“It’s about weakening the foundation that informs emergency management, that informs local planning, that informs infrastructure investment, insurance risk assessments, and quite frankly, public communication,” said Arditi-Rocha. “When research slows, the ability to anticipate future risk also slows. I think when you have fewer resources to tell the public to prepare and to prepare for what you know, the bottom line is we have fewer resources to do so effectively and safely.”