Seven years ago, mitigation spending totaled $498 million, and response and recovery was at $672 million. In 2003, mitigation spending fell to $310 million, but response and recovery spending had increased to $746 million. The cycle continued in 2005 when mitigation spending decreased again, this time to $122 million. Response and recovery spending went up to $794 million.
AS MITIGATION SPENDING WENT DOWN,
RESPONSE AND RECOVERY SPENDING WENT UP
1999
2003
2005
Mitigation Spending
$498 million
$310 million
$122 million
Response & Recovery Spending
$672 million
$746 million
$794 million
The data from the report is particularly worrisome, since mitigation investment has been shown to reduce the impact of future disasters, save lives and money. In a 2005 report published by the Multihazard Mitigation Council, it was found that every $1 spent of federal funds spent on mitigation grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, leads to an average of $3.65 in avoided post-disaster relief costs and increased federal tax revenues.[1]
The worst incremental decline in the NEMA data was seen from 2003 to 2005 when spending on mitigation projects plummeted by nearly 61 percent. The drop could be attributed to a reduction in the funding formula beginning in FY2003 when Congress cut state hazard mitigation funds from 15 percent to 7 ½ percent of disaster costs. Recent reform legislation eliminated the 7 ½ percent restriction, but the cap had already forced states to either reduce the amount they spent on critically needed mitigation programs; suspend buy-out assistance programs for flooded communities; or eliminate projects all together.
Jim Mullen, Director of Washington's State Emergency Management Division, also serves as chair of the NEMA Mitigation Committee. "The decline in resources dedicated to mitigation, pre and post, has been a disturbing and counterproductive trend," he says. "Damage that can be averted is a significant accomplishment. There simply must be a rededication of emphasis on this critical element of emergency management."
Defined as those activities that reduce or eliminate the degree of risk to human life and property, mitigation includes projects such as purchasing property that is repeatedly flooded; rebuilding structures at a higher building code or coastal restoration work that diminishes hurricane destruction.
The NEMA Biennial Report was first published in 1996. This year's edition focuses on fiscal year 2005. It is based on extensive surveying of state emergency management directors. The report represents the most comprehensive compilation of emergency management data and information available today. It is used by state emergency management directors and their staffs, governors, members of Congress, state legislators, homeland security officers and local emergency managers. The main purpose of the document is to outline the current state of emergency management; highlight issues that could impact it in the future, while providing a historical backdrop to the discussion.
The full report is available for purchase at www.nemaweb.org.
