Plans & Programs New Madrid Housing Recovery Initiative

Housing Recovery Strategy
For a New Madrid Earthquake

Introduction to ...
Draft Report of the Housing Recovery Working Group
A FEMA / Federal - CUSEC Initiative
February 8, 1998
Revised 6/26/00
---- Preliminary Draft ----

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Recent earthquakes in Northridge, California (1994) and Kobe, Japan (1995) have focused attention on the significant and complex problems associated with providing shelter to tens of thousands of displaced disaster victims in these urban areas. The problems of post-disaster housing recovery in the Central U.S. will be compounded by several factors:

1. The concentration of unreinforced buildings in urban neighborhoods of St. Louis, Memphis, and other Central U.S. communities, which suggests it may be necessary to shelter 30 to 40 percent of a community's population;

2. The relatively high percentage of urban dwellers living at or below the poverty level line, typically in hazardous structures (e.g., approximately 30,000 Memphis residents live in public housing);

3. The tremendous difficulties in gaining access to damaged areas and displaced populations;

4. The multi-state impact of a New Madrid earthquake resulting in considerable competition for limited resources,

It is clear that an effective approach to addressing the basic housing needs of potentially thousands of displaced disaster victims will require a comprehensive, long-term strategy that involves the input and active support from a range of agencies and organizations - Federal, State, local, nonprofit community based, and others.

A Housing Recovery Strategy

Acknowledging the nature, scope, and magnitude of the post-disaster shelter and housing problem in the Central U.S. following a catastrophic earthquake, the Central U.S. Earthquake Consortium, member States, FEMA, the American Red Cross, and other organizations are collaborating to develop - and implement - a Housing Recovery Strategy for A New Madrid Earthquake. A Housing Recovery Working Group (see appendix) has been established to coordinate this multi-year initiative.

The Strategy will complement and support the Federal Response Plan, and set forth a range of pre-disaster, scenario driven policy options to guide decision making in four, overlapping phase

1. Spontaneous Shelter (first 72 hours) - to provide an interim, safe haven while the situation stabilizes

2. Emergency Shelter (first 60 days) - to provide emergency shelter and feeding to displaced population requiring shelter.

3. Interim Housing (first year and beyond) - to provide temporary housing - safe and secure shelter, water, power, and heating - to displaced disaster victims while efforts are underway to make permanent repairs to dwellings, or to find other suitable permanent housing.

4. Permanent Housing - to provide long-term, permanent housing solutions for disaster victims.

Part 1 - Assessing the Nature and Scope of the Housing Shortfall -
this section examines the potential losses from a New Madrid earthquake, with an emphasis on housing; the application of HAZUS - FEMA's earthquake loss estimation software program, to support pre-disaster planning and post-disaster rapid impact assessment; and the role of key agencies and organizations in developing the Strategy.

Part 2 - Housing Recovery Alternatives -
This part includes three, overlapping phases: Spontaneous Shelter, Emergency Shelter; and Interim Housing.
For each phase, the Alternatives address the following:

1. Assumptions - what are the operating considerations for each of the shelter/housing phases?

2. Implementation Constraints - what factors (social, demographic, political, economic) need to be explicitly considered in developing a housing recovery strategy?

3. Alternatives - what policy and program options are available that, when implemented following an earthquake, will most effectively address and provide for the short-term shelter and long-term housing needs of disaster victims? (Note: Some or all alternatives may be appropriate depending upon circumstances.)

4. Pre-Disaster Actions - what steps need to be taken, and under whose auspices, to advance the strategy, ensure interagency and intergovernmental coordination, and contribute to a CAPABILITY to carry out the programs and initiatives that will accelerate the provision of safe and secure shelter following an earthquake?

How to Use the Strategy

The primary objective of the Housing Recovery Working Group is to develop a coordinated strategy to meet the short-term shelter and long-term housing requirements of displaced disaster victims, and ultimately to develop a capability at the local level to carry out the necessary actions and decisions to optimize available resources in the response and recovery phases following an earthquake.

The Strategy is a unifying document that can be used by Federal, State, local, nonprofit and non-government organizations, and the business community to assess the nature and scope of the problem; to identify assumptions, constraints, and critical issues to be addressed; to identify a range of policy and program options that - when implemented - will lead to a coordinated strategy for housing recovery; and to prioritize actions and monitor progress in implementing program elements.......

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