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Policy Learning for Flood Mitigation: A Longitudinal Assessment of the Community Rating System in Florida

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  • Samuel D. Brody
  • Sammy Zahran
  • Wesley E. Highfield
  • Sarah P. Bernhardt
  • Arnold Vedlitz

Abstract

Floods continue to inflict the most damage upon human communities among all natural hazards in the United States. Because localized flooding tends to be spatially repetitive over time, local decisionmakers often have an opportunity to learn from previous events and make proactive policy adjustments to reduce the adverse effects of a subsequent storm. Despite the importance of understanding the degree to which local jurisdictions learn from flood risks and under what circumstances, little if any empirical, longitudinal research has been conducted along these lines. This article addresses the research gap by examining the change in local flood mitigation policies in Florida from 1999 to 2005. We track 18 different mitigation activities organized into four series of activities under the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Community Rating System (CRS) for every local jurisdiction in Florida participating in the FEMA program on a yearly time step. We then identify the major factors contributing to policy changes based on CRS scores over the seven‐year study period. Using multivariate statistical models to analyze both natural and social science data, we isolate the effects of several variables categorized into the following groups: hydrologic conditions, flood disaster history, socioeconomic and human capital controls. Results indicate that local jurisdictions do in fact learn from histories of flood risk and this process is expedited under specific conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Samuel D. Brody & Sammy Zahran & Wesley E. Highfield & Sarah P. Bernhardt & Arnold Vedlitz, 2009. "Policy Learning for Flood Mitigation: A Longitudinal Assessment of the Community Rating System in Florida," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(6), pages 912-929, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:riskan:v:29:y:2009:i:6:p:912-929
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1539-6924.2009.01210.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Douglas S. Noonan & Xian Liu, 2019. "Heading for the Hills? Effects of Community Flood Management on Local Adaptation to Flood Risks," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 86(2), pages 800-822, October.
    2. Douglas S. Noonan & Abdul‐Akeem A. Sadiq, 2018. "Flood Risk Management: Exploring the Impacts of the Community Rating System Program on Poverty and Income Inequality," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(3), pages 489-503, March.
    3. Eugene Frimpong & Daniel R Petrolia & Ardian Harri & John H. Cartwright, 2020. "Flood Insurance and Claims: The Impact of the Community Rating System," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 42(2), pages 245-262, June.
    4. Qing Miao, 2019. "Are We Adapting to Floods? Evidence from Global Flooding Fatalities," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 39(6), pages 1298-1313, June.
    5. Osberghaus, Daniel & Reif, Christiane, 2021. "How do different compensation schemes and loss experience affect insurance decisions? Experimental evidence from two independent and heterogeneous samples," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    6. Noonan, Douglas S. & Sadiq, Abdul-Akeem, 2019. "Community-scale Flood Risk Management: Effects of a Voluntary National Program on Migration and Development," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 92-99.
    7. Daniel R. Petrolia & Craig E. Landry & Keith H. Coble, 2013. "Risk Preferences, Risk Perceptions, and Flood Insurance," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 89(2), pages 227-245.
    8. Frimpong, Eugene & Petrolia, Daniel & Harri, Ardian, 2018. "Does the Community Rating System Work? Evidence from Two Gulf Coast States," Working Papers 273014, Mississippi State University, Department of Agricultural Economics.
    9. Lee, Yoonjeong & Brody, Samuel D., 2018. "Examining the impact of land use on flood losses in Seoul, Korea," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 500-509.
    10. Liu, Xian & Noonan, Douglas, 2022. "Building underwater: Effects of community-scale flood management on housing development," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    11. Ann Carpenter, 2013. "Social ties, space, and resilience: Literature review of community resilience to disasters and constituent social and built environment factors," FRB Atlanta Community and Economic Development Discussion Paper 2013-02, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
    12. Carolyn Kousky & Howard Kunreuther, 2018. "Risk Management Roles of the Public and Private Sector," Risk Management and Insurance Review, American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 21(1), pages 181-204, March.
    13. Steve Jacob & Nathalie Schiffino, 2015. "Risk Policies in the United States: Definition and Characteristics Based on a Scoping Review of the Literature," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 35(5), pages 849-858, May.
    14. Frimpong, Eugene & Petrolia, Daniel & Harri, Ardian, 2017. "Community-level flood mitigation effects on household-level flood insurance and damage claims payments," Working Papers 254075, Mississippi State University, Department of Agricultural Economics.
    15. Alejandra Maldonado & Timothy W. Collins & Sara E. Grineski & Jayajit Chakraborty, 2016. "Exposure to Flood Hazards in Miami and Houston: Are Hispanic Immigrants at Greater Risk than Other Social Groups?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-20, August.
    16. Abdul-Akeem Sadiq & Douglas Noonan, 2015. "Local capacity and resilience to flooding: community responsiveness to the community ratings system program incentives," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 78(2), pages 1413-1428, September.
    17. Soto-Montes-de-Oca, Gloria & Bark, Rosalind & González-Arellano, Salomón, 2020. "Incorporating the insurance value of peri-urban ecosystem services into natural hazard policies and insurance products: Insights from Mexico," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    18. Qin Fan & Meri Davlasheridze, 2016. "Flood Risk, Flood Mitigation, and Location Choice: Evaluating the National Flood Insurance Program's Community Rating System," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 36(6), pages 1125-1147, June.
    19. Frimpong, Eugene & Petrolia, Daniel, 2016. "Community-level Flood Mitigation Effects on Household Flood Insurance and Damage Claims," 2016 Annual Meeting, February 6-9, 2016, San Antonio, Texas 230129, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    20. Michael Greenberg, 2011. "Risk analysis and port security: some contextual observations and considerations," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 187(1), pages 121-136, July.
    21. Carolyn Kousky, 2018. "Financing Flood Losses: A Discussion of the National Flood Insurance Program," Risk Management and Insurance Review, American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 21(1), pages 11-32, March.
    22. Zahran, Sammy & Weiler, Stephan & Brody, Samuel D. & Lindell, Michael K. & Highfield, Wesley E., 2009. "Modeling national flood insurance policy holding at the county scale in Florida, 1999-2005," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(10), pages 2627-2636, August.
    23. Yue ‘Gurt’ Ge & Michael K Lindell, 2016. "County planners’ perceptions of land-use planning tools for environmental hazard mitigation: A survey in the U.S. Pacific states," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 43(4), pages 716-736, July.

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