Economic Analyses

Economic analyses focus on determining the vulnerability of major economic sectors and the largest employers within a community. Economic sectors can include agriculture, mining, construction, manufacturing, transportation, wholesale, retail, service, finance, insurance, and real estate industries. Economic centers are areas where hazard impacts could have large, adverse effects on the local economy and would therefore be ideal locations for targeting certain hazard mitigation strategies. Assessments of the largest employers can help indicate how many people and what types of industries could be impacted by adverse impacts from natural hazards. Some of the most devastating disaster costs to a community include the loss of income associated with business interruptions and the loss of jobs associated with business closures.