Enforcement really is the key. Let me give you just one example. The ferocious speed of development was to blame too. In the years leading up to Andrew, people were building so fast that building code enforcement became lax. And estimates now say that strict enforcement would have reduced losses in Hurricane Andrew by at least 30 percent.
Most people think of building codes and land-use decisions as a local responsibility.
But uniform statewide codes can have tremendous value as well. Keeping people out of the floodplain is an important part of mitigation. But it isn't the only one. And what you think of as emergency management decisions aren't the only issues you need to take into account. The real challenge isn't dodging floods.