What we don’t know about state spending on natural disasters could cost us: Data limitations, their implications for policymaking, and strategies for improvement

This report presents the results of a survey of US state emergency managers and their staffs requesting information on 2012-16 spending for state-funded disaster assistance programs, expenditures related to federal programs, and federal reimbursements received. The report determines each state’s total disaster spending by adding the two spending categories and reducing that figure by the reported reimbursement amount.

This report summarizes the complex nature of government disaster assistance funding and how rising federal costs are leading to calls for change, and outlines Pew’s findings and recommendations for improving the collection and usability of state spending data.