Skip to main content
 
 

Community and Economic Development – Blog by UNC School of Government

https://ced.sog.unc.edu


An Information Tool for Post-Disaster Economic Recovery

By Jonathan Morgan

Published September 6, 2011


Jonathan Morgan is a School of Government faculty member.

North Carolina’s recent experience with Hurricane Irene focuses attention on the difficult challenge of rebuilding a local economy in the aftermath of a major natural disaster.  There has been no shortage of disasters–natural and man-made–to occur around the globe in past couple decades.  Indeed, the U.S. has had its share: 9/11 terrorist attacks, numerous hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, and wildfires.  It is amazing to see how many of the natural disasters taking place in the U.S. since 1980 have exceeded $1 billion individually in terms of economic costs.  The National Climatic Data Center, a division of the U.S. Department of Commerce, estimates that the 109 major natural disasters affecting the U.S. since 1980 caused cumulative damage and economic losses totaling more than $750 billion.  For a listing and brief summary of these weather-related disasters including their total costs, both in terms of dollars and loss of life, click here.

To assist communities with the daunting process of economic recovery following a major disaster, the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) and the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) have partnered to create a web-site called RestoreYourEconomy.org.  The web site is intended to be a centralized clearinghouse for information and resources on pre-disaster planning/preparation and post-disaster economic recovery.  The site includes specific information about:

  • the phases of a disaster, before and after
  • the distinctive roles of economic development professionals in the planning and recovery process
  • navigating the federal system
  • communication strategies
  • facilitating financial and technical assistance for businesses
  • lessons learned from real-life case studies of response and recovery

Published September 6, 2011 By Jonathan Morgan

Jonathan Morgan is a School of Government faculty member.

North Carolina’s recent experience with Hurricane Irene focuses attention on the difficult challenge of rebuilding a local economy in the aftermath of a major natural disaster.  There has been no shortage of disasters–natural and man-made–to occur around the globe in past couple decades.  Indeed, the U.S. has had its share: 9/11 terrorist attacks, numerous hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, and wildfires.  It is amazing to see how many of the natural disasters taking place in the U.S. since 1980 have exceeded $1 billion individually in terms of economic costs.  The National Climatic Data Center, a division of the U.S. Department of Commerce, estimates that the 109 major natural disasters affecting the U.S. since 1980 caused cumulative damage and economic losses totaling more than $750 billion.  For a listing and brief summary of these weather-related disasters including their total costs, both in terms of dollars and loss of life, click here.

To assist communities with the daunting process of economic recovery following a major disaster, the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) and the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) have partnered to create a web-site called RestoreYourEconomy.org.  The web site is intended to be a centralized clearinghouse for information and resources on pre-disaster planning/preparation and post-disaster economic recovery.  The site includes specific information about:

  • the phases of a disaster, before and after
  • the distinctive roles of economic development professionals in the planning and recovery process
  • navigating the federal system
  • communication strategies
  • facilitating financial and technical assistance for businesses
  • lessons learned from real-life case studies of response and recovery
Author(s)
Tagged Under

This blog post is published and posted online by the School of Government to address issues of interest to government officials. This blog post is for educational and informational Copyright ©️ 2009 to present School of Government at the University of North Carolina. All rights reserved. use and may be used for those purposes without permission by providing acknowledgment of its source. Use of this blog post for commercial purposes is prohibited. To browse a complete catalog of School of Government publications, please visit the School’s website at www.sog.unc.edu or contact the Bookstore, School of Government, CB# 3330 Knapp-Sanders Building, UNC Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3330; e-mail sales@sog.unc.edu; telephone 919.966.4119; or fax 919.962.2707.

https://ced.sog.unc.edu/2011/09/an-information-tool-for-post-disaster-economic-recovery/
Copyright © 2009 to Present School of Government at the University of North Carolina.
Comments are closed.