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The 2017 hurricane season will not end until November 30, but the intensity, number, and destructive impacts of this year’s storms have already broken records. This is the first year on record in which three Category 4 hurricanes have made landfall in the United States. Hurricane Harvey set an all-time record for most rainfall from a single event—as much as 55 inches—causing catastrophic flooding.¹ Hurricane Irma was one of the most powerful hurricanes ever observed and caused the biggest power outage in American history—leaving roughly 17 million people without electricity.² Just days later, Hurricane Maria hammered Puerto Rico, destroying homes, knocking out power islandwide, causing at least a partial failure of the Guajataca Dam, and creating a humanitarian crisis for the 3.4 million U.S. citizens who live there as food and fresh water supplies dwindle.³

As of this writing, the combined storms have killed more than 176 people in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands—a toll that continues to rise.⁴ This will be the most expensive hurricane season ever in the United States; Harvey and Irma alone inflicted as much as $290 billion in damages.⁵ Recovery in all affected communities will take years. And families living paycheck to paycheck may never recover at all.

As Congress considers options for responding to these catastrophes, lawmakers should do more than rush emergency aid out the door. They should heed the lessons from past disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy, by supporting communities in making investments built to last and by helping all those affected by Harvey, Irma, and Maria recover.

The frequency and intensity of extreme weather events is on the rise, affecting four times as many U.S. counties today as 40 years ago.⁶ The best science says that climate change is only going to make these events worse in the future. Downpours will be more frequent and extreme, heat waves will be longer and more punishing, the sea level will rise, and hurricanes will be more powerful.⁷ Failure to take steps now to protect American communities from the risks they face will endanger lives, economies, and property for decades to come.

Failing to prepare for more extreme weather would also waste taxpayer money. The fact is, it makes good fiscal sense for all levels of government to take immediate steps to build stronger, more resilient infrastructure and communities and to make smarter and safer decisions about where to build homes and industrial facilities. Every $1 spent on mitigation measures ahead of a disaster saves $4 down the road, according to the National Institute of Building Sciences.⁸ The alternative is continuing down a business-as-usual path of poorly designed infrastructure, homes, and industrial plants in flood-prone areas that will require repeated, costly repair or rebuilding and threaten the health and safety of the American people.

This year’s hurricanes have also laid bare the dangers posed by Superfund sites and other toxic facilities when disaster strikes. The Houston metropolitan area—a mecca for petrochemical companies—is home to more than a dozen federal Superfund sites, some of which are among the most dangerous such sites in the country.⁹ In the days following Harvey, 14 toxic waste sites in the area were flooded or damaged, and roughly 100 spills of dangerous substances were reported.¹⁰ A 2012 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) assessment identified 500 Superfund sites in floodplains, including 50 along coasts vulnerable to sea level rise and storm surge.¹¹

Superfund sites are not the only threat to communities as climate change fuels more intense floods and storms. Roughly 4.6 million pounds of pollutants—including carbon monoxide, ethylene, sulfur, nitrogen oxides, benzene, and other volatile organic compounds—were released by 46 petrochemical plants and refineries across 13 counties before, during, and after Harvey.¹² The same amount of pollution that would normally have contaminated the city over the course of six months spilled into Houston in the days following Harvey. Residents reported respiratory problems, headaches, and nausea, and the jump in pollution increased long-term health risks such as cancer.¹³ With so many of Houston’s industrial polluters located alongside low-income Latino and African American communities, Robert Bullard, a leading environmental justice expert, described Harvey as “a perfect storm of pollution, environmental racism, and health risks that are probably not going to be measured and assessed until decades later.”¹⁴

And the economic, public health, and emotional tolls of an extreme weather event extend well into the future. When the levees protecting New Orleans failed during Hurricane Katrina, at least 400,000 people were displaced—some for a few days, some for a few months, and some still to this day.¹⁵ The storm and subsequent development decisions virtually eradicated the city’s affordable housing stock, such that—10 years later—16,000 families were still on the waitlist for subsidized housing.¹⁶ And the storm changed the city’s racial and socio-economic makeup too. More than 40 percent of black New Orleanians who left after Katrina never returned, hollowing out the city’s black middle class in particular.¹⁷

Today’s policymakers and community leaders, however, know more than ever before about policies and programs that can help build stronger, more resilient infrastructure and housing while also ensuring that historically disadvantaged communities are neither left out of the planning process nor left behind during rebuilding.

When it comes to rebuilding after this season’s hurricanes, Congress can and must do better. This report lays out four priorities for the congressional response to hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria:

• Build back better. Congressional disaster aid packages should support programs at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and other federal agencies that enable communities to plan for the future, rebuild infrastructure to higher standards, and support innovative solutions that can better withstand extreme weather and other risks.
• Update flood risk data—and use it. In too many cases, FEMA flood maps are out of date or otherwise inaccurate, and none of them currently take into account the anticipated impacts of climate change. Congress should support updating flood maps for areas affected by this season’s hurricanes and other high-risk communities and ensure that federally supported infrastructure is built to withstand more frequent and severe floods.
• Prioritize communities that have the fewest resources to rebuild. Extreme weather events hit hardest in areas struggling to make ends meet and in black and Latino communities and other communities of color already overburdened by polluted air and water. Congress should ensure that any disaster aid package prioritizes support for families who need it the most—including in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands—and creates rather than hinders access to economic opportunity.
• Plan ahead to lower the risks and costs of the next disaster. It is not a matter of if extreme weather will strike the United States but when—including in the same communities struggling to respond to this year’s hurricane season. Congress has a fiscal and moral responsibility to support innovative and equitable strategies to build long-term resilience nationwide, such as establishing a so-called disaster deductible to encourage states, counties, and cities to take steps to protect their residents before disaster strikes.

Congress should support programs that will enable businesses and policymakers in disaster-affected communities to account accurately for future extreme weather and flood risks and build infrastructure to better withstand those threats. Otherwise, taxpayers will find themselves footing the bill for rebuilding the same infrastructure time after time. To help communities build back better, Congress should increase funding for effective programs that provide flexibility to make smart rebuilding decisions; support developing stronger design guidelines so that infrastructure is built to withstand extreme weather and other risks; and expand investments in clean energy and green infrastructure solutions.

Increase funding for flexible programs to support smart rebuilding strategies

In the past, federal disaster relief has often required communities to build damaged structures back to the condition they were in before they were damaged. As the nation faces more frequent and extreme storms and other costly disasters, Congress must recognize that it is a waste of taxpayer dollars not to support infrastructure that is built to last.

For instance, as part of the Superstorm Sandy recovery bill, Congress created the FEMA 428 program, a flexible funding stream that allowed the agency to pilot new approaches to both debris removal and long-term rebuilding.¹⁸ The Rockaway Beach neighborhood in New York City suffered some of the most severe damage from Superstorm Sandy, with thousands of homes destroyed. FEMA 428 helped finance an ambitious rebuilding of the Rockaway Beach boardwalk that not only provided recreation space but also included multiple measures to help the structure withstand future storms and protect the community beyond.¹⁹ Congress should expand the successful FEMA 428 program as part of its response to this season’s hurricanes.

There are also opportunities to use other federal programs to encourage states and cities to think seriously about how they are going to build resilience to future disasters. HUD’s Community Development Block Grant program typically funnels billions of dollars to disaster areas through its Disaster Recovery Program (CDBG-DR).²⁰ Congress should direct HUD to ask grantees to specify in their applications for funding how they plan to rebuild in ways that reduce future extreme weather and disaster risks. For states such as Texas that do not already have comprehensive resilience plans in place, this requirement could nudge state and local officials to rethink how communities are designed to withstand future threats.

Finally, Congress should consider allocating some percentage of infrastructure aid—at least 10 percent—directly to the disaster-affected communities, rather than requiring all federal funds to flow through governors’ mansions before reaching these communities. Sending recovery dollars directly to the affected communities would empower local decision-makers and help circumvent political infighting between state and municipal elected officials who may be from different political parties.²¹

Support design guidelines that account for extreme weather risks

After Superstorm Sandy, New York City became one of the first communities in the country to create a comprehensive set of climate resilience design guidelines for major projects in the region. The guidelines define a resilient facility as “one built to withstand or recover quickly from natural hazards,” and they provide options for withstanding climate change-related risks, from more extreme heat to more severe floods, across the useful life of a project.²²

Congress should create a grant program to support communities affected by hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria in creating their own resilient design guidelines; provide adequate funds to the U.S. Global Change Research Program, a 13-agency program that conducts the National Climate Assessment; and expand technical assistance to help states and cities interpret the assessment’s findings.

The Superstorm Sandy response also pioneered an entirely new federal approach to rebuilding: a $1 billion National Disaster Resilience Competition, which allowed states and communities hit by major disasters in 2011, 2012, and 2013 to apply for competitive grants to fund major resilient infrastructure projects.²³ HUD received applications for more than $7 billion in projects as part of the competition.²⁴ Since 2013, when the Sandy relief package was enacted, 1,302 counties have been affected by disasters with at least $1 billion each in damages.²⁵ 

Given the enormous need across the country, as well as the significant federal resources invested in designing and running the successful competition, Congress should launch a second, $2 billion round of the National Disaster Resilience Competition for communities affected by federally declared disasters from 2014 through 2017.

Provide incentives to increase energy efficiency

More than 100,000 homes were damaged by floodwaters in Hurricane Harvey.²⁶ This means that hundreds of thousands of dishwashers, washing machines, dryers, refrigerators, and other appliances could be headed for the junkyard. Replacing old appliances with energy-efficient models saves families hundreds of dollars on their energy bills every year, while also reducing dangerous pollution.²⁷

There are also opportunities to reduce energy demand, cut pollution that is harmful to children’s health, and save families money when rehabilitating heavily damaged properties. Flood damage typically requires removing drywall and insulation, often to heights well above the maximum extent of the flood. Taking advantage of the opportunity to seal air leaks with more efficient insulation can save 10 to 20 percent annually on heating and cooling bills, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.²⁸

Congress should renew and expand the tax credits for residential energy efficiency improvements, renewable energy installations, and energy-efficient heating and cooling systems that expired at the end of 2016.²⁹ For low-income families and renters whose landlords may not choose the most efficient appliances, Congress should also consider creating a direct rebate program that would repay a portion of the cost of purchasing appliances certified by Energy Star, the federal energy efficiency program.

Build energy grids to withstand severe storms

Before this year, the nation’s worst blackout came in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. The storm also provided important lessons for how to improve the resilience and reliability of the electricity sector. A housing complex in the Bronx, for example, was able to keep the lights on during Sandy “because it is equipped with a microgrid that disconnected temporarily from the centralized power system.”³⁰ Federal and state governments should support neighborhoods that want to build microgrids of their own.

Congress should also examine where state policies undermine energy reliability and consider federal solutions. In Florida, for instance, homeowners with rooftop solar panels are legally required to connect those panels to the electric grid. State law further prohibits homeowners from generating power from their solar panels in the event of a grid outage.³¹ Hurricane Irma shows that this state law is not just shortsighted but also dangerous. Eleven residents have died and more became sick when a nursing home—now under criminal investigation—lost air conditioning in Florida’s power outages.³² Had that nursing home been equipped with rooftop solar panels, its staff would not have been allowed to turn them on in order to power the facility’s climate control system.

Expand investments in green and resilient infrastructure

Some of the best solutions to protect communities from extreme weather events can be found in nature. Following Superstorm Sandy, New York and New Jersey expanded investments in green infrastructure to protect communities from the impacts of climate change. For instance, New York City is restoring oyster beds to serve as natural barriers to devastating storm surges.³³

Smaller-scale solutions can make a difference too. After a series of heavy downpours caused Philadelphia’s combined sewer system to overflow repeatedly in some neighborhoods, the city launched the Green City, Clean Waters program.³⁴ The city replaced paved sidewalks with porous pavements that allow water to drain into the ground below, created small curbside gardens to absorb rainwater, installed green roofs and rain barrels, and restored local wetlands.³⁵ Together, these measures help keep large volumes of water from overwhelming the aging combined sewer system, prevent toxic runoff from flowing into area waterways, and beautify neighborhoods at the same time.

Congress should include robust funding in any hurricane aid package to help communities pursue proven green infrastructure solutions that will help reduce flood risks.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is the keeper of the nation’s flood maps—the information that informs residents of their flood risk and determines whether families are required to buy flood insurance to live in certain areas. Congress should urgently appropriate more resources for FEMA to update flood maps in Houston and beyond to accurately reflect current and anticipated risks, as well as require federally funded infrastructure to be built to a higher and safer standard.

Update FEMA flood maps

About 40 percent of homes damaged by Hurricane Harvey were located outside the 100-year floodplain—the area designated by FEMA to have a 1-in-100 chance of flooding in any one year.³⁶ What’s more, from 1999 to 2009, some 75 percent of flood damage in parts of the Houston area occurred outside the FEMA 100-year floodplain, according to a new study from researchers at Rice University and Texas A&M University.³⁷ In other words, this is not just a Harvey problem—it is a systematic, ongoing failure that is costing families and communities year after year.

Traditionally, FEMA flood maps have relied on historical data to determine the scope of the floodplain—meaning that they do not take into account the risks communities face from more frequent and extreme downpours and sea level rise. Local politicians sometimes exert pressure to minimize the extent of the floodplain in order to avoid limiting development.³⁸ And changes in upstream development can profoundly alter flood risk in older, downstream neighborhoods—as in the affluent Meyerland area of Houston, where the floodplain has expanded from just a small area in 1979 to cover nearly the entire neighborhood today.³⁹ These changes track closely with the boom in suburban and exurban construction, which put buildings and pavement where water-absorbing prairies used to be.

Following Hurricane Sandy, Congress appropriated funds for FEMA to update flood maps in the New York and New Jersey regions. It is clear that the agency must do the same for communities affected by hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, as well as for other high-risk communities that were not hit by hurricanes this season but are likely to be affected by future storms.

Earlier this year, New York went even further and formally adopted a set of projections for climate change-driven sea level rise that will be used in planning long-term infrastructure investments.⁴⁰ Congress could consider requiring other states to do the same and appropriate funds to help states assess the flood risks posed to their communities by sea level rise and increasingly severe downpours, based on the data in the National Climate Assessment.

Require federally funded infrastructure to be built to a higher standard

After Superstorm Sandy, the federal government issued a new Federal Flood Risk Management Standard, a set of rules that required federally funded infrastructure projects to be built to a higher standard that accurately reflected risks from extreme weather and climate change in order to prevent taxpayer money from being wasted on projects that were at high risk of repeated flood damage. President Donald Trump rescinded those rules just 10 days before Harvey made landfall.⁴¹

The new standard required that federally funded projects be either elevated at least two feet above the 100-year floodplain or built to withstand a 500-year flood event. For critical infrastructure, such as hospitals and fire stations, the standard required three feet of elevation. The standard also redefined the floodplain to take into account “a climate-informed science approach that uses the best-available, actionable hydrologic and hydraulic data and methods that integrate current and future changes in flooding based on climate science.”⁴²

Without these standards, billions of taxpayer dollars could be spent on infrastructure not built to withstand future floods. While reports indicate that the Trump administration may be reconsidering its actions, Congress should make the decision for the administration by directing it to reinstate the federal standard. Failing that, Congress should at least require federally funded projects supported by the hurricane-relief supplemental aid package to be built two feet above the current floodplain, and three feet for critical infrastructure.

In the wake of a natural disaster, families of all incomes scramble to find shelter and to rebuild their homes. However, while upper-income households often have the resources to rebuild quickly, it can take years for low- and moderate-income households to rebuild—if they rebuild at all. Working families who rent are often forced to uproot entirely when their affordable rental housing is not rebuilt. Severe storms can also cause long-lasting health problems for communities that live near Superfund sites and industrial facilities that store toxic substances or emit toxic air or water pollution; many families in these communities are living paycheck to paycheck. As communities in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands pick up the pieces in the wake of Harvey, Irma and Maria, Congress must take steps to rebuild affordable housing, support homeowners in need, adequately fund toxic pollution cleanup, hold negligent companies accountable for threatening public health and safety, and give communities a seat at the table to help shape decision-making, priority-setting, and plans around rebuilding.

Preserve and expand affordable housing stock

Hundreds of thousands of people living in communities affected by hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria live in public or federally subsidized housing. There are more than 200,000 subsidized rental units in areas affected by Harvey alone.⁴³ In the U.S. Virgin Islands, Irma nearly demolished one public housing development and rendered about one-third of its units uninhabitable.⁴⁴

State and local governments have a mixed track record of repairing or rebuilding this important housing stock after a natural disaster. The city of New Orleans lost more than half of its public housing residences after Hurricane Katrina.⁴⁵ In the years following Hurricane Ike, only 40 out of 500 public housing units were rebuilt in Galveston, Texas.⁴⁶ Nationally, public housing is currently running a $25 billion capital repairs deficit.⁴⁷ As a result of decades of disinvestment, public housing authorities do not have the funds necessary to rebuild; targeted federal investment is needed.

Despite the great need, affordable housing is too often overlooked by state and local governments administering federal relief dollars. Congress can help ensure that affordable housing is not overlooked by requiring CDBG-DR grantees to direct relief dollars toward the areas of greatest unmet need. Later this fall, the Department of Housing and Urban Development will publish an unmet-needs analysis of the areas affected by storms this year that can guide local decision-makers.

Analysts predict that rental housing will become less affordable in Houston in the months and years following Hurricane Harvey.⁴⁸ With fewer rental units in good condition available, and with more families seeking short-term rentals as they rebuild their homes, rental property owners will have leverage to raise rents. By focusing the appropriate resources toward preserving the affordable rental housing stock, state and local governments can help ensure a healthier rental market.

Congress should also encourage FEMA to dedicate special funding for the rehabilitation of public housing stock. After Hurricane Sandy, FEMA dedicated $3 billion toward rebuilding public housing units in New York City. The city is using the funds for repairs and floodproofing for more than 200 buildings, helping around 60,000 residents.⁴⁹

Support homeowners in need and historically excluded from property ownership

For most families, their home is their greatest asset; losing a home means losing most of their family’s wealth. The stakes are especially high for African American and Latino communities and other communities of color living in areas affected by the storms. In Houston, the share of mortgage originations g