Rediscovering Water Resources and Responsibilities NAFSMA Annual Meeting- Opening Session

Roy Wright, Deputy Associate Administrator for Mitigation

Monday, December 9, 2013

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Resilience is a National Priority “Resilience is the ability

to anticipate, prepare for, and adapt to changing conditions and withstand, respond to, and recover rapidly from disruptions.”• Executive Order- Preparing

the United States for the Impacts of Climate Change (November 1, 2013)

• FEMA will work to enable and facilitate greater disaster risk reduction at all levels nationally, thereby enhancing our resilience to disasters.

• We will provide analysis, tools, and information that support choices that guide individuals, communities, and national decisions towards reducing disaster risk.

• FEMA will foster and support adaptation in the face of a changing climate through our programs and our interactions with our partners.

• We will work to make best available data on projected hazard impacts- both current and future- widely accessible to communities.

• And where we can act directly, we will leverage our mitigation and insurance programs to maximize opportunities to further reduce the Nation’s current and future exposure to disaster risk.

FEMA Administrator’s Intent FEMA Administrator’s Intent

FY 2015- FY 2019FY 2015- FY 2019

Priority 4: Enable Disaster Risk Priority 4: Enable Disaster Risk Reduction NationallyReduction Nationally

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Hurricane Sandy: Using best available data to drive rebuilding

Federal, State, and local collaboration to inform recovery and rebuilding

FEMA provided best available data

Partnered with NOAA and USACE on Sea Level Rise tools to consider future risks

State and local leaders used the science and other resources to meet their needs•NJ rebuilding standards •NYC resiliency planning

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Best Available Data to Rebuild Homes and Infrastructure

Informs homeowner decisions as they make repairs or rebuild

Elevating to new requirements can yield significant savings on flood insurance premiums

Leverage recovery resources to incorporate mitigation into rebuilding of infrastructure

Federal flood risk reduction standard for federally-funded Sandy-related rebuilding projects

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Building Resilience Based on Future Conditions

NFIP Climate Change Report• Combined Riverine and Coastal: By 2100 the weighted national

average size of SFHAs may increase by about 40% to 45%• By 2100, population within riverine and coastal SFHAs will increase

by approximately 130-155%• Total number of NFIP policyholders is estimated to increase

approximately 80-100% cumulatively through 2100

The President’s Climate Change Action Plan• Directs federal agencies to “update their flood-risk reduction

standard.”• The flood risk reduction standard should provide a minimum level

of risk reduction against flood hazards and rely on the best available, actionable science.

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Building Resiliency Across the Nation

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