Salt Lake City’s Fix the Bricks program acquired FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) grant funds to aid in retrofitting URM homes that were at risk of collapse during an earthquake. Since 2016, more than 4000 applications have been received by Fix the Bricks. Currently, 160 retrofits have been completed, leaving funds to complete 400 more.

Sara Hamideh, assistant professor at Stony Brook University, reported during the IN-CORE mid-year meeting, the city is excited to use INCORE to provide insights into which applicants should be prioritized based on income level, race, ethnicity and optimum distribution of remaining funds. SLC’s Fix the Bricks is working on expanding the funding because of the benefits they will have in saving lives, reducing damage, and reducing the potential for people to have to leave their homes in the event of an earthquake.

Hamideh also provided updates of IN-CORE’s partnerships with Joplin, Missouri, and Galveston, Texas. These partnerships began in 2020 and continue to enable these communities to investigate the long-term benefits and costs of different mitigation, planning, and investment strategies. She stated that the goal is to “ensure that IN-CORE is useful, usable and is used by communities.” The Center worked directly with communities to develop tools that aligned with their resilience goals.

Currently, all of these communities have taken what they’ve learned from their IN-CORE models to begin improving their resilience, Hamideh said.

The community of Galveston is applying for grant funding to support elevating buildings based upon IN-CORE’s models. The program Envision Utah is collaborating with IN-CORE to develop planning documents and update building codes. Joplin is starting a new housing program to retrofit and plan new construction based upon IN-CORE’s predictions to reduce losses and damages.

Communities are interested in consulting with IN-CORE, she noted, because of its reliability and ability to show how disasters can impact multiple and interconnected aspects that are reflective of each unique community.