Description:
The Community Rating System (CRS) is a voluntary incentive program introduced by the National Flood Insurance Program in the USA. The CRS is a federal initiative, aiming at strengthening resilience against floods in local governments and communities, through the financial, human, natural, physical political and social capital already existing in the community. The National Flood Insurance Program has set some minimum requirements for flood preparedness, but the activities in the CRS are more comprehensive. Communities earn points based on nineteen creditable activities related to topics about flood prevention. These topics are public information, mapping and regulations, flood damage reduction, warning and responses. The eveluation of this initiative is limited. There is a need to compare the benefits from implementing the CRS activities over time with the costs incurred.
The solution could help to address the following needs of first responders and authorities:
Communicate with or alert citizens
Improve autonomy, coping abilities, and proactiveness of citizens