As the work of rebuilding after Hurricanes Helene and Milton unfolds, states across the country are pressing ahead with critical “infrastructure resiliency” projects designed to curtail damage and improve preparedness in the face of severe weather events, especially flooding.
High Demand: Disaster Preparation
Weather related disasters are creating a tremendous amount of work–so much so that it’s hard to keep up. Consider the amount of storm damage done in just the past two years:
Last year, FEMA responded to 100 disasters, provided approximately $12 billion to communities and states for disaster recovery and $1.3 billion to survivors of disasters. With three months remaining in 2024, 150 disasters have already been declared in the U.S., and more are anticipated. In the wake of…Hurricane Helene, FEMA received $20.3 billion for its Disaster Relief Fund. The total damage caused by Helene won’t be known for months, but current projections estimate the damage cost will likely reach $35 billion. Also still unknown is the amount of devastation wrought by the monster storm Hurricane Milton … .It’s clear that climate change has wreaked havoc on many parts of the country.
Given the likelihood that a weather disaster of some kind is “just around the bend,” in most regions of the country, it’s good news that many states have green-lit infrastructure resilience and preparedness projects. Here’s a sampling of state initiatives aimed at keeping us safe from the next big storm:
Texas: Commissioners in Harris County, Texas, have announced a disaster recovery and preparedness initiative designed to mitigate flood risks in the Vince Bayou Watershed….The area is particularly vulnerable to flooding because of its flat topography….The project, funded through a $15 million bond, will be designed to improve stormwater detention and channel conveyance systems….
Maryland: Officials in the coastal town of Crisfield, Maryland, are planning a major flood mitigation project to protect the area from tidal waves and storm surges. With…$36 million in federal funding, the project’s objective will be to safeguard the area by constructing a tidal flood protection barrier and improving the existing internal drainage system.
New Hampshire: A $20.26 million reconstruction project to rebuild seawalls and revetments to protect a coastal roadway between North Hampton and Rye, New Hampshire, will be launched. The area currently suffers from rising sea levels and the increasing frequency of coastal storms.
Given the frequent flooding of the Mississippi River, it’s also good news that a $20 million floodplain restoration project is set to begin in Mississippi in 2025. In Delaware, rising sea levels have led to a $23 million bridge resilience project, and in Val Verde, California, a bridge is being upgraded to prevent collapse “in the event of a significant earthquake.” In addition to advancing construction to increase resiliency in the face of weather events, states have also been busy reviewing and updating laws. For example, noting that the data used to inform building plans is outdated, New Jersey is considering statewide regulatory reforms, including, “amendments to existing state flood hazard, stormwater, coastal zone and freshwater wetland regulations,” to address a projected “2-ft sea level rise affecting New Jersey by 2050.” Known as Resilient Environments and Landscapes Rules (REAL), the regulations “would create coastal inundation zones that require 5 feet of elevation in new structures, and also in redeveloped ones that were previously exempt.”
Go Time?
If you’re a builder and eager to grow your business, there’s plenty of work ahead–and even getting underway now–addressing infrastructure resilience. Consider the recent allocation of $1 billion for 656 FEMA projects across the county. Eighty projects to make “transportation systems more resilient to extreme weather” have also been targeted to receive a total of $830 million from The Department of Transportation. Uniquely, these funds are the “first of their kind dedicated to transportation infrastructure resilience.”
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