FEMA's Retrofit Program

When natural disasters strike, communities want to ensure that their buildings and homes can withstand these events. To help governments create more disaster-resilient communities, FEMA Region 9 created the Natural Hazard Retrofit Program Toolkit, a new resource for state, local, tribal and territorial jurisdictions across the country to create a natural hazards retrofit program that meets their specific needs. Informed by conversations with local government officials from Florida to Washington that have implemented retrofit programs for a variety of hazards, the toolkit contains step-by-step guidance and advice from practitioners that can help jurisdictions create successful programs. The document has guidance and resources related to:

• Assessing vulnerabilities and hazards. • Funding. • Designing a program. • Community outreach. • Monitoring and evaluation. • Retrofit program best practices. The toolkit also contains insights from behavioral science to help design and implement programs that overcome common barriers and capitalize on predictable human behaviors. Other recommendations will help design and apply an equitable program that better serves the whole community. So, whether your community wants to create a program for seismic events, hurricanes, flooding, or other hazards, the Natural Hazard Retrofit Program Toolkit can help you every step of the way. You can access the toolkit on FEMA.gov.