To reduce flood losses, avoid the path of least resilience

In Harris County, Texas, voters recently approved a $2.5 billion bond proposal that would significantly increase the annual funding for flood-mitigation projects with the goal of making Houston and neighboring communities more resilient to future flood events.

The vote came a year to the day after Hurricane Harvey dumped trillions of gallons of water on eastern Texas. Supporters of the measure hope it’s a step in the right direction for a community that has been beset by catastrophic flooding for as long as humans have occupied the land.

The region has suffered from three 1-in-500-year floods in the past three years, forcing prognosticators to rethink how they categorize weather events. Houston is not alone. South Carolina sustained more than $12 billion in flood losses in 2015 and faced more catastrophic flooding when Hurricane Florence made landfall this year.

But the fate of these communities is not etched in the flood marks that stain their buildings. The $2.5 billion that Harris County officials will collect won’t stop the rains from falling, but it, plus other actions, can help the region lessen the impact of flooding, preserve its homes and businesses, and keep its citizens safe.

Related: 11 things you can do to prepare for hurricane winds

Resilience is the key

Zurich Insurance, as part of its flood resilience program, has conducted reviews of 13 disasters around the world. The Post-Event Review Capability (PERC) reports that we developed from these reviews seek to answer questions related to flood resilience, flood risk management and catastrophe intervention, focusing on what has worked well and identifying opportunities for further improvements.

Earlier this year, we released our latest report, “Houston and Hurricane Harvey: a call to action.”

The report concludes that Houston’s geography, regulatory environment, rapid growth and development, and overlapping jurisdictions of governance have each played a role in the impact of recent flood events. Houston has already begun to take an integrated approach to limiting its flood risk through both large-scale infrastructure and conservation projects and softer solutions, such as fostering a culture of resilience and awareness. However, opportunities remain.

For example, the 13 Zurich reports suggest that flood-ravaged communities could further bolster their flood resilience by:

• Addressing household preparedness as part of business preparedness;
• Building back homes and businesses to more resilient standards; and
• Incentivizing buyouts of flood-damaged properties.

These and other resilience efforts will do more than just help mitigate future losses — they can also save money. Every dollar spent on disaster resilience saves four dollars in future losses, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

As long as severe weather continues to bring record rainfall, residents, business owners and government agencies will rightly be wary of the destructive potential of floods. We need only look to the recent past to glean insights that can help mitigate future risks. There is hope for these and other communities if they avoid the path of least resilience.

Related: FEMA chief slams U.S. failure to prepare, evacuate before storms

Kathleen Savio is CEO of Zurich North America.