As cities and towns continue their recovery from Hurricane Sandy, a new report has beenreleased, offering suggestions and recommendations as to how communities can best preparethemselves for future natural disasters.
Piloted by New Jersey Future, and focusing on six communities affected by the hurricane, usingFEMA’s National Disaster Recovery Framework, the report provides details on the selectionprocess and the integration of local recovery planning managers (LPRMs) into the towns, thecommitments the towns were required to make, and the balance of approaches between longterm financial planning, and short term economic rebuilding.
The report also provides extensive recommendations based on the pilot project, including:
•Approaches for implementing a similar project in other communities.
•Methods to align local, federal and state policies.
•Proposals for expansion of the project to include more towns, and extendedhorizons for the recovery project and participation of LPMRs, beyond the initial two yearproject window.
As observed by New Jersey Future executive director Peter Kasabach, “Over the last two yearswe’ve learned that the risks people are willing to take are high if it means remaining in theirhomes and community. We also learned that when presented with a thorough analysis ofvulnerability and future risks that reflects the specific characteristics of their community,residents in coastal areas are willing to envision the sometimes considerable changes that will beneeded to improve their long-term health and safety.”
A copy of the report is available online at the New Jersey Future site.
Sources:
http://www.njfuture.org/research-publications/research-reports/in-deep/
