Disaster Preparation and Relief

CBO provides information about the amount of damage that could be reduced through spending for flood adaptations—projects aimed at preventing damage from flooding.

CBO analyzes recent changes in property insurance markets and considers alternative insurance products as well as policy approaches to increase the availability and affordability of insurance for homeowners and renters.

CBO examines how the share of properties at risk of flooding that are covered by policies purchased through the National Flood Insurance Program varies across communities with different economic and demographic characteristics.

CBO estimates the flood damage homes with federally backed mortgages are expected to face in multiyear periods centered on 2020 and 2050, reflecting the effects of climate change. The agency also analyzes where that damage is concentrated.

CBO examines trends in funding and spending for the Army Corps of Engineers and explains how CBO treats that agency’s activities in its baseline and cost estimates.

CBO examines trends in funding and spending for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Disaster Relief Fund and provides information about how CBO treats that program in its baseline and cost estimates.

CBO analyzes trends in wildfire activity; considers the effects of wildfires on the federal budget, the environment, people’s health, and the economy; and reviews forest-management practices meant to reduce fire-related disasters.

Expected annual economic losses from most types of damage caused by hurricane winds and storm-related flooding total $54 billion—$34 billion in losses to households, $9 billion to commercial businesses, and $12 billion to the public sector.

The share of international affairs funding that was provided outside of agencies’ base budget for ongoing activities—that is, “nonbase” funding—increased markedly from 2014 to 2017, mostly for overseas contingency operations.

CBO analyzes how the Defense Department’s (DoD’s) funding for military conflicts has changed over time and how the separate budgetary treatment of that funding affects perceptions of DoD’s spending and the anticipated costs of DoD’s plans.

CBO finds that premiums collected by the National Flood Insurance Program for policies in effect in August 2016 fell short of the program’s expected costs by $1.4 billion, mainly because of shortfalls in coastal counties.

How much will hurricane damage increase in coming years because of climate change and coastal development? This report examines the implications for the federal budget and three approaches for decreasing the pressure for federal spending.