Study: Local Hazard Planning Cuts CAT Losses

NU Online News Service, Nov. 21, 4:13 p.m.EST?Confirming the value of land use planning, a study hasfound that communities that take natural disasters into account inregulating development experience fewer insured losses.

The findings were presented this week at the Institute forBusiness & Home Safety's Annual Congress in New Orleans.

An analysis of IBHS data by Raymond J. Burby, professor of cityand regional planning at the University of North Carolina, foundthat residential insured losses per capita were at least one-thirdhigher in states that do not mandate hazard planning.

Mr. Burby reported that the mean insured residential loss percapita was $92 in states with no hazard planning requirements,while the mean insured loss per capita was $64 in states whichmandate hazard plans.

An IBHS representative, Wendy Fontaine, explained that hazardplanning generally involves keeping population out of harms way. Asan example, she mentioned avoiding a flood zone in situating adevelopment for senior citizens.

The losses studied by Mr. Burby occurred as a result of 226natural disasters in the United States over the seven-year periodbetween Jan. 1, 1994 and Dec. 31, 2000 and do not include lossesfrom earthquakes, IBHS said.

The difference was even more significant, the institute said, inmetropolitan areas where the mean per capita insured residentiallosses were $155 in states that do not require hazard plans, whileit was $86 in states where hazard planning is mandated.

"Communities that pay attention to natural hazards have lowerinsurance losses," said Mr. Burby. "Unfortunately, inthree-quarters of the counties in the United States, stategovernments do not mandate hazard planning."

He noted that only 10 states require hazard plans-- Arizona,California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Maryland, Nevada, North andSouth Carolina (coastal areas), and Oregon.

He further pointed out that many local governments do not haveup-to-date land use plans, and those plans have poorhazard-mitigation elements. "But this situation can change withactive state intervention," Mr. Burby said.

He cited an IBHS survey of local land use planners throughoutthe United States that reported community comprehensive land useplans fell short in disaster safety. The survey also found aconsensus among land use planners that state mandates result inbetter hazard plans.

"Land use plans are a powerful tool that can be harnessed tobring about safer communities with a reduction in catastrophelosses," said Mr. Burby.

IBHS, based in Tampa, Fla., is a national nonprofit initiativeof the insurance industry to reduce deaths, injuries, propertydamage, economic losses and human suffering caused by naturaldisasters.