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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 232 (Tuesday, December 3, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 95801-95803]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-28015]

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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Federal Emergency Management Agency

[Docket ID: FEMA-2023-0009]

Community Disaster Resilience Zones and the National Risk Index

AGENCY: Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland 
Security.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is issuing this 
Notice to provide an update on responses to the Community Disaster 
Resilience Zones and the National Risk Index request for information 
and share FEMA's initial designations of census tracts as Community 
Disaster Resilience Zones.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Samantha A. Medlock, Assistant 
Administrator for Resilience Strategy, Federal Emergency Management 
Agency, [email protected], 202-212-
8007.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

A. Community Disaster Resilience Zones Act

    The Community Disaster Resilience Zones Act of 2022, Public Law 
117-255, 136 Stat. 2363, amended title II of the Robert T. Stafford 
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) 
(Stafford Act) to add a new section 206 (42 U.S.C. 5136) that requires 
the: (1) maintenance of a natural hazard assessment program and

[[Page 95802]]

development and maintenance of products for the public's use that show 
the risk of natural hazards through use of risk ratings at the census 
tract level; and (2) designation, at the census tract level, of 
community disaster resilience zones based on the natural hazard risk 
ratings derived from a natural hazard risk product maintained by the 
natural hazard assessment program.
    Section 206 also provides FEMA the discretion to: (1) increase the 
Federal cost share to not more than 90 percent under the Building 
Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant program for mitigation 
projects within, or primarily benefiting, a community disaster 
resilience zone; (2) provide financial and technical assistance to 
State, local, Tribal, and Territorial governments for project planning 
assistance to carry out activities in preparation for a mitigation 
project within, or primarily benefiting, a community disaster 
resilience zone; and (3) establish a process for FEMA certification, 
and provide certification for mitigation projects within, or primarily 
benefiting, a community disaster resilience zone.

B. National Risk Index

    The National Risk Index is a publicly available dataset and online 
mapping application that identifies the U.S. communities most at risk 
for 18 different natural hazards. The 18 hazard types evaluated by the 
National Risk Index were chosen after reviewing FEMA-approved State 
Hazard Mitigation Plans for all 50 States in early 2016.\1\ FEMA 
announced the availability of the National Risk Index with limited 
access to data in November 2020 and released a full web application, 
which enhanced the data and report functionality, on August 16, 
2021.\2\ The National Risk Index data and application was last updated 
on March 23, 2023.
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    \1\ More information about data availability can be found in 
FEMA's National Risk Index Technical Documentation. FEMA, National 
Risk Index, Technical Documentation, Chapters 5-1 to 5-2 (March 
2023), https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_national-risk-index_technical-documentation.pdf (last visited 
Sept. 9, 2024).
    \2\ FEMA, National Risk Index for Natural Hazards, https://www.fema.gov/nri (last visited Sept. 10, 2024).
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    The National Risk Index application visualizes natural hazard risk 
metrics and includes important data about expected annual loss, social 
vulnerability, and community resilience.\3\ The data are derived from 
probabilistic data sources or built from historic event and historic 
loss information and are aggregated to the county and census tract 
levels, thus providing a baseline risk assessment and natural hazard 
risk profiles.
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    \3\ More information about these risk components can be found in 
FEMA's National Risk Index Technical Documentation (March 2023), 
http://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_national-risk-index_technical-documentation.pdf; FEMA, Data Glossary, https://hazards.fema.gov/nri/data-glossary (last visited May 29, 2024).
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    In addition to Federal collaborators, the National Risk Index 
incorporates data from a wide range of relevant sources across the 
country to ensure the tool's robustness.\4\ This includes more than 90 
partners across the public and private sectors, including State, 
regional, and local government agencies; academia; private 
organizations; and nonprofits. While natural hazard occurrences can 
induce secondary natural hazard occurrences, only primary natural 
hazard occurrences (and not their results or after-effects) are 
considered in the National Risk Index. Currently, the National Risk 
Index does not account for future conditions or anticipated impacts due 
to climate change.
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    \4\ More information on the review and selection process for 
data used in the National Risk Index is available in the Technical 
Documentation. See FEMA, National Risk Index, Technical 
Documentation, 2-4 to 2-6 (March 2023), https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_national-risk-index_technical-documentation.pdf (last visited Sept. 8, 2024).
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    With current National Risk Index information, users can discover a 
holistic view of their community's baseline and current risk from 
natural hazards via online maps and data downloads. Potential users 
might be planners and emergency managers at the State, local, Tribal, 
Territorial, and Federal levels; as well as other decision makers, 
private sector entities, and interested members of the public.
    The interactive mapping application can help decision makers better 
prepare for and mitigate natural hazard events by providing 
standardized risk data for planning and an overview of multiple risk 
factors. In turn, this data can help State, local, Tribal, or 
Territorial governments develop FEMA-approved hazard mitigation plans, 
required to apply for and/or receive certain FEMA assistance and 
mitigation grants. More importantly, use of this data can help all 
users plan for disasters and increase resilience.
    The National Risk Index is different from other traditional hazard 
data and models because of the scope and scale of its analyses. For 
communities that do not have access to natural hazard risk assessment 
services, the National Risk Index is a valuable product because it uses 
authoritative data from a variety of Federal, State, local, academic, 
non-profit, and private sector partners and contributors,\5\ and it 
provides users analysis of their risk to a natural hazard. The National 
Risk Index leverages best-available source data and methods to provide 
a holistic view of the current and baseline community-level risk 
nationwide by combining multiple hazards with socioeconomic and built 
environment factors.
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    \5\ FEMA, Risk Index Contributors, https://hazards.fema.gov/nri/contributors (last visited May 29, 2024).
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    FEMA publishes and maintains a publicly available National Risk 
Index-specific technical document to highlight the National Risk Index 
research and methodologies for developing all components of the 
tool.\6\ Previously released National Risk Index data versions, 
documentation, and data updates documentation are available through the 
National Risk Index Data Archive.
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    \6\ FEMA, National Risk Index, Technical Documentation (March 
2023), https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_national-risk-index_technical-documentation.pdf (last visited 
Sept. 19, 2024).
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II. Request for Information

    On May 26, 2023, FEMA issued a notice and request for information 
to seek input from the public on implementation of the Community 
Disaster Resilience Zones Act of 2022. This included updates to the 
methodology and data used for the National Risk Index and any other 
hazard assessment products; potential improvements to FEMA's provision 
of hazard data; the process used to designate community disaster 
resilience zones; financial and technical assistance for resilience or 
mitigation projects in or primarily benefitting community disaster 
resilience zones; and the community disaster resilience zone project 
application and certification process.\7\
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    \7\ 88 FR 34171 (May 26, 2023).
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    This request for information closed for comments on July 25, 2023, 
during which time FEMA received responses from over 100 commentors.\8\ 
The request for information responses indicated six themes: designation 
methodology, post-designation support, community engagement, data and 
the National Risk Index, equity, and community displacement.
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    \8\ The comments received on the request for information may be 
found in the docket, available on the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 
https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FEMA-2023-0009.
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    FEMA has summarized the comments and developed summary responses 
based on the general themes noted above. Comments and responses may be

[[Page 95803]]

found at https://www.fema.gov/fact-sheet/summary-request-information-implementation-community-disaster-resilience-zones.

III. List of Community Disaster Resilience Zones

    On September 6, 2023, FEMA announced the designation of an initial 
set of 483 community disaster resilience zones across the United 
States.\9\ To identify resilience zones, FEMA used components of the 
National Risk Index to identify the census tracts most at-risk and in-
need. FEMA is currently working on additional designations and plans to 
announce them soon. These designations will help build resilience 
across the nation by driving Federal, public, and private resources to 
these designated zones.
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    \9\ FEMA, FEMA Designates First Communities to Receive Targeted 
Assistance for Hazards Resilience (Sept. 6, 2023), https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20230906/fema-designates-first-communities-receive-targeted-assistance-hazards (last visited Sept. 
10, 2024).
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    FEMA also used the White House Council on Environmental Quality's 
Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool, a geospatial platform that 
identifies areas across the nation that face especially acute climate 
and other resilience burdens, to help focus the designations on 
disadvantaged communities.\10\
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    \10\ Council on Environmental Quality, Climate and Economic 
Justice Screening Tool, https://screeningtool.geoplatform.gov/en/ 
(last visited May 29, 2024).
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    A map of the census tracts that were designated as community 
disaster resilience zones on September 6, 2023, can be found at https://www.fema.gov/partnerships/community-disaster-resilience-zones.

Deanne Criswell,
Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency.
[FR Doc. 2024-28015 Filed 12-2-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-12-P
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