How does Louisiana's spending on disaster prevention compare with its disaster losses and recovery spending?

Details

This study mapped where and when disaster mitigation and recovery investments had occurred in Louisiana to create a mitigation investment portfolio for the state.

The researchers conducted an exploratory data analysis of FEMA OpenData sets, supplemented by disaster damage and recovery data. They compiled a portfolio of mitigation actions implemented in Louisiana since 1989 and calculated ratios of disaster damage to mitigation expenditure and recovery expenditure to mitigation expenditure.

Louisiana relied heavily on funding from the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. It spent that funding largely on elevating and acquiring homes, with limited use of other mitigation actions.

The expenditure analysis showed that, on average, residents suffered nearly $260 in direct disaster losses for every $1 invested in mitigation. The federal government spent $10 on recovery for every $1 invested in mitigation.

The researchers concluded that, at these levels, mitigation investments were ineffective and/or insufficient to stabilize the state's damage trajectory.