IEM Founder/CEO Beriwal and Senior Community Liaison Patenaude participate in the Bipartisan Policy Center’s forum on “Reducing Natural Disaster Costs: Building Better and Stronger”

The costs and devastation associated with natural disasters will continue to increase as storms increase in intensity. Notably, as natural disasters become more severe, the federal government’s share of recovery funding has grown from just 26 percent of costs in 2004 to 70 percent today. Given the magnitude of recent natural disasters and their recurrent nature, controlling the costs of future disasters is a necessary policy objective. Because communities impacted by one national disaster are often located in areas vulnerable in the future, to bring down long-term costs, speed up the recovery from future disasters, and ultimately improve the lives of those impacted after storms, we must be smarter about how these areas are rebuilt. IEM joined BPC and others for a discussion of how the federal government can promote safer and more sustainable communities, while also more responsibly investing limited fiscal resources. Read More