Because of the hard work our communities and regions, our Nation has roared back from a great recession. We have transformed from a struggling economy in which 8 million jobs were lost to a powerful economy that has created 12 million new jobs over the past 60 months.

While there are many success stories to point to across the Nation, some communities experience setbacks that cannot be anticipated or prevented. Natural disasters – for example - do more than wipe out homes; they can wipe out businesses and decimate local economies. That’s why EDA’s regional offices work with communities to help them prepare for and rebound from the economic impact of natural disasters.

EDA’s Austin Regional Office covers several natural disaster-prone states, including Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, and Louisiana. Recognizing this, Austin has made a concerted effort to support projects that help these communities rebuild their economies in the wake of a disaster and mitigate the impact of future events.

For example, two towns in Arkansas, Mayflower and Vilonia, were devastated by a tornado in 2014. This was on the heels of 2008 flooding and a 2011 tornado that also affected the area.  The staff in Austin acted very quickly to meet with the communities and develop projects to help them recover and ensure they become better prepared to deal with future disasters.  Austin funded three projects for the affected communities, including the construction of water and sewer improvements to expand services to better help Arkansas businesses become more disaster resilient in the future.

In response to severe flooding in the Mississippi River in 2012, EDA’s Austin office awarded a grant to Southern A&M University to help create space for providing outreach services to small business that are vulnerable to the risks associated with natural disasters.  EDA’s grant enabled an existing building to be renovated, and that space now offers services including risk management, disaster recovery and resilience, as well as a business incubator. This facility has helped rebuild a stronger, more resilient small business community in and around Baton Rouge.

Austin has also funded projects that reach beyond a particular region or community. In response to Hurricane Ike in 2010, EDA’s Austin Regional Office gave the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) a grant to provide technical assistance to disaster-impacted communities in Texas and Louisiana. The project helped impacted communities to incorporate economic development into recovery efforts, increase community and economic resiliency, and to build stronger, more sustainable communities. IEDC's technical assistance services help ensure that those communities receive comprehensive, customized capacity-building assistance.  The grant also funded the website restoreyoureconomy.org, which provides resources for communities to engage in economic resiliency efforts and disaster mitigation efforts.

Also in response to Hurricane Ike, as well as Hurricanes Gustav and Dolly, and ice storms and flooding in 2008 in the region, Austin provided funding to the National Association of Development Organization’s (NADO) research foundation to assess the roles of Economic Development Districts (EDD) throughout the disaster mitigation and recovery phases. Additionally, the grant enabled NADO to undertake a three-tier project that:

1. Assessed the regional economic impact caused by disasters
2. Evaluated the role of EDD's in economic recovery efforts following disasters
3. Developed a model for EDD roles in recovery initiatives. 

The grant resulted in the creation of several training modules and tools for EDDs to respond to disasters, which are available on NADO’s website.

There are many ways that EDA supports economic recovery all across the country, and all of our regional offices help the communities they serve each and every day. EDA appreciates the work of all of our regional offices and is very proud of Austin’s quick response to the needs of communities in its region when and where disaster strikes.