Project Impact

In the past 10 years, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has spent $25 billion to help people repair and rebuild their communities after natural disasters. And that is not the total cost. Insurance companies spent additional billions in claims payments; businesses lost revenues; employees lost jobs; other government agencies spent millions more. Worst of all, however, is the loss that can never be recovered: human life.

The increasing number and severity of natural disasters over the past decade demands that action be taken to reduce the threat that hurricanes, tornadoes, severe storms, floods and fires imposed upon the nation's economy and the safety of its citizens. With Project Impact-Building Disaster Resistant Communities, FEMA is changing the way America deals with disasters. Project Impact helps communities protect themselves from the devastating effects of natural disasters by taking actions that dramatically reduce disruption and loss.

It worked for the Anheuser Busch brewery in earthquake-prone Northern California. In the early 1980s, the company invested $15 million to protect its facilities from a quake. The retrofitting was put to a severe test in 1994 when a quake whose epicenter was only 12 miles from the brewery rumbled through the area. Anheuser Busch estimates it saved $300 million in damages and lost production: Operations never stopped, and repair costs were minimal.

This nationwide initiative, Project Impact, operates on this common-sense damage-reduction approach, basing its work and planning on three simple principles: preventive actions must be decided at the local level; private sector participation is vital; and long-term efforts and investments in prevention measures are essential. FEMA partnered with seven pilot communities across the country and was encouraged by the benefits seen and the determined commitment that flourished at the local level. This has been a unique experiment: FEMA has offered expertise and technical assistance from the national and regional level and included other federal agencies and states in the equation. FEMA has used all the available mechanisms to get the latest technology and mitigation practices into the hands of the local communities. Now, FEMA has nearly 200 Project Impact communities, as well as over 1,100 businesses that have joined on as Project Impact partners.

There is no doubt that Project Impact is a common sense approach for the way America deals with disasters. The incentive is clear: a disaster resistant community is able to bounce back from a natural disaster with far less loss of property and consequently much less cost for repairs. Moreover, the time lost from productive activity is minimized for both businesses and their employees. Indeed, FEMA estimates that for every dollar spent in damage prevention, two are saved in repairs.

For more information about how to be a Project Impact community, please call 1-202-646-4600 or for publications call 1-800-227-4731 or visit www.fema.gov on the World Wide Web.

About Prince George's County and Project Impact Community Profile:

Occupying a central position in the Baltimore / Washington D.C. Corridor, Prince George's County is part of the 5th largest retail market in the United States and the 4th largest office market in the nation and home to 765,000 people. The population is projected to reach 886,000 in ten years with a corresponding increase in the job force to 466,000. The voters elect a County Executive and a nine-member County Council (terms expire in 2002). A.Chief Administrative Officer oversees nine principal agencies employing more than 10,000 County government employees.

Disaster Risk:

During 1998, the Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) funded a risk assessment/vulnerability analysis for each county/independent city. It provides a comprehensive view of both risk and vulnerability and makes extensive use of state-owned data bases and Geographic Information System capabilities. The analysis of Prince George's County indicated that of the 30 individual types of hazards reviewed, most of the high risk hazards were man-made but five weather related hazards fell within the medium to medium-high range of risk. The study also narrowed the area of potential vulnerability to geographic locations within each county. An overall frequency-based risk compilation to develop a composite risk by county was then developed. Baltimore County had the highest average risk value at 3.5 with the counties of Anne Arundel, Frederick and Prince George's at 3.4.

Capacity for Public-Private Partnership:

Approximately 14,000 businesses are located in the county employing over 220,000; an estimated 415 of these businesses have 100 or more employees and over 900 are high-tech companies. Major private corporations such as the Riggs National Bank Technology Center, Hitachi Corporation's facility in Laurel, Allied Signal's office complex in Greenbelt, the Land Rover of North America's headquarters in Lanham, along with new/expanded facilities by Lowes Hardware, BET Soundstage, JC Penney, and The Washington Post, all represent potential Project Impact partners. The County also is home to the corporate headquarters of Giant Food, Inc.

The IRS Headquarters in New Carrollton, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's expanded complex under construction in Beltsville, the National Archives II in College Park, and the new Food and Drug Administration facilities will provide a unique opportunity to promote Project Impact within the federal community.

Disaster Prevention Commitments/Actions:

• Prince George's County has been a participant in the National Flood Insurance Program and currently holds a Class Seven (7) rating in the Community Rating System.
• On August 9, 1999, FEMA and Prince George's County Department of Environmental Resources entered into a Cooperating Technical Agreement to develop detailed hydrologic and hydraulic analysis and floodplain and floodway mapping for the county utilizing an in-place state-of-the-art GIS capability.
• The county has established a multi-agency Stormwater Management Technical Group to conduct extensive watershed studies throughout the county. The major watershed studies were completed in 1993 at a cost of more than $4 million.
• In 1994, the Department of Environmental Resources finalized a Flood Damage Reduction Program to augment the county's Comprehensive Countywide Floodplain Management Plan.
• Prince George's County has taken a multi-faceted approached to floodplain management highlighted by implementing standards that exceed NFIP criteria.

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