Recently introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation would strengthen preparedness for hurricanes, flooding, wildfires, and other natural hazards.
Natural disasters caused an estimated $217.8 billion in damages nationwide in 2024. For every $1 invested in resilience, approximately $6 in future disaster recovery costs can be saved, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The National Coordination on Adaptation and Resilience for Security (NCARS) Act would invest in resilience before disasters occur, establish a chief resilience officer within the executive office of the president to coordinate and implement the national strategy, and create interagency working groups to improve coordination across federal agencies and strengthen accountability. It also would establish a national adaptation and resilience strategy and implementation plan in coordination with federal, state, local, tribal, private-sector, and nonprofit partners, and create a federal resilience information hub to make federal resilience resources, data, and planning tools more accessible to state and local communities.
The bill also addresses long-term hazards to help communities better protect roads, utilities, homes, businesses, and other critical infrastructure.
The bill has the support of numerous organizations including American Flood Coalition Action, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Public Works Association, the Nature Conservancy, and the Environmental Defense Fund.