Floods remain a significant hazard in the United States. Developing and investing in flood-prone areas represents a trade-off between the location's economic benefits and the exposure to a flood hazard. In the United States, flood mitigation, protection, emergency response and recovery roles and responsibilities are shared. Local governments are responsible for land use and zoning decisions that shape floodplain and coastal development. State and federal programs, policies, and investments influence community and individual decisions on managing flood risk. This book examines federal flood policy challenges; FEMA's pre-disaster mitigation program; flood risk management and levees; federal flood insurance and the potential impact on agriculture.

Each year, floods cause an enormous amount of global economic and social damage, impacting transportation systems, water supplies, agriculture, and health. Response management to catastrophic floods require increased measures involving integrated planning, adaptation, and recovery strategies in order to protect against human loss. Decision Support Methods for Assessing Flood Risk and Vulnerability is a pivotal reference source that provides vital research on the application of effective models and tools focused on the diagnosis of vulnerability to flooding risks and evaluates and measures the impact of floods on socio-economic wellbeing. While highlighting topics such as hydrological events, soil erosion, and flood vulnerability, this publication explores methods of identifying appropriate adaptation strategies. This book is ideally designed for researchers, students, academicians, policymakers, government officials, and technology developers seeking current empirical research findings to be used to improve the overall understanding of the flood phenomenon.