| FEMA February 7,
2000 -- In the past 10 years, the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) has spent $25 billion to help people repair and rebuild their communities after
natural disasters. And that is not the total cost. Insurance companies spent additional
billions in claims payments; businesses lost revenues; employees lost jobs; other
government agencies spent millions more. Worst of all, however, is the loss that can never
be recovered: human life.
The increasing number and severity of natural disasters over the
past decade demands that action be taken to reduce the threat that hurricanes, tornadoes,
severe storms, floods and fires impose upon the nation's economy and the safety of its
citizens. With Project Impact-Building Disaster Resistant Communities, FEMA is changing
the way America deals with disasters. Project Impact helps communities protect themselves
from the devastating effects of natural disasters by taking actions that dramatically
reduce disruption and loss.
It worked for the Anheuser Busch brewery in earthquake-prone
Northern California. In the early 1980s, the company invested $15 million to protect its
facilities from a quake. The retrofitting was put to a severe test in 1994 when a quake
whose epicenter was only 12 miles from the brewery rumbled through the area. Anheuser
Busch estimates it saved $300 million in damages and lost production: Operations never
stopped, and repair costs were minimal.
This nationwide initiative, Project Impact, operates on this
common-sense damage-reduction approach, basing its work and planning on three simple
principles: preventive actions must be decided at the local level; private sector
participation is vital; and long-term efforts and investments in prevention measures are
essential. FEMA partnered with seven pilot communities across the country and was
encouraged by the benefits seen and the determined commitment that flourished at the local
level. This has been a unique experiment: FEMA has offered expertise and technical
assistance from the national and regional level and included other federal agencies and
states in the equation. FEMA has used all the available mechanisms to get the latest
technology and mitigation practices into the hands of the local communities. Now, FEMA has
nearly 200 Project Impact communities, as well as over 1,100 businesses that have joined
on as Project Impact partners.
There is no doubt that Project Impact is a common sense approach for
the way America deals with disasters. The incentive is clear: a disaster resistant
community is able to bounce back from a natural disaster with far less loss of property
and consequently much less cost for repairs. Moreover, the time lost from productive
activity is minimized for both businesses and their employees. Indeed, FEMA estimates that
for every dollar spent in damage prevention, two are saved in repairs.
For more information about how to be a Project Impact community,
please call 1-202-646-4600 or for publications call 1-800-227-4731 or visit www.fema.gov on the World Wide Web.
Sparks Slected as a Project Impact Community by
FEMA in 1998
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