The U.S. Hurricane Coasts: Increasingly Vulnerable?

• Published in: Environment : science and policy for sustainable development 2007-09, Vol.49 (7), p.8-21
• Main Authors: Cutter, Susan L., Johnson, Laurie A., Finch, Christina, Berry, Melissa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agriculture; Buildings; Cities; Coastal areas; Coasts; Disaster relief; Economic growth; Environmental economics; Environmental policy; Farms; GDP; Gross Domestic Product; Housing prices; Hurricanes; Insurance premiums; Land use; Marine; Metropolitan areas; Migration; Natural disasters; Net losses; Noncitizens; Population; Quality standards; Risk management; Settlements & damages; Statistical data; U.S.A
• ISSN: 0013-9157; 1939-9154
• DOI: 10.3200/ENVT.49.7.8-21

Four counties in Florida (Citrus, Hernando, Collier, and Flagler) experienced more than a 500 percent growth in population since 1970, and Flagler has seen more than a 1,000 percent increase during this time period (see Figure 1 on this page).\n But the city's planning commission has adopted a strategic recovery framework that works to balance the city's recovery investments in facility and infrastructure repairs with the two key risks that could undermine them: the pace of repopulation and the risk of future flooding. 37 City agencies, including the newly formed Office of Recovery Management, are also still negotiating with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and state counterparts to fund damage to public facilities and infrastructure, with the hope that good fiscal management will result in upgrades to the city's investment rating. Rather, the risks are shared among all of us through pooled insurance premiums, federal disaster relief, and federal subsidy programs, creating a situation where the few and privileged do not pay the true cost of their locational choices, especially along the hurricane coasts.