Emergency Conservation Measures. The county 
and State Agricultural Stabilization and Conserva- 
tion Service Committees may designate areas eligible 
for the Emergency Conservation Measures program. 
This program provides for payments of up to 80 
percent of the cost to rehabilitate farmlands dam- 
aged by natural disasters. 
Emergency Loans for Agriculture. The Farmers 
Home Administration may make emergency loans 
to farmers, ranchers, and oyster planters. 
Disaster Loans for Homeowners and Businesses. 
The Small Business Administration can provide 
both direct and bank-participation disaster loans to 
qualified homeowners and businesses to repair or 
replace damaged or destroyed private property when 
the SBA Administrator declares a “disaster loan 
area” under his own statutory authority. 
Repairs to Federal Road Systems. The Federal 
Highway Administration, Department of Transpor- 
tation, can provide assistance in a widespread dis- 
aster to restore roads and bridges. 
Tax Refund. The Internal Revenue Service can 
assist individuals in obtaining tax refunds for losses 
resulting from natural disasters. 
An essential element of almost any disaster relief 
effort is the assistance provided by private relief 
organizations in the distribution of food, medicine, 
and supplies; the provision of emergency shelter; 
and the restoration of community services. The 
American National Red Cross, which operates under 
a Federal Charter (as provided by P.L. 58-4, approved 
January 5, 1905, 33 Stat, 599), provides grants and 
other types of assistance to individuals and families 
in disasters to meet their emergency needs. The 
Salvation Army, the Mennonite Disaster Service, 
and other charitable organizations and church groups 
also provide significant assistance to those in need 
of help. 
Another aspect of relief and rehabilitation is the 
role of insurance in the hazard management process. 
Insurance is available for loss due to most natural 
disasters, and the amount and cost of that insurance 
is, in many cases, influenced by the Federal Insur- 
ance Administration in the Department of Housing 
and Urban Development. The National Flood In- 
surance Program makes insurance available, at sub- 
sidized rates, but only where communities are work- 
ing under a land-use program that aims at limiting 
losses in the flood plain; it also makes flood insur- 
ance available for hurricane and tsunami disasters. 
Private insurance ‘is available for wind and earth- 
quake damage, although earthquake insurance must 
be purchased separately. The Federal Government, 
through the flood insurance program, covers erosion 
and mudslides when they are caused by flooding, 
but individual losses due to these hazards are not 
covered; therefore, the private owner has to absorb 
the loss. The owner usually pays for losses from 
subsidence and avalanches. Of course, if any of 
these problems affect a large enough population, 
there is a possibility that the President may declare 
a major disaster and open the door to aid. 
Insurance has the capacity to help guide the 
extent to which people expose themselves to risk 
from natural causes. As noted above, Federal aid 
in this area is attached to a requirement that better 
planning must take place at the local level. Once 
again, it becomes apparent that this part of natural 
hazard management interlocks with, and affects, all 
other parts of the system. The influence can be both 
positive, if better planning results, or negative, if 
the availability of insurance leads to a false sense 
of security and unwise development. Unfortunately, 
insurance availability has often had the second type 
of effect. When this is true the taxpayers as a whole 
pay for those who take risks, and lose, knowing that 
their insurance or the Federal Government will pay 
for their risk-taking. 
Federal Agencies in the Natural Hazard Management System 
It is impossible to include all of the Federal agen- 
cies that may get involved at some point in the relief 
process. For instance, when the President declares 
a major disaster, agencies such as the Veterans Ad- 
ministration, the U.S. Employment Service, and the 
Social Security Administration may be brought in to 
assist disaster victims; however, their involvement in 
disaster relief is secondary and temporary. The major 
agencies follow. 
The Defense Civil Preparedness Agency (Depart- 
ment of Defense) funds emergency offices that in 
most States administer both nuclear attack and disas- 
ter preparedness programs. While there is some co- 
operation with other agencies involved in natural 
hazard management at the Federal level, the quantity 
and quality of cooperation in this area is small. Be- 
cause of its original mandate, and because of the 
background of the State program staffs, the major 
interest of these organizations is in the civilian re- 
sponse to nuclear attack and only secondarily with 
the effects of natural disasters.!°* In fact, the Fed- 
eral Emergency Preparedness and Response Study *** 
notes that it has been asserted by many experts that: 
“, . States and individual citizens are 
asking for and expecting higher levels of 
disaster protection and relief from the 
157 U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA, Office of Coastal 
Zone Management, op. cit. note 133, p. III-25. 
158 U.S. Office of Management and Budget, President's Re- 
organization Project. Federal Emergency Preparedness and 
Response Study. Washington, D.C., October 1977, p. 3. 
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