The Emergency Management Planning course is offered every spring semester as part of the Urban and Regional Planning program’s coastal concentration. Nine students were enrolled in Spring 2014. Working within the constraints of a 14-weeks semester, students carried out an impact assessment study of a federally funded Pitt County buyout program that was implemented after the 1999 Hurricane Floyd. The aim of the project was to understand the socio-economic, environmental, and development outcomes of the buyout program in the impacted area, 15 years after Floyd. The project was undertaken in collaboration with the Pitt County Department of Planning and Development. Students carried out site visits for visual documentation of parcels in the impacted area along with data collection on floodplain designation change, land use change, and tax value change for each parcel. Current and pre-1999 data were compared to document patterns of development and analyze the project’s impact. Students determined that the buyout program was a moderate success, although, there is still great risk in the area. The project contributed to an experiential learning for the students. The image below was taken after the first field visit to the project site in the floodplain, it includes Pitt County officials from Planning and Development: James Rhodes (Director, 3rd from left), Eli Johnson (Senior Planner, 1st from right) and Bryan Jones (Environmental Planner, 4th from right).