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Science 22 September 2000:
Vol. 289. no. 5487, pp. 2053 - 2055
DOI: 10.1126/science.289.5487.2053
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Policy Forum

DISASTER MANAGEMENT:
U.S. Policies Pertaining to Weather and Climate Extremes

Stanley A. Changnon and David R. Easterling*

Climate and weather extremes--floods, drought, storms, severe weather--now have an impact on all levels of government and on the insurance industry. U.S. national policy has moved from structural approaches (building dams, levees, and irrigation ditches) to societal approaches: moving people out of hazardous areas, seeking improvements in building codes, and encouraging the use of crop and flood insurance. Federal relief assistance policies have been called into question, and renewed emphasis on personal responsibility is part of future policy.

S. A. Changnon is in the Department of Geography, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820. D. R. Easterling is at the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC)/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admimistration (NOAA), Asheville, NC 28801.

*To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: deasterl{at}ncdc.noaa.gov

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Heat Waves and Heat-Related Illness: Preparing for the Increasing Influence of Climate on Health in Temperate Areas.
P. G. O'Malley (2007)
JAMA 298, 917-919
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The Primacy of Partnership: Scoping a New National Disaster Recovery Policy.
J. K. Mitchell (2006)
The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 604, 228-255
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Heat Stroke.
A. Bouchama and J. P. Knochel (2002)
N. Engl. J. Med. 346, 1978-1988
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