American Flood Coalition

Hurricane Helene is impacting our members, partners and communities all across Florida and the Southeast - many of which are still recovering from recent storms. The West coast of Florida is facing a catastrophic storm surge, with some communities expected to see 15-20 feet - what the National Hurricane Center is calling "life-threatening." This is an example of something we see all too often - storms devastating areas and that are still reeling from the last storm. To support impacted communities, we at American Flood Coalition have put together actionable resources to help local leaders navigate the response and recovery phases. But we also recognize that this is just a small part of the larger work that needs to be done to set communities up for long-term resilience, as storms are getting stronger and flooding more frequent. bit.ly/3VDnCMT https://bit.ly/4cbiCpR

Many of our friends and American Flood Coalition members in southeastern NC are facing the aftermath of flooding caused by this week’s storms. As storms are getting stronger and flooding more frequent, I am proud to serve as the Carolinas Director for American Flood Coalition and work with local, state and federal officials to advance long term solutions to lessen the impacts from flooding. Flooding is the costliest disaster facing our country, and certainly our region. The impacts from flooding impact a community's safety, livability, infrastructure and economy. Our local, state and federal delegation have been strong leaders on these issues and we know this recent storm will serve to further their efforts as they continue to invest in flood resilient policy and infrastructure. These investments are not just about throwing money at a problem, it’s about saving taxpayer money in the long run by well thought out investments. The US Chamber of Commerce recently released a thorough report that shows for every $1 that is invested in flood resilience $13 in damages and economic impacts are prevented. We should use the insights from that report, and the experiences we’ve heard firsthand from leaders on the ground to build stronger, more flood resilient communities. https://lnkd.in/eZSjV3uA

“When you face an intractable problem – enlarge it – within this expansion there will be zones of agreement.” Wise words shared by General Peter “Duke” DeLuca at AWI's Partnership Workshop in June. To learn more about how AWI works to expand and create partnership, visit our website: https://lnkd.in/gix_MrXc

FEMA has just released its first ever National Resilience Guidance. A few big takeaways from the report for me: ▶️  It stresses proactive planning - but acknowledges this will look different in every community If the last few years of floods, droughts, and fires across every corner of the country have shown us anything, it's that every community needs to be thinking about resilience. But it's not going to look the same everywhere. I appreciate that this guidance shows the pros and cons of separate vs integrated plans (page 20), and incorporating resilience at different levels of formality (procedures vs regulations vs laws). ▶️  How do we pay for it? Like we pay for everything else we care about. As someone who started their career in infrastructure finance, it drives me nuts when people start talking about resilience and looking for some silver bullet financing instrument that they think will magically change the fundamental bankability of projects. I appreciated the reminder that there are dozens of ways to pay for resilience - and they are largely the same tools we have to pay for other types of public projects. Budgets. Grants. Debt. Tax credits. Insurance. There are plenty of opportunities to pay for projects we could easily tap with the will to prioritize it. It's exciting to see FEMA prioritize many of the principles we work in at American Flood Coalition 👉 the importance of pre-disaster planning, weaving resilience into decision-making, and working at all levels of government to scale solutions. Looking for how to put some of these principles into action? We've created the Flood Funding Finder to help identify the best grant sources for communities, and Adaptation for All to highlight specific projects models communities of all sizes can use to build resilience. https://lnkd.in/eVEcUjQq