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Natural Hazards

Local revenue to fund long-term infrastructure costs

May 2022

Communities need resilient revenue strategies to fund the long-term costs of capital improvements and infrastructure.

Mobile home residents face higher flood risk

February 2022

Mobile homes are the most common unsubsidized, affordable housing in the United States but have disproportionately higher flood risk than other housing types.

Improving benefit-cost analyses for rural areas

November 2021

Benefit-cost analysis, required for many federal funding sources, puts smaller, rural, and low-income communities at a disadvantage.

The unequal impacts of wildfire

September 2021

Aerial view of neighborhood destroyed by wildfire.

See where wildfire risk intersects social and economic factors that can make it difficult for people to prepare for, respond to, and recover from wildfire.

Mountain, Midwest, and Gulf States Fail to Secure FEMA Resilience Funding

July 2021

Bridge at South Manhattan Ave

Rural and lower capacity communities failed to successfully compete for FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) funding in FY 2020.

Living with wildfire

May 2021

Watch “Living with wildfire.” Wildfires are an inescapable and necessary function of healthy ecosystems. In the past decade they have increased in severity and duration, killed more people, and burned more structures.

How state and local budgets are vulnerable to climate change

May 2021

Flooding in Austin, Minnesota. Photo: Tim Ruzek

Climate change has the potential to destabilize general operating budgets and constrain access to lending markets. These presentations share promising solutions for “climate-proofing” budgets.

Wildland-Urban Interface: The Problem, Trends, & Solutions (slides)

February 2021

Slide show: The wildland-urban interface is growing and wildfires are causing cause more damage. Land use planning is an important solution.

Decreasing flood risk in rural communities: a pilot program in Three Forks, Montana

February 2021

Flood risk is underestimated in the U.S., but better maps and data are not enough to help communities. They must be accompanied with resources to support local action.

Wildfire Risk Report for every U.S. community

February 2021

A new report in our Economic Profile System provides community-level data about wildfire hazard and potentially vulnerable populations.

Wildfires destroy thousands of structures each year

November 2020

Wildfire burns near a home in California

Explore the number of structures destroyed in each state by wildfire. Structures lost—rather than acres burned—provides a more complete measure of the broad impacts of wildfire.

Montana wildfire risk is widespread and growing

October 2020

The number of western Montana homes in areas with high wildfire hazard has doubled, outpacing development rates in areas with low wildfire hazard.

How communities reduce flood risk: five midwestern case studies

October 2020

Communities highlighted in this report have successfully reduced flood risk through strategic partnerships, innovative solutions, and creative funding.

Building funding strategies for flood mitigation projects

September 2020

This guide provides advice for developing funding strategies for flood mitigation projects, including where to find funding and how to make an economic pitch for mitigation projects.

Community resilience in the era of megafires

August 2020

Kimiko Barrett, Ph.D., demonstrates how community resilience to wildfire needs to include planning and adaptation strategies for homes and neighborhoods.

Communities threatened by wildfires, 2000-2019

July 2020

A wildfire burns over a ridge near a neighborhood.

From 2000-2019, nearly 2,000 U.S. communities were threatened by wildfires or potential ember spread, showing the need for adaptive planning strategies.

Wildfire and Vulnerable Populations: Testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee

June 2020

Wildland firefighters get supplies ready to suppress a wildfire.

Testimony on wildfires and vulnerable populations to a forum before the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands.

Land use planning can reduce wildfire risk to homes and communities

April 2020

Land use planning can help communities become fire-adapted and resilient in the face of increasing wildfire potential.

Federal wildfire policy and the legacy of suppression

April 2020

Air tanker drops fire retardant on the Willow Fire near North Fork, CA in 2015.

Federal wildfire policy that emphasizes suppression—a legacy of early-1900s forest management—has resulted in a paradox: accumulated fuels and larger, more severe wildfires.

Preparing for wildfires during a pandemic

April 2020

A column of wildfire smoke rises behind houses in a residential neighborhood.

Managing wildfires during a pandemic will test the capacity of our first responders, but individual homeowners can take steps now to reduce wildfire risks.

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