DRLA Fellow George Haddow Provides Expertise to Washington Post on Study of FEMA Flood Buyouts

George Haddow, who is a Fellow in our Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy, provided his expertise in a Washington Post article. A recent study published in Science Advances analyzed more than 40,000 voluntary buyouts of U.S. flood-prone properties, in which homeowners sell properties to the government and the land is restored to open space. According to the Washington Post, the study found "FEMA buys flood-prone homes more often in wealthy, populous counties than in poor, rural areas, even though lower-income rural areas may be more likely to flood frequently."

Mr. Haddow commented on the study's findings based upon his experience serving as White House liaison to FEMA during President Bill Clinton’s two terms.

Click here to read "Wealthy counties get many FEMA buyouts of flood-prone homes."