Disaster Recovery

Tourism, Business Travel May Not Fully Recover for 4 Years, Industry Officials Say

Corporate travel spending dropped 70% during the pandemic, contributing to the tax revenue losses that tourism-dependent cities and states experienced.

  • By Andrea Noble

Texas Workers Struggle to Pay for Groceries and Rent after Losing Wages During Winter Storm

Many hourly wage employees across the state lost working hours last week during the storm and power outage disaster. Now, they’re left with a choice between paying for rent or groceries.

  • By Duncan Agnew, The Texas Tribune

'I Need to Find Water, and I Need to Find it Now': A Local Official Takes Disaster Relief Into Her Own Hands

Paige Ellis, a city council member in Austin, Texas tracked down 10 pallets of bottled water and distributed it across her district after winter storms left thousands in the state without power or water.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

Marijuana Companies Seek Disaster Relief

Marijuana businesses can’t access traditional insurance or federal disaster funds.

  • By Sophie Quinton, Stateline

A New Service Model for Disaster Recovery and Mitigation Programs

COMMENTARY | A “shared services” model for procurement could eliminate some of the problems and pain points faced by state and local governments in the wake of a disaster. 

  • By Lauren Nichols and Nathaniel Trombley

Oregon Expects Reopening and Repairing Roads Damaged by Wildfires Will Take Months

Over 200 miles of Oregon roads were closed as of last week due to the catastrophic blazes. The state’s transportation department is dealing with problems like hazardous trees and rockslide risks.

  • By Bill Lucia

Report: High-Tide Flooding Broke Records Last Year. It Will Probably Keep Getting Worse.

Nineteen locations around the country in 2019 set or tied records on the number of flood days, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

Report: Governments Should Turn to AI Before Disaster Strikes

The technology could help forecast future and impending disasters in real time, assess damage in the aftermath, and predict and evaluate impacts.

  • By Brandi Vincent

Millions of Homeowners Who Need Flood Insurance Don’t Know It—Thanks to FEMA

It is FEMA’s job to warn homeowners about major flood risks, but its approach is notoriously limited. In Cook County alone, researchers found about six times as many properties in danger as FEMA estimated. Look up your address with a new tool.

  • By Lisa Song and Tony Briscoe, ProPublica

Despite Mitigation Efforts, Watchdog Finds Rise in Repeatedly Flooded Properties

The Government Accountability Office says steps like acquiring and demolishing flood-prone homes won't be enough to shore up the finances of the National Flood Insurance Program.

  • By Bill Lucia

NOAA Predicts Active Hurricane Season

The federal agency's annual forecast projects a likelihood of at least 13 named storms and six hurricanes.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

California, New York Extend Mortgage Relief to Homeowners

Action taken by the states will temporarily halt foreclosure proceedings and allow residents to defer mortgage payments.

  • By Andrea Noble
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Census Gives Opposite Advice to Tornado-Damaged Dayton, Flood-Ravaged Houston

When people are displaced following a natural disaster, where should they be counted for the census? The answer could mean a lot of money down the line for communities trying to rebuild.

  • By Tim Henderson, Stateline

States Take the Reins in Resilience Planning

Governors say states are taking steps to assure their long-term resiliency in the face of worsening climate change—and in the absence of sweeping federal action.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

'The Mayor Can Set The Tone': How City Leaders Respond to Mass Shootings

Mayors who have seen their cities go through mass shootings discuss how to recover from—and whether it's possible to prepare for—tragedy.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

Lessons on Rebuilding Low-Cost Rental Units After A Disaster

The National Low Income Housing Coalition examined the loss of low-cost rental housing in New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy, recommending steps that can be taken by other communities to preserve or rebuild.

  • By Andrea Noble

Communities Lag in Resiliency Planning, Survey Finds

A survey of city and county administrators found that more than half of communities had not completed or considered a long-term sustainability or resiliency plan.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

A Town Moves Forward After Two 'Thousand-Year' Storms

After two historic floods in less than two years, officials in Ellicott City, Maryland, are putting their hopes in a long-term rebuilding plan that officials say aims to balance recovery and resiliency with historic preservation.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

Virginia’s Flood Mitigation Program Needs Funding

COMMENTARY | Communities lack resources to prepare for more common and costly flood events.

  • By Laura Lightbody and Yaron Miller

For a City That Didn’t Burn, Challenges Continue a Year After California’s Most Destructive Wildfire

Officials say the city of Chico is strained by the influx of newcomers displaced by last year’s Camp Fire—but as a place untouched by wildfires, they aren't eligible for emergency funds to help with the sudden population growth.

  • By Emma Coleman

How Communities Can Build Psychological Resilience to Disaster

As climate change makes disasters more severe, researchers say we can prepare by being informed, volunteering, and staying socially connected.

  • By Nicole Wetsman, CityLab