The NADO Research Foundation Presents: Innovative Approaches to Disaster Recovery

Date: Thursday, April 14, 2011

Time: 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM EDT

Register: www2.gotomeeting.com/register/542088139

In the wake of disaster, economic revitalization takes time, patience and creativity. Once matters of health and safety have been restored, it is the job of local elected officials, business leaders, economic developers and members of the community to decide how to rebuild their home.

This webinar will draw from two diverse case studies that reflect very unique approaches to post-disaster economic recovery. First, we will examine the rebuilding efforts of communities along the upper Texas coast following Hurricanes Ike in 2008. Chuck Wemple, Economic Development Program Manager for the Houston-Galveston Area Council, will discuss tourism-related economic development efforts along with the Council's initiatives to bring wealth and commerce back to the community.

For the second part of the webinar, we will revisit the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota in the aftermath of the 1997 floods that decimated the city. Fourteen years on, we will hear from the former Director of Urban Development of Grand Forks, Terry Hanson, to better understand the downtown revitalization efforts that the city adopted following the event and how those efforts hastened the recovery process.

This webinar is brought to you by the NADO Research Foundation as part of an initiative funded by the U.S. Economic Development Administration to examine and distribute information related to the role of economic development in a post-disaster environment.

From the NADO Research Foundation comes:

Restoring Regional Economies in the Wake of Disaster
Written by freelance writer Fred Baldwin, this report explores the pressing economic issues faced by regional councils and economic development organizations in the aftermath of natural disasters. Drawing from real world experiences of two otherwise vastly different regions—Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Galveston, Texas— and their responses to the Iowa Floods and Hurricane Ike, this report uncovers the unique roles these organizations play in revitalizing regional economic engines and the communities that depend on them. Also included in the report are insights gleaned from disaster recovery peer-learning forums attended by disaster recovery coordinators and regional economic development leaders from around the country.

To find the report online visit: http://www.nado.org/pubs/Restore.pdf

The NADO Research Foundation would like to thank all of the disaster recovery stakeholders who contributed to this report, in particular those who gave their time and expertise to tell the stories of Hurricane Ike and the Iowa Floods. We would also like to thank Fred Baldwin for writing the report and the U.S. Economic Development Administration for funding the project.