"Brevard Prepares Is Designed to Build  Disaster Resistant Communities."

In the past 10 years, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has spent $25 billion to help people repair and rebuild their communities after natural and technological disasters. And that is not the total cost. Insurance companies spent additional billions in claims payments; businesses lost revenues; employees lost jobs; other government agencies spent millions more. Worst of all, however, is the loss that can never be recovered: human life.

The increasing number and severity of natural and technological disasters over the past decade demands that action be taken to reduce the threat that hurricanes, tornadoes, severe storms, floods, terrorism and fires impose upon Brevard's economy and the safety of its citizens. With Building Disaster Resistant Communities, it is changing the way we deal with disasters. Brevard Prepares helps communities protect themselves from the devastating effects of natural disasters by taking actions that dramatically reduce disruption and loss.

This countywide initiative, Brevard Prepares, operates on this common-sense damage-reduction approach, basing its work and planning on three simple principles: preventive actions must be decided at the local level; private sector participation is vital; and long-term efforts and investments in prevention measures are essential.

The incentive is clear: a disaster resistant community is able to bounce back from a natural disaster with far less loss of property and consequently much less cost for repairs. Moreover, the time lost from productive activity is minimized for both businesses and their employees. Indeed, FEMA estimates that for every dollar spent in damage prevention, two are saved in repairs.