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

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The Nation’s Responses to Flood Disasters: A Historical Account
supplemental appropriations occurred during the end of that decade. This made
mitigation a major player in post-disaster activities. 157
THE NATIONAL ASSESSMENT
One of the recommendations in the 1986 Unified National Program for
Floodplain Management report was to “provide evaluation of floodplain management
activities with periodic reporting to the public and to the Congress on progress toward
implementation of a unified national program for floodplain management.” 158 To follow
up on this recommendation, the Federal Interagency Floodplain Management Task Force
in 1987 initiated an assessment of the nation’s program for floodplain management, the
first comprehensive study, assessment, or statement on managing the nation’s floodplains
since House Document 465 was issued in 1966. The national assessment provided a
comparative basis for justifying program budgets and evaluating, over time, the
effectiveness of various tools, policies, and program planning efforts for floodplain
management.
Because of the TVA long history of floodplain management experience,
expertise, and leadership, the task force requested that TVA manage the interagency
effort, including contracting of professional services. TVA’s James Wright served as
project manager.
The task force contracted Larry R. Johnston Associates to prepare the
assessment. In carrying out the assessment, the contractor sought the judgments and
views of many professional individuals and groups actively involved with or affected by
floodplain management activities, reviewed the published literature, and collected all
relevant and available data. The task force assembled a special National Review
Committee, chaired by Gilbert F. White and comprised of prominent floodplain and
natural resource management professionals, to evaluate the effectiveness of floodplain
management. The committee’s report to the task force significantly aided in carrying out
the assessment. 159
Larry Johnston, principal author of the assessment, died suddenly in late 1990
when the report was nearly completed. At the time of his death, Johnston was viewed as
one of the few true experts on floodplain management because of his breadth of
knowledge of national issues. Had he lived, he would have undoubtedly remained an
invaluable contributor in a number of important ways.
The task force subsequently contracted with Geoffrey Steadman, an associate of
Johnston, and with the Natural Hazards Center to complete the assessment, which
157 Ibid.
158 A Unified National Program for Floodplain Management, 1986, p. I-7; For more, see “Towards a Unified National Program for Floodplain Management” in
Chapter 4.
159 Action Agenda for Managing the Nation’s Floodplains, (National Review Committee, 17 October 1989).