One Storm Shy of Despair

8122019 One Storm Shy of Despair

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullone-storm-shy-of-despair 123 WWWAMERICANPROGRESSO

One Storm Shy of DespairA Climate-Smart Plan for the Administration

to Help Low-Income Communities

By Cathleen Kelly and Tracey Ross July 2014


httpslidepdfcomreaderfullone-storm-shy-of-despair 223






1 Introduction and summary

4 Low-income communities are more

vulnerable to extreme weather

9 Recommendations

15 Conclusion

17 Endnotes

Contents



1 Center for American Progress | One Storm Shy of Despair

Introduction and summary

Climae change pus communiies businesses and he economy a greaer risk

o hea waves drough flooding caused by severe sorms and sea-level rise and

oher exreme weaher evens1 I imposes an ununded mandae on sae and

local governmens and he American people o manage hese risks and oo he

bill or he damages2

ecognizing hese risks Presiden Barack Obama announced his week a he

ourh and final meeing o he Sae Local and ribal Leaders ask Force onClimae Preparedness and esilience a series o acions o help sae local and

ribal officials prepare heir communiies or he effecs o climae change Tese

acions range rom helping communiies o develop more resilien inrasrucure

and rebuild sronger and smarer exising inrasrucure o making our coass more

resilien o providing decision makers wih beter inormaion on flood and oher

climae change risks3 Tese are laudable acions ha will help communiies beter

prepare or he real and cosly effecs o climae change

Bu more acion is needed in paricular o address he skyrockeing risks o

climae change in low-income communiies Our naion saw firshand he

value o invesing in climae-resilien communiies when on Ocober 29 2012

Supersorm Sandy crashed ino he easern seaboard rom Florida o Maine even-

ually reaching as ar wes as Ohio and Michigan4 Te hurricane caused more han

150 deahs damaged 659000 homes and disruped millions o lives as ransi

sysems power cell phone neworks and oher criical services ailed or closed5

Tree weeks laer wih floodwaers receded and mos services resored lie

reurned o normal or many including or people in New York Ciy Bu or

ederal disaser workers in he area somehing was no adding up Only 6800people arrived a shelers even hough 375000 New Yorkers991252including 45000

public housing residens991252lived in he mandaory evacuaion zone hi hard by

he hurricane Workers evenually discovered he nighmare lurking behind low

sheler urnou Many low-income elderly and disabled residens o New York

Ciyrsquos public housing complexes were sranded in heir dark and cold aparmens




wihou hea backup generaors emergency boilers or working elevaors he la-

er prevening many o hese residens rom descending muliple flighs o sairs6

Ohers endured hese condiions because hey had no oher affordable place o

say or no reasonable means o leaving heir neighborhoods because mass ransi

was shu down among oher reasons While he overall response o Sandy was

quick and honed by he ough lessons o Hurricane Karina recovery effors lefmany low-income communiies in disress

Aside rom a ew new ederal disaser assisance requiremens aimed a helping

low-income communiies recover rom Supersorm Sandy7 increasing equiy and

proecing he mos vulnerable populaions rom climae change risks have no

been a srong ocus o ederal disaser-recovery effors resilience sraegies or

planning Te ask orce which he presiden creaed in his Climae Acion Plan

and launched by a November 2013 execuive order8 has an imporan opporu-

niy o change his and help creae resilien sae and equiable communiies I

can do his by recommending in is repor which i is due by November o his year ha he presiden sae and local governmens and Congress ake he ol-

lowing acions

bull Strengthen affordable housing and infrastructure Te presiden should call

on agencies o make resilience a core aspec o all ederal inrasrucure and

disaser-recovery unding

bull Reduce environmental hazards and disaster risks Te presiden and Congress

should expand unding or he Pre-Disaser Miigaion Program und he

Weaherizaion Assisance Program and he Low Income Home Energy

Assisance Program o help communiies evaluae heir disaser risks develop

hazard miigaion plans increase energy efficiency and pay elecriciy bills

bull Enhance economic stability Te presiden and Congress should oppose budge

cus in he Supplemenal Nuriion Assisance Program or SNAP and ensure

ha here is adequae unding or Disaser SNAP o assis people harmed by

naural disasers o purchase ood Tey should also reorm he Naional Flood

Insurance Program o remove flood-insurance subsidies o beter reflec acual

flood risks in insurance prices and offer means-esed vouchers o middle- andlow-income amilies so hey can afford he insurance




bull Take further steps While he ederal governmen has an imporan role in caa-

lyzing acion on climae preparedness leadership is required a all levels Ciies

and saes mus updae building codes and srenghen elecriciy grids o proec

communiies and businesses rom power ouages and Congress mus auhorize

invesmens criical o oriying our naionrsquos inrasrucure and building resilien

and equiable communiies

Tese criical seps will improve he qualiy o our housing and inrasrucure

reduce environmenal hazards and increase economic securiy in low-income

communiies




Low-income communities are more


While many describe exreme weaher evens as ldquosocial equalizersrdquo ha do no

differeniae based on ehniciy race or class he ruh is ha hese evens usually

hi low-income communiies he hardes because hey exacerbae he healh saey

financial and oher socioeconomic problems ha low-income communiies experi-

ence year round By 2012 465 million Americans991252nearly one in six people991252

were living in povery9

When amilies lack economic securiy an unoreseen crisis ha causes financialhardship can jeopardize he abiliy o amilies o pay he bills pu ood on he able

and afford necessiies such as medical expenses and child care When ha crisis is a

naural disaser amilies on he brink can be driven deeper ino povery10

Furhermore decades o underinvesmen in low-income communiies have made

povery-sricken neighborhoods paricularly vulnerable o naural disasers A

combinaion o run-down housing and inrasrucure coupled wih risky environ-

menal condiions and economic insabiliy makes low-income amilies paricu-

larly vulnerable o floodwaers oxic-wase exposure exreme hea and oher

climae change risks

Shoddy housing puts low-income communities at risk

Tere is currenly a shorage o more han 5 million affordable-housing unis or

low-income amilies across he counry11 Wih ew oher opions low-income

people ofen can only afford o live in subopimal neighborhoods and housing

ha are highly exposed o flooding exreme hea and oher climae change

hazards For example 7 million low- and moderae-income amilies currenlylive in mobile homes12




Finding sae and affordable housing is paricularly challenging or people o color

and low-income disaser vicims in he wake o exreme weaher evens which

some researchers have ermed he ldquosecond disaserrdquo13 Sudies show ha housing

assisance during disaser recovery ofen avors middle-class vicims paricularly

homeowners14 Afer Hurricane Karina more han 40000 affordable renal

unis991252ou o a oal o 86000991252were severely damaged driving up marke renalprices or a wo-bedroom aparmen by 45 percen in wo years15

Te poor qualiy o low-income housing demands more rom disaser service

providers han rouine provisions o sheler and oher housing suppor Afer

Supersorm Sandy New York Ciy relied on ad hoc eams o communiy volun-

eers o care or low-income elderly and disabled residens rapped in public hous-

ing owers16 In ac social cohesion991252he glue ha holds ighly kni communiies

ogeher and wha moivaes such eams o rapidly assemble991252can be liesaving in

he wake o a disaser In Chicagorsquos hea wave o 1995 739 people died in mosly

low-income Arican American neighborhoods17 However one such neighbor-hood Auburn Gresham wih he same racial and income demographics ared

beter han even more affluen neighborhoods Why he difference Auburn

Gresham residens paricipaed regularly in block clubs and church groups crea-

ing srong bonds wihin he communiy ha allowed neighbors o band ogeher

and assis neighbors in need18 I is hese ypes o srong communiy ies and

mobilizaion ha he ederal governmen and sae and local leaders can beter

suppor hrough exising communiy-based organizaions19

Aging infrastructure threatens our economy

and leaves low-income communities in distress

Americans righly expec ha he inrasrucure we all rely on every day991252rom

roads and bridges o power plans elecric grids drinking waer and wasewaer

reamen aciliies991252is sae and srucurally sound Ye las year he American

Sociey o Civil Engineers gave our naionrsquos inrasrucure a D+ raing and esi-

maed ha he invesmens needed o properly repair i would reach $36 rillion

by 202020 Sea-level rise and more exreme weaher brough on by climae change

pu our naionrsquos aging inrasrucure a even greaer risk o damage Tis pus low-income people mos a risk because hey are more dependen on public ranspora-

ion han middle-class or wealhy Americans o ge o work school he grocery

sore he docor and o evacuae when a sorm his




Our naionrsquos crumbling flood-conrol inrasrucure was a major acor underly-

ing he 2005 devasaion in New Orleans afer Hurricane Karina Te average

age o he 84000 dams in he Unied Saes is 52 years old wih 14000 o hose

considered high hazard21 And o he 2350 levee sysems he US Army Corps

o Engineers moniors only 8 percen are in accepable condiion22 Unless we

upgrade and repair hese dams and levees as well as oher criical inrasrucure arisk o crumbling during he nex supersorm many low-income communiies will

coninue o be in harmrsquos way

High environmental hazards threaten the health

and safety of low-income communities

Te srengh and qualiy o housing and inrasrucure significanly affecs com-

muniy healh and saey and he locaion o hese srucures maters even more

Low-income communiies o color disproporionaely live near indusrial sies suchas chemical plans and refineries which are ofen he source o oxic spills during

sorms23 In addiion people o color and low-income people are disproporion-

aely affeced by he hazardous debris and wase generaed by sorms as hey make

up he majoriy o residens living wihin a couple miles o aciliies where his

wase is ulimaely dumped24 Expers conclude ha afer disasers ldquohe likelihood

remains high ha minoriy and low-income neighborhoods will be burdened

disproporionaely wih waer and air polluion rom debris removal and burning

given he hisoric patern o siing landfills in hose areasrdquo25

Extreme heat

Exreme hea is one o he leading weaher-relaed killers in he Unied Saes

resuling in hundreds o aaliies every year Te inense hea waves in 2011 and

2012 ook more han 181 lives and se emperaure records across he naion26

Tese emperaure increases can exacerbae wha is known as he ldquohea-islandrdquo

effec where densely buil-up areas end o be hoter han nearby rural areas27

Arican Americans are 52 percen more likely han whies o live in such densely

packed neighborhoods28

A nigh he emperaure difference beween a denseciy and a nearby rural area can be as high as 22 degrees29 Tis increases peoplersquos

risk or hea sroke high body emperaures unconsciousness and even deah

While having a working air condiioner reduces he risk o deah rom exreme

hea by 80 percen30 one in five low-income households do no have air condi-

ioners and many canno afford he elecriciy o run hem31




One disaster away from deep poverty

Because flooding is one o he mos expensive and mos common exreme weaher

evens a single flood can push a low-income amily below he povery line32

In July 2012 Congress passed and Presiden Obama signed he Bigger-Waers

Flood Insurance eorm Ac his was mean o reduce Naional Flood InsuranceProgram or NFIP liabiliies by rolling back ederal flood-insurance subsidies

ha can encourage people o live in flood-prone areas because he real risk is no

refleced in he insurance price33 Tese changes along wih new floodplain maps

were expeced o increase insurance premiums by 20 percen o 25 percen rans-

laing o housands o dollars per policy34 Te program however was repealed by

Congress in March because o pressure rom wealhy homeowners who would have

been mos affeced by he reorms because o pressure rom real-esae associaions

ha were unhappy abou losing heir insurance subsidies and because o concerns

abou he affordabiliy o flood insurance or middle- and lower-income amilies35

Sill homeowners will see rae increases o 5 percen o 18 percen36

Unorunaely our naion canno afford o coninue o subsidize flood insurance

a curren levels las year he Governmen Accounabiliy Office flagged climae

change as a huge liabiliy or ederal crop and flood-insurance programs37 Te

NFIP conribues $24 billion o he US deb38 an amoun ha will increase as

coasal flood-insurance policies are projeced o grow 130 percen by he end o

his cenury39 A he same ime affording flood insurance is a real challenge or

middle- and lower-income amilies Policymakers can reduce our naionrsquos deb

remove he incenives o live in high-risk areas and make flood insurance afford-

able or middle- and lower-income amilies by removing flood-insurance subsi-

dies while also providing means-esed vouchers o amilies who need hem o

cover par o heir insurance premiums

Job loss

Job loss is also a big concern or amilies living in or on he edge o povery

Overall ederal labor laws include more proecions or salaried workers han

or hourly workers when a disaser his ldquoNon-salaried workers are really a hemercy o heir employersrdquo said oss Eisenbrey vice presiden o he Economic

Policy Insiue40 ldquoI he business closes because o he sorm employers donrsquo

have o pay non-salaried workers or los wages And i he business is open

bu he worker canrsquo make i ino work employers are also no required o pay

or los wagesrdquo Tis is problemaic given ha 753 million Americans rely on

hourly wages o pay he bills41




Food security

Lasly ood securiy is a major concern ollowing a disaser In he wake o eder-

ally declared disasers saes can apply or he Disaser Supplemenal Nuriion

Assisance Program or D-SNAP which provides replacemen benefis or regular

ood samp recipiens who lose criical ood supplies in a disaser and exends benefis o low-income households ha would no ordinarily be eligible or ood

assisance Unorunaely a large hrea looms o he program as D-SNAP is

unded hrough he radiional SNAP program which House epublicans have

been argeing or billions o dollars in cus42




Recommendations

Given he high risks and consequences o more exreme weaher and climae change

in low-income communiies ederal sae and local policymakers mus ake imme-

diae acion o srenghen he resilience o hese communiies While he upron

coss o srenghening communiy resilience are high43 resilience invesmens pay

off in big ways991252hey save lives and significanly reduce axpayer spending on disas-

er recovery In ac every dollar ha he Federal Emergency Managemen Agency

invess in resilience saves he naion $4 in disaser-recovery coss44

esoring naural areas has an even bigger payoff A recen Cener or American

Progress repor ound ha resoring naural coasal areas reurns more han $15 in

ne economic benefis or every dollar spen including hose ied o buffering com-

muniies agains exreme weaher and supporing fisheries ourism and jobs45

Wih houghul planning ederal sae and local policymakers can increase inra-

srucure and communiy resilience in ways ha mee oher pressing prioriies

Tese include increasing he availabiliy o clean and reliable elecriciy increasing

access o jobs reducing air polluion and improving qualiy o lie in low-income

areas by expanding public ransi and green spaces among oher benefis46

o be clear resilience measures alone are no enough o ackle climae change Te

ederal governmen ciies and saes mus expand heir effors o curb hea-rap-

ping emissions In paricular saes should develop srong implemenaion plans

o comply wih Presiden Obamarsquos recenly announced carbon sandards or new

and exising power plans47

Even wih immediae and dramaic reducions o hea-rapping emissions we

are already eeling he effecs o climae change oday and addiional effecsin he uure are ineviable o help low-income communiies beter prepare

we recommend ha he presidenrsquos ask Force on Climae Preparedness and

esilience ake he ollowing acions




Strengthen affordable housing and infrastructure

Te presiden should call on agencies o make resilience a core aspec o all ed-

eral inrasrucure and disaser-recovery unding48 For example he Deparmen

o Housing and Urban Developmen or HUD should ensure ha he roughly

$3 billion available annually or Communiy Developmen Block Grans orCDBGs and all supplemenal disaser-recovery unds channeled hrough his

program suppor climae-resilien and susainable housing and oher projecs49

Similarly he Deparmen o ransporaion or DO should ensure ha he

$600 million available in 2014 or ransporaion Invesmen Generaing

Economic ecovery or IGE discreionary grans991252which help improve our

naionrsquos inrasrucure991252suppor sorm-ready roads rails ransi sysems and

pors50 HUD and DO have aken imporan seps oward supporing more

resilien rebuilding by making some Supersorm Sandy disaser-recovery assis-

ance available or resilience projecs In he uure Presiden Obama should

require ha all ederal inrasrucure invesmens mee he resilience inrasruc-ure guidelines developed by he Hurricane Sandy ebuilding ask Force which

are similar o hose suppored in a recen CAP repor51

Te presiden and Congress should help localiies srenghen he qualiy o afford-

able housing by increasing pre-disaser affordable-housing invesmens and by

increasing he low-income housing ax credi o disaser areas wih a significan

loss o such housing52

Building on reorms afer Supersorm Sandy HUD should coninue o require all

sae and ciy recipiens o uure CDBG Disaser ecovery or CDBG-D unds

o ideniy how hey will address he rehabiliaion and new consrucion needs o

each affeced public and assised housing complex and how hey will reduce heir

exreme weaher risks in he uure53 HUD should also srenghen is CDBG-D

program o ensure air disribuion o unds o low-income communiies I can do

his by direcing home-recovery programs using hese unds o ollow a ormula

based on he cos o repairs raher han on he value o homes o ensure ha low-

income people wih less valuable properies are no shorchanged54

Federal sae and local policymakers should oser social cohesion in low-incomecommuniies by supporing programs ha build relaionships beween public-

and affordable-housing residens and communiy leaders improving disaser-relie

plans or affordable-housing developmens and providing echnical assisance o

communiy-based organizaions o increase response capaciy55




Reduce environmental hazards and disaster risks

Te presiden and Congress should expand he Pre-Disaser Miigaion Program

und which enables local communiies o evaluae heir disaser risks and develop

hazard miigaion plans o make hem more resilien o exreme weaher dam-

ages and o reduce disaser-recovery coss Tis annual unding should equal hehree-year average o ederal disaser-recovery spending56 Ciies and saes should

be required by Congress and he Federal Emergency Managemen Agency or

FEMA o develop hazard miigaion plans ha consider uure climae change

risks Building on he presidenrsquos Climae Daa Iniiaive launched in March

ederal agencies should give ciy leaders ready access o he climae change risk

inormaion hey need o develop such plans57

Te adminisraion should call on Congress o significanly increase fiscal year

2015 appropriaions o $400 million991252he FY 2009 level991252or wo exising pro-

grams he Weaherizaion Assisance Program or WAP which makes low-incomehouseholds more energy efficien and he Low Income Home Energy Assisance

Program or LIHEAP which helps low-income amilies pay heir elecriciy bills58

Tis would improve he energy efficiency o more homes and reduce amiliesrsquo

spending on uiliy bills59 Congress should also work o considerably increase FY

2015 unds or LIHEAP o $51 billion991252also equivalen o he FY 2009 unding

and he highes level in he pas decade Tis would help more low-income house-

holds pay or higher elecriciy bills caused by hoter weaher60

FEMA should encourage localiies o develop pos-disaser debris removal

plans wih communiy inpu in advance o exreme weaher o ensure ha low-

income communiies are no disproporionaely affeced by oxic and hazard-

ous debris61 Tese communiies should ollow he sandards se ou by he

esource Conservaion and ecovery Ac or CR on solid and hazardous

wase managemen as well as ensure ha wase aciliies are no locaed near

low-income communiies62

o minimize cosly disaser damages ederal agencies and ciies should increase

invesmens in green inrasrucure991252parks and green roos ha soak up rainwaer

and reduce sormwaer runoff991252and he resoraion o naural sysems in coasalareas such as welands and oyser rees ha serve as buffers o sorm surges and

provide oher environmenal and economic benefis63 Tese invesmens can cre-

ae jobs in communiies and suppor long-erm ecosysem recovery64 Te ederal

governmen has made some imporan srides in increasing green inrasrucure




Te Hurricane Sandy ebuilding ask Force required ha all ederal invesmens

o suppor Sandy recovery effors consider green inrasrucure o boh reduce

uure sorm damage and o provide habia and waershed proecion as well as

oher benefis65 Te Environmenal Proecion Agency has been working closely

wih communiies on inegraing green inrasrucure ino sormwaer permis

and combined sewer overflow remedies66

Ciies should ensure ha hese greeninrasrucure invesmens suppor exreme weaher preparedness and provide

daily co-benefis such as reducing he urban hea-island effec provide new green

space and park ameniies and creae jobs

In exreme cases he ederal governmen should encourage saes o use volun-

ary buyous o allow homeowners in flood-prone areas o sell propery o he

governmen which hen resores he land o is naural sae o reduce uure

flooding and disaser coss creae new public recreaional spaces and enhance

wildlie habia67

Enhance economic stability

Te presiden and Congress should oppose budge cus o SNAP and ensure ha

here is adequae unding or Disaser SNAP o assis people harmed by naural

disasers o purchase ood68

Congress and he presiden should reorm he Naional Flood Insurance Program

as he now-repealed Bigger-Waers Flood Insurance eorm Ac did o lower or

remove flood-insurance subsidies o beter reflec acual flood risks in insurance

prices A reormed NFIP should offer means-esed vouchers o middle- and low-

income amilies so hey can afford he insurance wihou masking he price69

Te presiden should urge Congress o lenghen he period or which disaser vic-

ims can receive unemploymen insurance and disaser unemploymen assisance

and increase he amoun o hese benefis70 Alhough his ederal assisance is he

main source o income or ens o housands o disaser vicims saes are only

required o disribue benefis ha are hal he amoun o regular unemploymen

insurance afer a disaser




Take further steps

Te Sae Local and ribal Leaders ask Force on Climae Preparedness and

esilience has an imporan opporuniy o advise he presiden on how o reduce

he disproporionaely high risks acing low-income communiies as he empera-

ure and requency o exreme weaher evens coninues o climb While he askorce is mean o shape he ederal role in srenghening communiy resilience a

problem o his scale requires leadership a all levels

In mos cases local leaders are he firs line o deense during exreme weaher

evens and sae leaders play a criical role in reducing sorm damage o communi-

ies and inrasrucure While hese recommended acions or he presiden and

sae and local governmens will go a long way oward reducing exreme weaher

risks in communiies Congress also mus ac Unil hey do so he Whie House

should ask agency heads wih crafing a naional sraegy or making our inra-

srucure more resilien as advocaed by CAP in a recen repor71

Ciies mus ake seps as simple as updaing building codes o reduce uure

exreme weaher damage and deahs and should use he model-building

codes developed by he Hurricane Sandy ebuilding ask Force o do so72

Sae leaders need o work wih local governmens and uiliies o increase elecric-

iy grid resilience by puting vulnerable power lines underground where possible

creaing incenives or consumers o insall smar meers and disribuing and

decenralizing clean power around he grid so ha communiies are no as vulner-

able o massive ouages73

Congress should und Presiden Obamarsquos proposed Climae esilience Fund as

par o his FY 2015 budge o help our ciies prepare or a uure o desrucive

weaher Tis und would inves in research on he effecs o climae change and

how we can beter prepare our communiies or hem I would also help commu-

niies plan and prepare or hese hreas encourage adopion o local measures o

reduce uure risk and und breakhrough echnologies and more resilien inra-

srucure ha will make communiies beter prepared or he changing climae74

In addiion Congress should reauhorize he Naional Dam Saey Program and

provide $1 billion annually o rehabiliae our rundown dam and levee inrasruc-

ure ha helps reduce flood risk75




Lasly Congress should swifly enac Presiden Obamarsquos proposal o creae a

naional inrasrucure bank o use $10 billion in public unding o leverage privae

invesmen in naional and regional inrasrucure prioriies Tis naional financ-

ing eniy could also help coordinae naional and regional inrasrucure and

resilience planning




Conclusion

Te new normal o more exreme weaher riggered by climae change creaes

cosly risks wih devasaing consequences paricularly in low-income communi-

ies Te ime is now or leadership across all levels o governmen and coordina-

ion across secors and wih he privae secor o reduce hese risks By improving

he qualiy o our housing and inrasrucure reducing environmenal hazards

in communiies and increasing economic securiy he presiden sae and local

governmens and Congress can build resilien sae and equiable communiies

where all Americans can prosper




About the authors

Cathleen Kelly is a Senior Fellow a he Cener or American Progress She special-

izes in inernaional and US climae miigaion preparedness resilience and

susainable developmen policy Kelly served in he Obama adminisraion a he

Whie House Council on Environmenal Qualiy where she led a 20-plus-agencyask orce o develop a naional climae-resilience sraegy Tis sraegy helped

orm he basis o he climae-preparedness pillar o Presiden Barack Obamarsquos

Climae Acion Plan Kelly also helped ormulae he Obama adminisraionrsquos

posiions on inernaional susainable developmen and climae policy issues

She is a proessor o inernaional and environmenal policy a he Johns Hopkins

Universiy Paul H Nize School o Advanced Inernaional Sudies or SAIS

Tracey Ross is a Senior Policy Analys wih he Povery o Prosperiy Program a

he Cener or American Progress In his role she ocuses on place-based

responses o fighing povery Prior o joining he Cener she was a program asso-ciae a Living Ciies where she worked on heir signaure effor Te Inegraion

Iniiaive supporing ciies as hey work o ransorm broken sysems o mee he

needs o low-income residens She was seleced as a ldquoNex American Vanguardrdquo

Next City Magazinersquos recogniion o 40 urban leaders under 40 in 2012

Acknowledgements

We hank Danielle Baussan Darrel Banks Huson Julian Elio Sasaki and Cheser

Hawkins or heir conribuions o his repor




Endnotes

1 Thomas C Peterson Peter A Stott and Stephanie Her-ring ldquoExplaining Extreme Events of 2011 from a ClimatePerspectiverdquo Bulletin of the American MeteorologicalSociety 93 (7) (2012) 1041ndash1067

2 Fran Sussman Cathleen Kelly and Kate Gordon

ldquoClimate Change An Unfunded Mandaterdquo (Washing-ton Center for American Progress 2013) availableat httpwwwamericanprogressorgissuesgreenreport2013102878158climate-change

3 The White House ldquoFACT SHEET Taking Action to Sup-port State Local and Tribal Leaders as They PrepareCommunities for the Impacts of Climate ChangerdquoPress release July 16 2014 available at httpwwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20140716fact-sheet-taking-action-support-state-local-and-tribal-leaders-they-pre

4 NBC News ldquoA state-by-state look at superstorm Sandyrsquosimpactrdquo October 29 2012 available at httpusnewsnbcnewscom_news2012102914781430-a-state-by-state-look-at-superstorm-sandys-impactlite Eric SBlake and others ldquoTropical Cyclone Report HurricaneSandyrdquo (Miami National Hurricane Center 2013) avail-

able at httpwwwnhcnoaagovdatatcrAL182012_Sandypdf

5 Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force ldquoHurri-cane Sandy Rebuilding Strategyrdquo (2013) availableat httpportalhudgovhudportaldocumentshuddocid=HSRebuildingStrategypdf NBC News ldquoAstate-by-state look at superstorm Sandyrsquos impactrdquo

6 Eric Lipton and Michael Moss ldquoHousing AgencyrsquosFlaws Revealed by Stormrdquo The New York Times December 9 2012 available at httpwwwnytimescom20121210nyregionnew-york-city-housing-agency-was-overwhelmed-after-stormhtmlpagewanted=allamp_r=0

7 Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force ldquoHurricaneSandy R ebuilding Strategyrdquo

8 Executive Order no 13653 Code of Federal Regulationstitle 3 sec 7 (2013) available at httpwwwwhite-housegovthe-press-office20131101executive-order-preparing-united-states-impacts-climate-change

9 Erik Stegman and Sarah Baron ldquoResetting the PovertyDebate State of the States 2013rdquo (Washington Half in

Ten 2013) available at httpcdnamericanprogressorgwp-contentuploads201312HiT-States-report-4pdf

10 The Associated Press ldquoGlobal warming dials up ourrisks UN report saysrdquo March 31 2014 available athttpwwwcbccamtouchnewsstory12592307

11 Joint Center for Housing Studies ldquoThe State of theNationrsquos Housing 2013rdquo (2013) available at httpwww

jchsharvardedusitesjchsharvardedufilesson2013pdf

12 Paul Bradley and George McCarthy ldquoManufacturedHousing The Homeowners No One Thinks Ofrdquo Democ-racy 26 (2012)

13 Manuel Pastor and others ldquoIn the Wake of the StormEnvironment Disaster and Race After Katrinardquo (NewYork The Russell Sage Foundation 2006)

14 Ibid

15 Charles W Gould ldquoThe Right to Housing Recovery AfterNatural Disastersrdquo Harvard Human Rights Journal 22(2009) 169ndash204

16 Alan Feuer ldquoOccupy Sandy A Movement Moves toReliefrdquo The New York Times November 9 2012 availableat httpwwwnytimescom20121111nyregionwhere-fema-fell-short-occupy-sandy-was-therehtmlpagewanted=all

17 Eric Klinenberg ldquoAdaptation How can cities belsquoclimate-proofedrsquordquo The New Yorker January 72013 available at httpwwwnewyorkercomreporting20130107130107fa_fact_klinenberg

18 Ibid

19 Tracey Ross ldquoA Disaster in the Making Addressing theVulnerability of Low-Income Communities to ExtremeWeatherrdquo (Washington Center for American Progress2013) available at httpcdnamericanprogressorgwp-contentuploads201308LowIncomeResilience-3pdf

20 Cathleen Kelly and Fran Sussman ldquoThe Crushing Costof Climate Change Why We Must Rethink AmericarsquosInfrastructure Investmentsrdquo Center for American Prog-ress February 11 2014 available at httpamerican-progressorgissuesgreennews2014021183936the-crushing-cost-of-climate-change-why-we-must-rethink-americas-infrastructure-investments

21 American Association of Civil Engineers ldquo2013 ReportCard for Americanrsquos I nfrastructure Damsrdquo available athttpwwwinfrastructurereportcardorgapdamsoverview (last accessed July 2014)

22 American Association of Civil Engineers ldquo2013 ReportCard for Americanrsquos Infrastructure Levees Conditionsamp Capacityrdquo available at httpwwwinfrastructurere-portcardorgapleveesconditions-and-capacity (lastaccessed July 2014)

23 Tracey Ross ldquoFailing Energy Infrastructure On The GulfCoast Is Putting Low-Income Communities At RiskrdquoClimate Progress August 7 2013 available at httpthinkprogressorgclimate201308072427181gulf-coast-infrastructure-communities-risk

24 Robert D Bullard and others ldquoToxic Wastes and Race at Twenty 1987ndash2007rdquo (Cleveland OH United Church ofChrist 2007) available at httpwwwuccorgjusticepdfstoxic20pdf

25 Reilly Morse ldquoEnvironmental Justice Through the Eyeof Hurricane Katrinardquo (Washington Joint Center forPolitical and Economic Studies 2008) available athttp19865105204hpisitesallfilesEnvironmental-Justicepdf

26 Daniel J Weiss Jackie Weidman and Mackenzie Bron-

son ldquoHeavy Weather How Climate Destruction HarmsMiddle- and Lower-Income Americansrdquo (WashingtonCenter for American Progress 2012) available athttpwwwamericanprogressorgwp-contentup-loads201211ExtremeWeatherpdf

27 Ibid




28 Emily Badget ldquoThe Inequality of Urban Tree Coverrdquo CityLab May 15 2013 available at httpwwwtheatlantic-citiescomhousing201305inequality-urban-tree-cover5604

29 Ibid

30 K linenberg ldquoAdaptationrdquo

31 US Energy Information Administration ldquoResidentialEnergy Consumption Survey (RECS)rdquo available at httpwwweiagovconsumptionresidentialreports2009

air-conditioningcfm (last accessed July 2014)

32 Weiss Weidman and Bronson ldquoHeavy Weatherrdquo

33 Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 HR4348 112 Cong

34 Federal Emergency Management Agency ldquoBiggertWaters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 I mpactof National Flood I nsurance Program (NFIP) Changesrdquo(2013) available at httpwwwfemagovmedia-library-data20130726-1909-25045-0554bw12_sec_205_207_factsheet4_13_2013pdf

35 Greg Hanscom ldquoFlood pressure Climate disastersdrown FEMArsquos insurance plansrdquo Grist January 13 2014available at httpgristorgcitiesflood-pressure-how-climate-disasters-put-femas-flood-insurance-program-underwater

36 Bruce Alpert ldquoFEMA out with new flood insurance ratesreflecting March lawrsquos changesrdquo The Times-Picayune May 30 2014 available at httpwwwnolacompoli-ticsindexssf201405fema_out_with_new_flood_in-surahtml

37 Government Accountability Office ldquoGAO Adds FinancialRisks of Climate Change and Gaps in Weather SatelliteData to lsquoHigh Risk Listrsquordquo Press release February 14 2013available at httpwwwgaogovpresshigh_risk_additions_2013feb14htm

38 Shai Akabas and Alex Gold ldquoPossible Reforms to theNational Flood In surance Programrdquo Bipartisan PolicyCenter Blog February 7 2014 available at httpbi-partisanpolicyorgblogeconomicpolicy20140207possible-reforms-national-flood-insurance-program

39 Shiva Polefka ldquoMoving Out of Harmrsquos Wayrdquo (Washing-ton Center for American Progress 2013) availableat httpwwwamericanprogressorgissuesgreenreport2013121281046moving-out-of-harms-way

40 Lila Shapiro Saki Knafo and Nate C Hindman ldquoHourlyWorkers Are Hit I n Hurricane Sandy Aftermathrdquo Huff-ington Post November 1 2012 available at httpwwwhuffingtonpostcom20121101hourly-workers-hurricane-sandy-aftermath_n_2060235html

41 Drew DeSilver ldquoWho makes minimum wagerdquo PewResearch Center Fact Tank July 19 2013 available athttpwwwpewresearchorgfact-tank20130719who-makes-minimum-wage

42 Alan Pyke and Andrew Breiner ldquoGOP Rams Farm BillWithout Food Stamps Through The Houserdquo Think-Progress July 11 2013 available at httpthinkprogress

orgeconomy201307112289631gop-rams-through-farm-bill-without-food-stamps

43 Sussman Kelly and Gordon ldquoClimate Change AnUnfunded Mandaterdquo

44 Benefits are defined as ldquolosses to society avoidedrdquo Andinclude reduced direct property damage reduceddirect and indirect business interruption loss reducednot-market damage (ie environmental damage ordamage to historic figures) reduced human lossesand reduced cost of emergency response MultihazardMitigation Council ldquoNatural Hazard Mitigation SavesAn Independent Study to Assess the Future Savingsfrom Mitigation Activitiesrdquo (2005) available at httpcymcdncomsiteswwwnibsorgresourceresmgrMMChms_vol1pdf

45 Michael Conathan Jeffrey Buchanan and Shiva PolefkaldquoThe Economic Case for Restoring Coastal Ecosystemsrdquo(Washington Center for American Progress 2014)available at httpwwwamericanprogressorgissuesgreenreport2014040987386the-economic-case-for-restoring-coastal-ecosystems Previous researchestablished that 1 million dollars invested in coastalrestoration creates on average 171 jobs For compari-son offshore oil and gas creates approximately 89 jobsper million dollars of investment The study analyzedrestoration efforts in Seaside Bays of Virginiarsquos Atlanticcoast Mobile Bay Alabama and South San FranciscoBay California

46 Cathleen Kelly and Arpita Bhattacharyya ldquoStorm-ReadyCities How Climate Resilience Boosts Metro Areasand the Economyrdquo (Washington Center for AmericanProgress 2013) available at httpamericanprogressorgissuesgreenreport2013102277660storm-

ready-cities

47 Ibid

48 Ibid

49 Kelly and Sussman ldquoThe Crushing Cost of ClimateChangerdquo Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force ldquoHur-ricane Sandy Rebuilding Strategyrdquo

50 Ibid

51 Kelly and Sussman ldquoThe Crushing Cost of ClimateChangerdquo

52 Ibid

53 Ibid

54 Ross ldquoA Disaster in the Makingrdquo

55 Ibid

56 Kelly and Sussman ldquoThe Crushing Cost of ClimateChangerdquo Weiss Weidman and Bronson ldquoHeavyWeatherrdquo

57 Ibid


59 Daniel J Weiss ldquoKeeping Cool in a Hotter UnitedStatesrdquo Center for American Progress May 21 2014available at httpamericanprogressorgissuesgreennews2014052190135keeping-cool-in-a-hotter-united-states

60 Ibid


62 US Environmental Protection Agency ldquoResource Con-servation and Recovery Act (RCRA)rdquo available at httpwwwepagovoecaagctlrcahtmlSolid Wastes (lastaccessed July 2014)





64 Conathan Buchanan and Polefka ldquoThe Economic Casefor Restoring Coastal Ecosystemsrdquo

65 Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force ldquoHurricaneSandy Rebuilding Strategyrdquo

66 US Environmental Protection Agency ldquoGreen Infra-structure Federal Regulatory Programsrdquo available athttpwaterepagovinfrastructuregreeninfrastruc-

turegi_regulatorycfm (last accessed July 2014)

67 Kelly and Sussman ldquoThe Crushing Cost of ClimateChangerdquo Polefka ldquoMoving Out of Harmrsquos Wayrdquo


69 Ibid Polefka ldquoMoving Out of Harmrsquos Wayrdquo


71 Ibid

72 Ibid

73 Ibid

74 Daniel J Weiss and Siri Manning ldquo2013 Extreme Weath-er Extreme Damagerdquo Center for American Progress

March 27 2014 available at httpamericanprogressorgissuesgreennews20140327865322013-extreme-weather-extreme-damage

75 Weiss Weidman and Bronson ldquoHeavy Weatherrdquo RossldquoA Disaster in the Makingrdquo



The Center for American Progress is a nonpartisan research and educational institute

dedicated to promoting a strong just and free America that ensures opportunity

for all We believe that Americans are bound together by a common commitment to

these values and we aspire to ensure that our national policies reflect these values

We work to find progressive and pragmatic solutions to significant domestic and

international problems and develop policy proposals that foster a government that

is ldquoof the people by the people and for the peoplerdquo











9 Recommendations

15 Conclusion

17 Endnotes

Contents









bill or he damages2








































lowing acions


























communiies




















climae change risks































































Extreme heat









































Job loss












Food security











Recommendations
















































































































wildlie habia67



















Take further steps






































resilience planning




Conclusion












About the authors
















Acknowledgements






Endnotes


















14 Ibid




18 Ibid










27 Ibid





29 Ibid




















ready-cities

47 Ibid

48 Ibid


50 Ibid


52 Ibid

53 Ibid


55 Ibid


57 Ibid



60 Ibid















71 Ibid

72 Ibid

73 Ibid





















bill or he damages2








































lowing acions


























communiies




















climae change risks































































Extreme heat









































Job loss












Food security











Recommendations
















































































































wildlie habia67



















Take further steps






































resilience planning




Conclusion












About the authors
















Acknowledgements






Endnotes


















14 Ibid




18 Ibid










27 Ibid





29 Ibid




















ready-cities

47 Ibid

48 Ibid


50 Ibid


52 Ibid

53 Ibid


55 Ibid


57 Ibid



60 Ibid















71 Ibid

72 Ibid

73 Ibid






























lowing acions


























communiies




















climae change risks































































Extreme heat









































Job loss












Food security











Recommendations
















































































































wildlie habia67



















Take further steps






































resilience planning




Conclusion












About the authors
















Acknowledgements






Endnotes


















14 Ibid




18 Ibid










27 Ibid





29 Ibid




















ready-cities

47 Ibid

48 Ibid


50 Ibid


52 Ibid

53 Ibid


55 Ibid


57 Ibid



60 Ibid















71 Ibid

72 Ibid

73 Ibid
























communiies




















climae change risks































































Extreme heat









































Job loss












Food security











Recommendations
















































































































wildlie habia67



















Take further steps






































resilience planning




Conclusion












About the authors
















Acknowledgements






Endnotes


















14 Ibid




18 Ibid










27 Ibid





29 Ibid




















ready-cities

47 Ibid

48 Ibid


50 Ibid


52 Ibid

53 Ibid


55 Ibid


57 Ibid



60 Ibid















71 Ibid

72 Ibid

73 Ibid
































climae change risks































































Extreme heat









































Job loss












Food security











Recommendations
















































































































wildlie habia67



















Take further steps






































resilience planning




Conclusion












About the authors
















Acknowledgements






Endnotes


















14 Ibid




18 Ibid










27 Ibid





29 Ibid




















ready-cities

47 Ibid

48 Ibid


50 Ibid


52 Ibid

53 Ibid


55 Ibid


57 Ibid



60 Ibid















71 Ibid

72 Ibid

73 Ibid





































































Extreme heat









































Job loss












Food security











Recommendations
















































































































wildlie habia67



















Take further steps






































resilience planning




Conclusion












About the authors
















Acknowledgements






Endnotes


















14 Ibid




18 Ibid










27 Ibid





29 Ibid




















ready-cities

47 Ibid

48 Ibid


50 Ibid


52 Ibid

53 Ibid


55 Ibid


57 Ibid



60 Ibid















71 Ibid

72 Ibid

73 Ibid









































Job loss












Food security











Recommendations
















































































































wildlie habia67



















Take further steps






































resilience planning




Conclusion












About the authors
















Acknowledgements






Endnotes


















14 Ibid




18 Ibid










27 Ibid





29 Ibid




















ready-cities

47 Ibid

48 Ibid


50 Ibid


52 Ibid

53 Ibid


55 Ibid


57 Ibid



60 Ibid















71 Ibid

72 Ibid

73 Ibid
















Food security











Recommendations
















































































































wildlie habia67



















Take further steps






































resilience planning




Conclusion












About the authors
















Acknowledgements






Endnotes


















14 Ibid




18 Ibid










27 Ibid





29 Ibid




















ready-cities

47 Ibid

48 Ibid


50 Ibid


52 Ibid

53 Ibid


55 Ibid


57 Ibid



60 Ibid















71 Ibid

72 Ibid

73 Ibid
















Recommendations
















































































































wildlie habia67



















Take further steps






































resilience planning




Conclusion












About the authors
















Acknowledgements






Endnotes


















14 Ibid




18 Ibid










27 Ibid





29 Ibid




















ready-cities

47 Ibid

48 Ibid


50 Ibid


52 Ibid

53 Ibid


55 Ibid


57 Ibid



60 Ibid















71 Ibid

72 Ibid

73 Ibid



































































































wildlie habia67



















Take further steps






































resilience planning




Conclusion












About the authors
















Acknowledgements






Endnotes


















14 Ibid




18 Ibid










27 Ibid





29 Ibid




















ready-cities

47 Ibid

48 Ibid


50 Ibid


52 Ibid

53 Ibid


55 Ibid


57 Ibid



60 Ibid















71 Ibid

72 Ibid

73 Ibid
















Take further steps






































resilience planning




Conclusion












About the authors
















Acknowledgements






Endnotes


















14 Ibid




18 Ibid










27 Ibid





29 Ibid




















ready-cities

47 Ibid

48 Ibid


50 Ibid


52 Ibid

53 Ibid


55 Ibid


57 Ibid



60 Ibid















71 Ibid

72 Ibid

73 Ibid




















resilience planning




Conclusion












About the authors
















Acknowledgements






Endnotes


















14 Ibid




18 Ibid










27 Ibid





29 Ibid




















ready-cities

47 Ibid

48 Ibid


50 Ibid


52 Ibid

53 Ibid


55 Ibid


57 Ibid



60 Ibid















71 Ibid

72 Ibid

73 Ibid
















Conclusion












About the authors
















Acknowledgements






Endnotes


















14 Ibid




18 Ibid










27 Ibid





29 Ibid




















ready-cities

47 Ibid

48 Ibid


50 Ibid


52 Ibid

53 Ibid


55 Ibid


57 Ibid



60 Ibid















71 Ibid

72 Ibid

73 Ibid
















About the authors
















Acknowledgements






Endnotes


















14 Ibid




18 Ibid










27 Ibid





29 Ibid




















ready-cities

47 Ibid

48 Ibid


50 Ibid


52 Ibid

53 Ibid


55 Ibid


57 Ibid



60 Ibid















71 Ibid

72 Ibid

73 Ibid
















Endnotes


















14 Ibid




18 Ibid










27 Ibid





29 Ibid




















ready-cities

47 Ibid

48 Ibid


50 Ibid


52 Ibid

53 Ibid


55 Ibid


57 Ibid



60 Ibid















71 Ibid

72 Ibid

73 Ibid

















29 Ibid




















ready-cities

47 Ibid

48 Ibid


50 Ibid


52 Ibid

53 Ibid


55 Ibid


57 Ibid



60 Ibid















71 Ibid

72 Ibid

73 Ibid

























71 Ibid

72 Ibid

73 Ibid













One Storm Shy of Despair

Documents

Transcript of One Storm Shy of Despair