Natural disasters have dominated news coverage in the past several years, with many observers noting a distressing rise in the frequency and scale of disasters as well asrising costs. Despite these worrying trends, a critical mass of leadership and public support for doing something about it is emerging.

Last year’s record-setting weather helped crystallize the new reality of disaster impacts for many Americans. The United States suffered more than two-thirds of the world’s disaster damage from storms, drought, fire, and earthquakes, including the worst drought in a generation, freakishly strong thunderstorms, and the largest Arctic ice melt on record. And of course, Superstorm Sandy closed out the election year with a wake-up call: Such large-scale disasters in densely populated, coastal cities present a wickedly complex set of challenges.

The "New Normal"

Collectively, these mounting disaster risks expose us to a dangerous “new normal,” in which climate change is likely to sustain or worsen the scale of disasters. While events like Sandy offer “teachable moments” on managing the scale of future disasters, we’ll need more than lessons learned. We need concrete actions that drive truly forward-looking change.

I believe we’re at a tipping point. It’s not just academics who are pushing for change; there’s greater public pressure on governments to adapt to the reality of the 21st century, embrace new ways of doing business, and better serve the needs of disaster survivors.

The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) launched its Strategic Foresight Initiative (SFI) in 2010 as a transformative, community-wide effort to create an enduring foresight capability and catalyze the emergency management community to be prepared for whatever challenges and opportunities the future holds. The recent publication of SFI’s Toward More Resilient Futures showcases how the agency, as well as the entire disaster preparedness community, is taking real steps to promote greater resilience.

The report prompts us to think strategically about the future in three engaging and visually rich sections.

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