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1. Flood Risk Management: Exploring the Impacts of the Community Rating System Program on Poverty and Income Inequality

   https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.12853  

   Noonan, Douglas S. ; Sadiq, Abdul‐Akeem A. ( June 2017 , Risk Analysis)

   Flooding remains a major problem for the United States, causing numerous deaths and damaging countless properties. To reduce the impact of flooding on communities, the U.S. government established the Community Rating System (CRS) in 1990 to reduce flood damages by incentivizing communities to engage in flood risk management initiatives that surpass those required by the National Flood Insurance Program. In return, communities enjoy discounted flood insurance premiums. Despite the fact that the CRS raises concerns about the potential for unevenly distributed impacts across different income groups, no study has examined the equity implications of the CRS. This study thus investigates the possibility of unintended consequences of the CRS by answering the question: What is the effect of the CRS on poverty and income inequality? Understanding the impacts of the CRS on poverty and income inequality is useful in fully assessing the unintended consequences of the CRS. The study estimates four fixed‐effects regression models using a panel data set of neighborhood‐level observations from 1970 to 2010. The results indicate that median incomes are lower in CRS communities, but rise in floodplains. Also, the CRS attracts poor residents, but relocates them away from floodplains. Additionally, the CRS attracts top earners, including in floodplains. Finally, the CRS encourages income inequality, but discourages income inequality in floodplains. A better understanding of these unintended consequences of the CRS on poverty and income inequality can help to improve the design and performance of the CRS and, ultimately, increase community resilience to flood disasters.

    

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2. A review of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Community Rating System Program.

   https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)NH.1527-6996.0000320  

   Sadiq A. A., Tyler ( April 2020 , Natural hazards review)

   This study presents the first systematic literature review of academic research on the FEMA Community Rating System (CRS) program. The CRS is a voluntary program created in 1990 as a means to incentivize communities in the United States to implement floodplain management activities that surpass those required under the National Flood Insurance Program. As participating communities adopt additional flood mitigation measures, flood insurance policyholders in those communities receive reductions in their flood insurance premiums. To identify studies for inclusion, the authors searched three academic databases using the keywords “Community Rating System” and “Federal Emergency Management Agency” and “Community Rating System” and “FEMA.” The search uncovered 44 studies that met the selection criteria (e.g., peer-reviewed, focus on CRS, and empirical) and are included in the review. The findings provide significant insights into the current state of research on the CRS. This paper concludes by providing some recommendations to policymakers aiming to enhance communities’ resilience to floods and by outlining a future research agenda for the academic and practitioner communities. 

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3. Development of Educational Modules to Assess Flood Risk and Mitigation Strategies for Coastal Communities

   Pagan-Trinidad I. ; López del Puerto C. ; Cavallin H. ; Montalvo, R. ( June 2022 , American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference)

   Coastal Communities are exposed to multiple hazards including hurricanes, storm surges, waves, and riverine flash floods. This paper presents the outcome of a Basin-wide Flood Multi-hazard Risks module that was developed and offered as part of a collaboration between two research projects: the UPRM-DHS Coastal Resilience Center of Excellence (CRC) funded by the Department of Homeland Security and the Resilient Infrastructure and Sustainability Education Undergraduate Program (RISE-UP) funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The content was designed to give students an understanding of complex project management in coastal communities. The main learning objective was for students to be able to assess and recognize the actions that can be taken to improve resiliency in coastal communities. Students learned how to manage multi-hazard floods. Through knowledge gained by participating in lectures, discussions, and the development of case studies, students were able to assess flood risk and current mitigation strategies for coastal communities in Puerto Rico. The learning experience provided an overview of the history, needs, and challenges that coastal communities face regarding flood and coastal hazards. Through the case studies, students were able to appreciate and understand the risk exposure on the natural and built infrastructure, and the importance of always taking into consideration the social impact. 

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4. Policy diffusion in community-scale flood risk management.

   Noonan, D. S. ; Richardson, L. E. ; Sadiq, A. A. ( January 2018 , WIT transactions on engineering sciences)

   This study analyzes which communities adopted flood risk management practices during the past 25 years. In particular, we focus on community-scale flood management efforts undertaken voluntarily in towns and counties across the United States. In 1990, the US Federal Emergency Management Agency created the Community Rating System (CRS) to provide incentives to local governments to improve flood resilience. About 1,300 counties and cities voluntarily participate in the CRS, but most eligible communities do not participate. Here, we explore the factors shaping community CRS participation, such as flood risk, socio-economic characteristics, and economic resources, and we assess the competing phenomena of policy diffusion versus free riding. Previous models of community-scale flood mitigation activities have all considered each community’s decision as independent of one another. Yet one community’s flood management activities might directly or indirectly influence its neighbors’ mitigation efforts. Spillover effects or “contagion” may arise if neighboring communities learn from or seek to emulate or outcompete early adopting neighbors. Conversely, stricter regulation in one community may allow its neighbors to capitalize on looser regulation either by attracting more development or enjoying reduced “downstream” flood risks. This paper presents a conceptual model that allows for multiple forces affecting diffusion, such as copycatting and learning from neighboring communities, free-riding on neighbors’ efforts, and competing with neighbors to provide valuable amenities. We empirically test for these alternative diffusion pathways after controlling for the spatially correlated extant flood risks, building patterns, and demographics. The analysis integrates several large datasets to predict community flood risk management for all cities and counties in the US since 1990. Controls for local flood risk combined with a spatial lag regression model allow separate identification of alternative diffusion pathways. The results indicate strong evidence of copycatting and also suggest possible free-riding. 

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5. A Review of the Community Flood Risk Management Literature: Lessons for Improving Community Resilience to Floods.

   Tyler, J. ; Sadiq, A.A. ; Noonan, D. S. ( April 2019 , Natural hazards)

   This study systematically reviews the diverse body of research on community flood risk management in the USA to identify knowledge gaps and develop innovative and practical lessons to aid flood management decision-makers in their efforts to reduce flood losses. The authors discovered and reviewed 60 studies that met the selection criteria (e.g., study is written in English, is empirical, focuses on flood risk management at the community level in the USA, etc.). Upon reviewing the major findings from each study, the authors identified seven practical lessons that, if implemented, could not only help flood management decision-makers better understand communities’ flood risks, but could also reduce the impacts of flood disasters and improve communities’ resilience to future flood disasters. These seven lessons include: (1) recognizing that acquiring open space and conserving wetlands are some of the most effective approaches to reducing flood losses; (2) recognizing that, depending on a community’s flood risks, different development patterns are more effective at reducing flood losses; (3) considering the costs and benefits of participating in FEMA’s Community Rating System program; (4) engaging community members in the flood planning and recovery processes; (5) considering socially vulnerable populations in flood risk management programs; (6) relying on a variety of floodplain management tools to delineate flood risk; and (7) ensuring that flood mitigation plans are fully implemented and continually revised. 

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