National Landslide Preparedness Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. DelBENE. Mr. Speaker, a little over 5 years ago, on March 22, 2014, Washington State experienced one of the worst natural disasters to date. In a matter of seconds, a tragic landslide near Oso killed 43 people, destroyed over 40 homes, and severely damaged public infrastructure and private property.

That day forever changed the people of Oso, Darrington, Arlington, and the Stillaguamish and Sauk-Suiattle Tribes. They are an inspiring community who did everything possible and came together to help their neighbors.

The Federal Government declared a major disaster in the State of Washington and made sure that Federal resources were available to supplement State, Tribal, and local recovery efforts. While the recovery was slow, these agencies responded to calls for aid when our communities needed roads rebuilt, an extension to file taxes, assistance to get kids to school, or to find new housing.

Unfortunately, this type of event is not unique to Oso or to Washington State. Every State in the country faces some amount of landslide risk, a risk that has not been well identified or addressed when compared to earthquakes, hurricanes, or floods.

Substantial work needs to be done to gain a better understanding of landslides and their potential impacts in order to reduce losses of life and property.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey and National Research Council, landslides result in an estimated 20 to 50 deaths and between $1 billion and $2 billion of damage each year.

There is no one collective landslide inventory for most counties, States, or the entire country, and there isn't an agreed-upon methodology for creating one. The establishment of a program addressing landslide hazards as well as increased funding for mapping, education, and risk assessment is crucial and could help save many lives, homes, and infrastructure in the future.

We need to do more to ensure that we fund programs and research efforts to prevent future natural disasters from becoming national tragedies. That is why I introduced this bill, the National Landslide Preparedness Act.

This legislation would establish a National Landslide Hazards Reduction Program through the U.S. Geological Survey to better identify and understand landslide risks, protect communities and property, improve emergency preparedness, and, most importantly, save lives.

My bill would also direct the USGS to implement a 3D Elevation Program to update and coordinate the collection of enhanced high-resolution elevation data across the country. This is crucial for numerous reasons:

To help communities plan for and respond to natural hazards;

To update the Nation's topographical maps; and

To inform a myriad of uses, including public safety, national security, planning, infrastructure, administration, agriculture, and natural resource management.

Currently, much of the country still relies on data collected more than 30 years ago using older technologies that do not provide the same resolution and benefits. It is time that landslide hazards are addressed properly and in a collaborative fashion. This legislation will allow significant progress to be made in landslide science and will allow communities to be better prepared for when landslides do occur.

We will never forget those who were lost in the slide and the incredible community that worked so hard to rebuild.

Five years ago at the Oso firehouse, President Obama said that the Nation was with the community every step of the way in the rebuilding process. Part of that process is making sure we do everything in our power to make sure that all communities have the necessary information to be better prepared for dangerous landslides.

Mr. Speaker, given the importance of this issue to communities across the country, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KEVIN HERN of Oklahoma.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1261, the National Landslide Preparedness Act. This straightforward piece of legislation will help prepare and protect us from landslides.

Landslides are a dangerous and expensive national hazard. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, landslides cause as much as $2 billion in damages each year and around 25 fatalities.

Wildfires, earthquakes, and severe weather all make landslides more likely. As cities and towns across our country continue to develop, the chances of being affected by these events, likewise, increases.

Since the 1970s, one of the core missions of the U.S. Geological Survey has been to use scientific data to minimize the loss of life and property damage from hazards like landslides. H.R. 1261 supports that goal by establishing the National Landslide Hazards Reduction Program, which will help identify and understand landslide risk; and when those hazards eventually occur, this bill will help prepare us by improving communication and emergency preparedness.

H.R. 1261 also establishes a national 3D Elevation Program to create and maintain standardized, publicly available 3D elevation data for the United States. Not only will this program assess landslide hazards, but could also help identify energy, mineral, and water resources, geological hazards such as active faults, and other potential dangers, including swelling soils, floodplains, and abandoned mine lands.

In Oklahoma, we have had lots of floods, so if there are other things we can do that will help get us some understanding of what is going on, people will be better for it. I am confident that this bill will help prepare for and prevent against damage from landslides and, most importantly, save American lives.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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