Emergency Preparedness Case Studies
This tab features case studies that describe examples of how adaptation has been incorporated in emergency preparedness planning and policy.
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January 2016
In January 2016, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded the City of Minot, North Dakota $74.3 million through its National Disaster Resilience Competition (NDRC) to implement several projects to improve the city’s resilience to flooding from the Souris River. In June 2011, Minot experienced a catastrophic flood. The flood, in combination with a “boom-bust” oil economy and lack of affordable housing, motivated the city to envision a more resilient future for its residents, economy, and environment. Among its winning projects, the city will implement a voluntary buyout program for homes most vulnerable to flooding along the Souris River and make resilient, affordable housing investments in higher, upland “Resilient Neighborhoods” located outside of the city’s floodplain to relocate homeowners and renters. Minot’s unique “buyouts for buy-in” model will help to preserve the city’s tax base and community cohesion. The city will also undertake projects to restore the floodplain, preserve open space, create recreational greenways, and provide resilient city hubs that offer economic job development and other services. Local policymakers and planners can consider the Minot example to equitably relocate people and development out of vulnerable flood or coastal areas to safer, higher ground as a part of comprehensive managed retreat strategies.
Resource Category: Solutions
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2015
In 2012, the City of Alexandria, Virginia (by Council Resolution No. 2496) adopted the Northern Virginia Hazard Mitigation Plan Update and received credit under the federal Community Rating System (CRS) program to reduce flood risk and lower insurance premiums in its community. CRS is a voluntary program administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under the National Flood Insurance Program that allows participating local governments to earn discounts on their residents’ flood insurance premiums by implementing different flood mitigation actions.
Resource Category: Planning
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October 2015
In Deep chronicles the Local Recovery Planning Manager (LRPM) program that was implemented by the non-profit organization New Jersey Future for selected Hurricane Sandy-affected coastal communities in greatest need. This report describes the program’s initial goals, successes and challenges, and lessons learned that can inform future disaster recovery initiatives both in New Jersey and across the country.
Author or Affiliated User: David Kutner
Resource Category: Solutions
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August 2015
The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) is pursuing a “Resilience Pilot Program” (RPP) to improve data and modeling with the aim of reducing incidents of flood, hydraulic-related failure, and extreme weather damage to critical transportation infrastructure. A key element to the new RPP is a partnership with the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS). Leveraging USGS’s resources, the RPP is currently testing new technology such as fixed-wing drone, quad-copter hovercraft and ground based LiDAR imaging to better assess the siting, design, and construction of ADOT’s assets where they interchange with rivers, stream, creeks and floodplains.
Resource Category: Data and tools
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April 2015
In 2014, the Massachusetts Port Authority (“Massport”) began the Massport Resiliency Program to protect Massport transportation facilities from flooding hazards caused by extreme storms and rising sea levels as a result of climate change. The program seeks to better prepare for the impacts of climate change by incorporating resilience principles into Massport’s business strategy and operations. As a part of this program, Massport created a Floodproofing Design Guide (“Guide”) that will help make the built environment resilient to sea-level rise and major flood events.
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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December 2014
To prevent water from the Potomac and Anacostia rivers from flooding downtown Washington, D. C. , the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is improving the levee system along the north side of the National Mall, running from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument. A levee system was originally erected to protect the District in 1939, following a major flood event in 1936. This project will improve the levee system through a series of upgrades: a permanent closure at 23rd Street and Fort McNair, and the installation of a more robust removable wall, which will provide flood protection but also allow for traffic flow on 17th street between flood events.
Resource Category: Solutions
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June 2014
New York City has been awarded $335 million to build a flood protection system around lower Manhattan and protect the critical ground transportation artery FDR Drive, as envisioned in the Big U project proposal developed for Rebuild by Design. The Big U proposal was one of six winners of the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Rebuild by Design Competition and was developed by the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG). The BIG U project proposes to build deployable walls that swing down from the underside of FDR Drive, which runs along the East River on the eastern side of Manhattan and has been an inlet for flood waters into Manhattan during extreme weather events like Hurricane Sandy.
Resource Category: Planning
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June 2014
The New Meadowlands project was proposed as part of the post-Sandy Rebuild by Design competition and involves the integration of flood protection structures with transportation assets. The proposal includes two components: (1) “Meadowpark,”a series of green berms integrated with a large natural reserve of tidal wetlands and freshwater basins designed to provide flood protection; and (2) the “Meadowband,” a berm covered by a street designed to integrate a Bus Rapid Transit line and provide multi-modal transportation options to the region.
Resource Category: Solutions
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June 2014
The Hoboken Rebuild by Design project proposal uses a combination of urban water management strategies to protect Hoboken, New Jersey, including the region’s transportation hubs, from flash floods and storm surge. Hoboken is a low-elevation, high-density urban environment on the west bank of the Hudson River that was severely flooded in 2012 when Hurricane Sandy hit the eastern coast of the U. S. The project uses a combination of flood defenses, green infrastructure (such as green roofs, constructed wetlands, rain gardens), and stormwater pumps to increase the city’s resilience to flooding.
Resource Category: Solutions
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June 2014
The Hunts Point Lifelines proposal envisions the construction of pier infrastructure and a levee in the Bronx neighborhood of New York to expand intermodal transportation options and to provide flood protection. The project proposal was one of six winners of the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Rebuild by Design Competition, a competition that was designed to inspire innovative climate-smart rebuilding projects in the disaster recovery effort after Hurricane Sandy.
Resource Category: Planning
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