The unprecedented losses from Hurricane Katrina can be explained by two paradoxes. The safe development paradox is that in trying to make hazardous areas safer, the federal government in fact substantially increased the potential for catastrophic property damages and economic loss. The local government paradox is that while their citizens bear the brunt of human suffering and financial loss in disasters, local officials pay insufficient attention to policies to limit vulnerability. The author demonstrates in this article that in spite of the two paradoxes, disaster losses can be blunted if local governments prepare comprehensive plans that pay attention to hazard mitigation. The federal government can take steps to increase local government commitment to planning and hazard mitigation by making relatively small adjustments to the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 and the Flood Insurance Act. To be more certain of reducing disaster losses, however, the author suggests that we need a major reorientation of the National Flood Insurance Program from insuring individuals to insuring communities.

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This research examines perceived and actual preparedness for two types of natural hazard risks: earthquakes in the Los Angeles County area and hurricanes within the New Orleans metropolitan area. Using data collected from a sample of households in these regions, the influence of individuals' confidence in local government to manage a disaster and exposure to disaster preparedness information sources were tested as explanations for levels of perceived and actual preparedness. Regression analyses show that a high level of confidence in local government to manage a disaster and exposure to more preparedness information sources were associated with a higher level of perceived preparedness. No support for a potential dampening effect of confidence in local government on household preparedness actions was found. The results also reveal only limited support for the impact of information exposure on actual preparedness. The results for actual preparedness vary between the study areas; therefore, we follow the analysis with a discussion of these differences and the implications drawn from the research.

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The Second National Assessment on Natural and Related Technological Hazards calls landuse planning the single most promising approach for bringing about sustainable hazard mitigation. This article describes the essential elements of land-use planning for hazard mitigation. It highlights important choices involved in formulating planning processes, undertaking hazard assessments, and crafting programs to manage urban development so that it is more resilient to natural hazards. Research conducted over the past two decades suggests that if local governments make the right choices in crafting land-use-planning programs, communities will be less likely to suffer severe losses of lives and property in natural disasters.