Many stories about President Carter will circulate in the coming weeks, but I wanted to briefly share his connection to flood management. One April 1, 1979, President Carter signed EO 12127, which established the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Carter recognized that the frequency of natural disasters was increasing and felt passionately that the role of government was to help those in need. … Before establishing FEMA, President Carter signed EO 11988 – the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS). The Federal Register categorized EO 11988 as “Environmental Protection,” but the preamble of the groundbreaking order made it clear that Carter understood the order really was about future flood risk.