of a typical building and, at the same time, reduces 
potential windstorm damage by 45 to 55 percent.'® 
Although building codes are usually enacted at the 
local level, the Federal Government is influencing 
policy in this area. The National Flood Insurance 
Administration offers insurance to communities that 
agree to require structures to be elevated or flood- 
proofed to the level of the 1 percent probability of 
flooding. The Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 
prohibits the use of Federal funds for construction 
in, or acquisition of, flood-prone land. The Disaster 
Relief Act provides sanctions against communities 
not insuring public structures. The Corps of Engi- 
neers produced a technical report in 1972 entitled, 
Flood Proofing Regulations, that lists a variety of 
flood-proofing measures. The National Bureau of 
Standards also has a report on Building Practices for 
Disaster Mitigation. 
A second aspect of the building code problem is 
dealt with by the Mobile Home Construction and 
Safety Standards Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-383), which 
“establishes structural design requirements that must 
be met in order for mobile homes to obtain designa- 
tion as “Hurricane Resistive.’” *° This Federal law 
is reinforced in many States by “tie-down” legisla- 
tion which requires mobile homes to be anchored to 
their foundations so that they can withstand certain 
wind loads and avoid being easily overturned or 
moved. The Council of State Governments included 
a mobile home tie-down model act in its Suggested 
State Legislation for 1975. 
Finally, the foundation for successful land use 
management is based upon a full knowledge of the 
hazards that may occur and their consequences. 
Several Federal Government agencies, in coopera- 
tion with all levels of government, are mapping 
hazardous areas through a variety of techniques. 
NOAA and USGS have ongoing programs to map 
areas susceptible to earthquakes, tsunamis, land- 
slides, and volcanoes. As mentioned above, NOAA 
is also engaged in mapping hurricane storm surge 
areas along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts. The Corps 
of Engineers, HUD, and the Soil Conservation Serv- 
ice have been mapping flood hazards for several 
years in virtually all areas of the United States.'°° 
.A concentrated effort to bring all of this information 
together and make it available to local disaster plan- 
ners, private developers, and land-use managers 
should be a focus of Federal programs charged 
with helping State and local authorities in hazard 
management. 
148 Joe C. Moseley, II, and Sally S. Davenport, op. cit. note 
140, p. 15. 
119 U. S. Department of Commerce, NOAA, Office of Coastal 
Zone Management, op. cit. note 133, p. I-37. 
150 Earl J. Baker and Joe Gordon McPhee, op. cit. note 146, 
ps22- 
151 Joe C. Moseley, II, and Sally S. Davenport, op. cit. note 
140, p. 12. 
Disaster Preparedness Plans 
The third major facet of natural hazard manage- 
ment is preparation to cope with a hazard when it 
is no longer just a possibility, but is a threatening 
reality; this is the development of a disaster pre- 
paredness plan. Disaster preparedness planning is 
primarily left up to State and local governments. 
As of the beginning of 1978, 22 States have passed 
legislation based on the Council of State Govern- 
ments’ 1972 Model Disaster Act, which gives the 
governor primary responsibility for disaster pre- 
paredness.**! Although disaster preparedness plans 
vary somewhat in their contents, the planning pro- 
grams generally include the following: 
1. Vulnerability analysis—‘‘a systematic investiga- 
tion of potential disasters in terms of probabil- 
ity, frequency, magnitude, and location in order 
to forecast their probable effects, in specific geo- 
graphic areas, on the people, systems, facilities, 
resources, and institutions.” 1°° 
2. Establishment of building and land-use codes 
based on vulnerability analysis, and monitoring 
of codes for compliance. 
3. Maps showing areas of natural hazards and 
types of hazards. 
4. Warning, evacuation, and rescue plans—describ- 
ing types and levels of warning and response 
expected for each; routes to-follow for evacua- 
tion; shelters for displaced people; emergency 
communication/coordination centers and sys- 
tems; essential resource maintenance and distri- 
bution (food, water, medical supplies); protec- 
tion for evacuated property (from looting, van- 
dalism); procedures for returning to evacuated 
areas; and other necessary activities. 
5. Cleanup, repair, and rehabilitation plans—in- 
cluding factors such as systems for obtaining 
State and Federal aid; application of building 
and land-use codes during rebuilding; and similar 
activities. 
Public information and education. 
Plan implementation tasks—including resource 
identification, responsibility allocation, and coor- 
dination of preparation. 
8. Plan maintenance—including plan updating and 
improvement, and staff training.1°? 
Although State and local governments have the 
predominant role in this area, several Federal agen- 
cies are active in encouraging and helping the States 
with these activities. The National Ocean Survey/ 
Coastal Mapping Division is carrying out a long- 
term program of preparing storm evacuation maps 
2 
152 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. 
Federal Register, May 28, 1975, p. 23268, section 2205.76. 
153 —n part, taken from: U.S. Department of Commerce, 
NOAA, National Weather Service Disaster Preparedness Staff. 
Guide for Flood and Flash Flood Preparedness Planning. Wash- 
ington, D.C., May 1977. 
IV-66 
