Assessing Federal Research and Development for Hazard Loss Reduction

by Charles Meade, Megan Abbott

Download

Download eBook for Free

FormatFile SizeNotes
PDF file 0.2 MB

Use Adobe Acrobat Reader version 10 or higher for the best experience.

Purchase

Purchase Print Copy

 FormatList Price Price
Add to Cart Paperback84 pages $20.00 $16.00 20% Web Discount

Losses resulting from natural hazards floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, wildfires cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars each year. Moreover, the costs are escalating, in large part because of the growing population in coastal and other high-risk areas. Further, the increasing complexity of the nation's infrastructure, particularly in urban areas, means that potential losses during a natural hazard are only likely to increase. As part of its strategy to address the hazard loss problem, the federal government funds research and development (R&D) to improve understanding of, preparation for, and response to hazards. A comprehensive RAND analysis of current federal funding for research on hazard losses found that programs solely dedicated to hazard loss reduction receive the least funding, while work on weather hazards and broadly related research on climatology, atmospheric science, and oceanography receive the most. Much of this R&D spending supports short-term prediction capabilities, even though such measures have limited loss reduction potential. While prediction can generally move individuals out of harm's way, long-term loss reduction strategies could improve the resilience of communities and infrastructure, resulting in less property damage and reduced rebuilding costs. The study concludes that a comprehensive national loss database and greater use of loss modeling would assist in identifying essential research areas, and that R&D activities should be reoriented toward longer-term efforts, focusing on technologies that can reduce infrastructure losses and better protect individuals and property. Finally, the study offers recommendations on a more thoughtful framework for the role of research in hazard loss reduction.

The research described in this report was conducted by RAND's Science and Technology Policy Institute for the Office of Science and Technology Policy.

This report is part of the RAND Corporation Monograph report series. The monograph/report was a product of the RAND Corporation from 1993 to 2003. RAND monograph/reports presented major research findings that addressed the challenges facing the public and private sectors. They included executive summaries, technical documentation, and synthesis pieces.

This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.

The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.