. Brody, Environmental Planning &
Sustainability Research Unit, Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center,
Texas A&M University, to post three articles discussed during the July
Hazards Center Workshop in Boulder, to the EM HiEd Project website:

Brody, Samuel D., Sammy Zahran, Wesley E. Highland, Himanshu Grover,
Arnold Vedlitz. \"Identifying the Impact of the Built Environment on
Flood Damage in Texas.\" 37 page monograph, 2007.

Abstract: Floods continue to pose the greatest threat to the property
and safety of human communities among all natural hazards in the United
States. While the link between urbanization and flooding is established,
the degree to which specific characteristics of the built environment
affect the level of damage sustained by a community has never been
thoroughly investigated at the regional scale. Our study addresses this
lack of research by examining the relationship between the built
environment and flood impacts in Texas, which consistently sustains the
most damage from flooding of any other state in the country.
Specifically, we calculate property damage resulting from 423 flood
events over a five year period between 1997 and 2001 at the county
level. We identify the impact of several built environment measures,
including wetland alteration, impervious surface, and dams on reported
property damage while controlling for biophysical and socioeconomic
characteristics. Statistical results suggest that naturally occurring
wetlands play a particularly important role in mitigating flood damage.
These findings provide guidance to planners and flood managers on how to
most effectively mitigate the costly impacts of floods at the community
level.

Zahran, Sammy, Samuel D. Brody, Walter Gillis Peacock, Arnold Vedlitz,
Himanashu Grover. \"Social Vulnerability, Built, and Natural
Environments: A Model of Flood Casualties in Texas.\" 28-page monograph,
2007.

Abstract: Studies on the impacts of hurricanes, tropical storms, and
tornados indicate that poor communities of color suffer
disproportionately in human death and injury. Few quantitative studies
have been conducted on the degree to which socially vulnerable
populations are impacted by flood events. We address this research void
by analyzing 832 county-wide flood events in Texas from 1997 to 2001.
Specifically, we examine whether geographic localities characterized by
high percentages of socially vulnerable populations experience
significantly more casualties from flood events, adjusting for
characteristics of the natural and built environment. Zero-inflated
negative binomial regression models indicate that the odds of a flood
casualty increase with the level of precipitation the day of a flood
event, flood duration, property damage caused by the flood, population
density, and the presence of socially vulnerable populations. Odds
decrease with the number of dams, the level of precipitation the day
before a recorded flood event, and the extent to which localities have
enacted flood mitigation strategies. Our study concludes with comments
on hazard-resilient communities and protection of casualty-prone
populations.

Brody, Samuel D., Sammy Zahran, Praveen Maghelal, Himanshu Grover,
Wesley E. Highfield. \"The Rising Costs of Floods: Examining the Impact
of Planning and Development Decisions on Property Damage in Florida.\"
48-Page Monograph, 2007.

\[Abstract: The rising economic cost of floods in the United States
(U.S.) cannot be explained solely by monetary inflation or growth in
coastal populations. Damaging flood events are also influenced by the
way society plans for and physically develops its communities. Planning
decisions dictating where structures and impervious surfaces are
concentrated and the overall extent to which hydrological systems are
altered may be exacerbating property losses resulting from repetitive
floods. However, few studies have addressed how community planning and
development decisions contribute to flood damage over time, and over
large spatial scales, while controlling for multiple biophysical and
socioeconomic factors. We address this lack of research by statistically
analyzing 383 flood events within coastal counties in Florida between
1997 and 2001 to isolate the effects of several planning decisions and
resultant features of the built environment on the amount of property
damage caused by floods. Results indicate that where we choose to
develop and how we protect communities from the adverse consequences of
natural hazards significantly impacts the amount of property damage from
flooding. These evidence-based findings provide guidance to planners and
decision makers on how to build more sustainable, resilient communities
over the long term.

\(2\) EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE COMPACT (EMAC):

Government Accountability Office. Emergency Management Assistance
Compact: Enhancing EMAC\'s Collaborative and Administrative Capacity
Should Improve National Disaster Response. Washington, DC: GAO Report to
the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
(GAO-07-854), June 2007, 52 pages. At:

[[http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d07854.pdf]{.underline}](http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d07854.pdf)

\(3\) GLOBAL WARMING:

North, Justin. \"Dining in a Drought in Australia.\" New York Times,
July 29. 2007 (Sydney). Note: One of four-part opinion piece on the
theme of \"Worried About the Weather, and the Land.\" Accessed at:
[[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/29/opinion/29north.html]{.underline}](http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/29/opinion/29north.html)

\[Excerpt: \"Unless we learn and act, all we can do is hope and look to
the heavens. Interviewed recently about the latest round of irrigation
restrictions for our farmers, our prime minister, John Howard, had only
this advice: \'Pray for rain.\' North comments that Australians deserve
better than this, superficial, response.\]

\(4\) HOMELAND SECURITY:

Hsu, Spencer S. and William Branigin. \"Congress Approves Homeland
Security Bill in 2 Strong Votes: 9/11 Panel\'s Recommendations
Adopted.\" Washington Post, July 28, 2007. Accessed at:
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/27/AR2007072702130.html?wpisrc=newsletter>

\[Excerpt: \"The bill implements many of the remaining recommendations
of the Sept. 11 commission. It cuts in half the amount of homeland
security grants provided to states with no regard to the risk of attack
they face. Those guaranteed, population-based allocations are to be cut
from about 40 percent of the total to about 20 percent\.... The bill
authorizes \-- but does not fund \-- significant increases in homeland
security grants, providing billions of dollars for transit and aviation
security, emergency communications and first responders.\"\]

B.Wayne Blanchard, Ph.D., CEM

Higher Education Project Manager

Emergency Management Institute

National Emergency Training Center

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Department of Homeland Security

16825 S. Seton, K-011

Emmitsburg, MD 21727

\(301\) 447-1262, voice

\(301\) 447-1598, fax

wayne.blanchard@dhs.gov

[[http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu]{.underline}](http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu)

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