Notice2024-28015
Community Disaster Resilience Zones and the National Risk Index
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
December 3, 2024
Issuing agencies
Homeland Security DepartmentFederal Emergency Management Agency
Abstract
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is issuing this Notice to provide an update on responses to the Community Disaster Resilience Zones and the National Risk Index request for information and share FEMA's initial designations of census tracts as Community Disaster Resilience Zones.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 232 (Tuesday, December 3, 2024)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 232 (Tuesday, December 3, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 95801-95803]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-28015]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Federal Emergency Management Agency
[Docket ID: FEMA-2023-0009]
Community Disaster Resilience Zones and the National Risk Index
AGENCY: Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland
Security.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is issuing this
Notice to provide an update on responses to the Community Disaster
Resilience Zones and the National Risk Index request for information
and share FEMA's initial designations of census tracts as Community
Disaster Resilience Zones.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Samantha A. Medlock, Assistant
Administrator for Resilience Strategy, Federal Emergency Management
Agency, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#0a6c6f676b276b697e636564656c6c63696f27786f796366636f64696f27797e786b7e6f6d734a6c6f676b246e6279246d657c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="197f7c747834787a6d707677767f7f707a7c346b7c6a7075707c777a7c346a6d6b786d7c7e60597f7c7478377d716a377e766f">[email protected]</span></a>, 202-212-
8007.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
A. Community Disaster Resilience Zones Act
The Community Disaster Resilience Zones Act of 2022, Public Law
117-255, 136 Stat. 2363, amended title II of the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.)
(Stafford Act) to add a new section 206 (42 U.S.C. 5136) that requires
the: (1) maintenance of a natural hazard assessment program and
[[Page 95802]]
development and maintenance of products for the public's use that show
the risk of natural hazards through use of risk ratings at the census
tract level; and (2) designation, at the census tract level, of
community disaster resilience zones based on the natural hazard risk
ratings derived from a natural hazard risk product maintained by the
natural hazard assessment program.
Section 206 also provides FEMA the discretion to: (1) increase the
Federal cost share to not more than 90 percent under the Building
Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant program for mitigation
projects within, or primarily benefiting, a community disaster
resilience zone; (2) provide financial and technical assistance to
State, local, Tribal, and Territorial governments for project planning
assistance to carry out activities in preparation for a mitigation
project within, or primarily benefiting, a community disaster
resilience zone; and (3) establish a process for FEMA certification,
and provide certification for mitigation projects within, or primarily
benefiting, a community disaster resilience zone.
B. National Risk Index
The National Risk Index is a publicly available dataset and online
mapping application that identifies the U.S. communities most at risk
for 18 different natural hazards. The 18 hazard types evaluated by the
National Risk Index were chosen after reviewing FEMA-approved State
Hazard Mitigation Plans for all 50 States in early 2016.\1\ FEMA
announced the availability of the National Risk Index with limited
access to data in November 2020 and released a full web application,
which enhanced the data and report functionality, on August 16,
2021.\2\ The National Risk Index data and application was last updated
on March 23, 2023.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ More information about data availability can be found in
FEMA's National Risk Index Technical Documentation. FEMA, National
Risk Index, Technical Documentation, Chapters 5-1 to 5-2 (March
2023), <a href="https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_national-risk-index_technical-documentation.pdf">https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_national-risk-index_technical-documentation.pdf</a> (last visited
Sept. 9, 2024).
\2\ FEMA, National Risk Index for Natural Hazards, <a href="https://www.fema.gov/nri">https://www.fema.gov/nri</a> (last visited Sept. 10, 2024).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The National Risk Index application visualizes natural hazard risk
metrics and includes important data about expected annual loss, social
vulnerability, and community resilience.\3\ The data are derived from
probabilistic data sources or built from historic event and historic
loss information and are aggregated to the county and census tract
levels, thus providing a baseline risk assessment and natural hazard
risk profiles.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ More information about these risk components can be found in
FEMA's National Risk Index Technical Documentation (March 2023),
<a href="http://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_national-risk-index_technical-documentation.pdf">http://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_national-risk-index_technical-documentation.pdf</a>; FEMA, Data Glossary, <a href="https://hazards.fema.gov/nri/data-glossary">https://hazards.fema.gov/nri/data-glossary</a> (last visited May 29, 2024).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In addition to Federal collaborators, the National Risk Index
incorporates data from a wide range of relevant sources across the
country to ensure the tool's robustness.\4\ This includes more than 90
partners across the public and private sectors, including State,
regional, and local government agencies; academia; private
organizations; and nonprofits. While natural hazard occurrences can
induce secondary natural hazard occurrences, only primary natural
hazard occurrences (and not their results or after-effects) are
considered in the National Risk Index. Currently, the National Risk
Index does not account for future conditions or anticipated impacts due
to climate change.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ More information on the review and selection process for
data used in the National Risk Index is available in the Technical
Documentation. See FEMA, National Risk Index, Technical
Documentation, 2-4 to 2-6 (March 2023), <a href="https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_national-risk-index_technical-documentation.pdf">https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_national-risk-index_technical-documentation.pdf</a> (last visited Sept. 8, 2024).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
With current National Risk Index information, users can discover a
holistic view of their community's baseline and current risk from
natural hazards via online maps and data downloads. Potential users
might be planners and emergency managers at the State, local, Tribal,
Territorial, and Federal levels; as well as other decision makers,
private sector entities, and interested members of the public.
The interactive mapping application can help decision makers better
prepare for and mitigate natural hazard events by providing
standardized risk data for planning and an overview of multiple risk
factors. In turn, this data can help State, local, Tribal, or
Territorial governments develop FEMA-approved hazard mitigation plans,
required to apply for and/or receive certain FEMA assistance and
mitigation grants. More importantly, use of this data can help all
users plan for disasters and increase resilience.
The National Risk Index is different from other traditional hazard
data and models because of the scope and scale of its analyses. For
communities that do not have access to natural hazard risk assessment
services, the National Risk Index is a valuable product because it uses
authoritative data from a variety of Federal, State, local, academic,
non-profit, and private sector partners and contributors,\5\ and it
provides users analysis of their risk to a natural hazard. The National
Risk Index leverages best-available source data and methods to provide
a holistic view of the current and baseline community-level risk
nationwide by combining multiple hazards with socioeconomic and built
environment factors.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ FEMA, Risk Index Contributors, <a href="https://hazards.fema.gov/nri/contributors">https://hazards.fema.gov/nri/contributors</a> (last visited May 29, 2024).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
FEMA publishes and maintains a publicly available National Risk
Index-specific technical document to highlight the National Risk Index
research and methodologies for developing all components of the
tool.\6\ Previously released National Risk Index data versions,
documentation, and data updates documentation are available through the
National Risk Index Data Archive.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ FEMA, National Risk Index, Technical Documentation (March
2023), <a href="https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_national-risk-index_technical-documentation.pdf">https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_national-risk-index_technical-documentation.pdf</a> (last visited
Sept. 19, 2024).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
II. Request for Information
On May 26, 2023, FEMA issued a notice and request for information
to seek input from the public on implementation of the Community
Disaster Resilience Zones Act of 2022. This included updates to the
methodology and data used for the National Risk Index and any other
hazard assessment products; potential improvements to FEMA's provision
of hazard data; the process used to designate community disaster
resilience zones; financial and technical assistance for resilience or
mitigation projects in or primarily benefitting community disaster
resilience zones; and the community disaster resilience zone project
application and certification process.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ 88 FR 34171 (May 26, 2023).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
This request for information closed for comments on July 25, 2023,
during which time FEMA received responses from over 100 commentors.\8\
The request for information responses indicated six themes: designation
methodology, post-designation support, community engagement, data and
the National Risk Index, equity, and community displacement.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ The comments received on the request for information may be
found in the docket, available on the Federal eRulemaking Portal at
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FEMA-2023-0009">https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FEMA-2023-0009</a>.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
FEMA has summarized the comments and developed summary responses
based on the general themes noted above. Comments and responses may be
[[Page 95803]]
found at <a href="https://www.fema.gov/fact-sheet/summary-request-information-implementation-community-disaster-resilience-zones">https://www.fema.gov/fact-sheet/summary-request-information-implementation-community-disaster-resilience-zones</a>.
III. List of Community Disaster Resilience Zones
On September 6, 2023, FEMA announced the designation of an initial
set of 483 community disaster resilience zones across the United
States.\9\ To identify resilience zones, FEMA used components of the
National Risk Index to identify the census tracts most at-risk and in-
need. FEMA is currently working on additional designations and plans to
announce them soon. These designations will help build resilience
across the nation by driving Federal, public, and private resources to
these designated zones.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ FEMA, FEMA Designates First Communities to Receive Targeted
Assistance for Hazards Resilience (Sept. 6, 2023), <a href="https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20230906/fema-designates-first-communities-receive-targeted-assistance-hazards">https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20230906/fema-designates-first-communities-receive-targeted-assistance-hazards</a> (last visited Sept.
10, 2024).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
FEMA also used the White House Council on Environmental Quality's
Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool, a geospatial platform that
identifies areas across the nation that face especially acute climate
and other resilience burdens, to help focus the designations on
disadvantaged communities.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\10\ Council on Environmental Quality, Climate and Economic
Justice Screening Tool, <a href="https://screeningtool.geoplatform.gov/en/">https://screeningtool.geoplatform.gov/en/</a>
(last visited May 29, 2024).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A map of the census tracts that were designated as community
disaster resilience zones on September 6, 2023, can be found at <a href="https://www.fema.gov/partnerships/community-disaster-resilience-zones">https://www.fema.gov/partnerships/community-disaster-resilience-zones</a>.
Deanne Criswell,
Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency.
[FR Doc. 2024-28015 Filed 12-2-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-12-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on December 3, 2024.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.