'The goal should be to use federal money for prevention, not just clean-up' say David R. Conrad and Edward A. Thomas in an op-ed for the LA Times.
'Because the government makes extensive investment in infrastructure and other development before disasters, and because it also has the deepest pockets when disaster strikes, it has the ability to give communities incentives to help themselves through better zoning regulations, building codes and hazard management programs.'
David R. Conrad is an independent consultant on federal water resources policy. Edward A. Thomas is president of the Natural Hazard Mitigation Assn. Their paper for the Hamilton Project, "Reforming Federal Support for Risky Development," is available at http://www.hamiltonproject.org.