The Nation's Responses To Flood Disasters: A Historical Account

6
THE 1990S: DISASTER ASSISTANCE
PREVAILS
The flood control construction program of the 1930s-
1950s era seemed to be replaced by an equally massive
federal relief and recovery assistance program for flood
disasters in the 1990s.
A GROWING FEDERAL ROLE IN DISASTER RESPONSE AND
RECOVERY
Federal disaster relief for victims of natural disasters dates from an 1815 act “for
the relief of inhabitants of the late county of New Madrid, in the Missouri territory, who
suffered from earthquakes.” Congress authorized that the federal government could
exchange plots of land up to 160 acres with owners of land damaged by the
earthquakes. 152 Respecting flood events, Congress subsequently enacted relief bills from
time to time for victims of specific disasters.
In 1933, in response to a major California earthquake, and contrary to past
traditions, Congress enacted legislation that provided direct assistance to private citizens
suffering disaster damage by issuing federal loans through the Reconstruction Finance
Corporation. The legislation was adopted only after a lengthy debate about whether
Congress should establish the precedent of expanding federal disaster relief to include
aiding individuals in rebuilding their homes and businesses. In enacting the legislation,
Congress realized in principle that, in the event of a natural disaster, the federal
government should provide the necessary services to rehabilitate devastated communities
when private and local interests were unable to perform those services. The following
year, in response to several intervening disasters that befell communities in disparate
152 Mitler, Elliot, A Fiscal Responsibility Analysis of a National Earthquake Insurance Program, (The Earthquake Project of the National Committee on
Property Insurance, 1992).