North Carolina Heat Action Plan Toolkit

Published in 2024 by the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resilience (NCORR), this toolkit provides a heat action plan template that local governments and community partners across North Carolina can customize and implement to prepare for extreme heat events. The toolkit describes the danger of rising temperatures as well as the importance of extreme heat preparedness and provides localities with resources and guidance on heat resilience.

As a result of climate change, temperatures are rising across North Carolina’s rural and urban communities. Vulnerable populations, including outdoor laborers, tourists, and rural communities, may be particularly impacted by heat stress. The NC Heat Action Plan Toolkit strives to address vulnerabilities by providing localities with specific resources to educate and prepare such communities for extreme heat.

The toolkit is organized into three categories of actions for local governments according to the timeframe of the extreme heat event: during the heat season, when extreme heat is in the forecast, and when considering extreme heat events in the long term. During the heat season, the toolkit proposes strategies such as hosting indoor community events, increasing public health messaging and heat awareness, and reducing barriers to heat relief events. When extreme heat is in the forecast, the toolkit emphasizes programs that increase community heat resilience, such as increasing hospital staffing capacity and providing heat relief to people experiencing housing insecurity. Finally, when considering extreme heat events in the long term, the toolkit proposes infrastructure and policy initiatives to support community-wide adaptation.

While the toolkit provides local governments with a structured approach to local extreme heat strategy, it includes many placeholders that invite localities to consider the scope and logistical details of implementation in their communities. For example, it prompts localities to specify which agencies or organizations should be responsible for certain programs and which relevant local stakeholders and community partners should be consulted and included in implementation. The toolkit also places emphasis on including metrics and measurable goals throughout its program suggestions.

 

The NC Heat Action Plan Toolkit aims to promote equitable community resilience to extreme heat stress across North Carolina’s rural and urban populations.

The toolkit includes information and resources on North Carolina’s heat-vulnerable communities, who may be disproportionately impacted by rising temperatures and prolonged periods of extreme heat. Such groups include outdoor workers, rural communities, and those experiencing housing insecurity. The toolkit encourages local governments across North Carolina to consider the needs of vulnerable populations throughout the strategies they adopt, and identifies specific ways they can build equitable heat resilience, such as:

  • Distributing heat relief supplies to populations experiencing housing insecurity when extreme heat is in the forecast
  • Partnering with state and local partners to implement assistance programs for low-income residents with heat-related home improvements (i.e. cooling expenses)
  • Offering accessible transportation to cooling centers for residents without means of transportation

Alongside the toolkit, NCORR published various sample resources intended to be utilized in conjunction with the Heat Action Plan. Available resources include sample community surveys, checklists, and factsheets, among others, which can aid localities with the implementation of programs suggested in the toolkit.

NCORR, a division of the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, published this toolkit as part of their ongoing Regions Innovating for Strong Economies and Environment (RISE) Program, which aims to increase resilience “primarily in the storm-impacted regions of North Carolina.” The development of this toolkit was also supported by the North Carolina State Climate Office; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Carolinas Climate Adaptation Partnership, the Carolinas Collaborative on Climate, Health and Equity; the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services; North Carolina Emergency Management; and the Heat Policy Innovation Hub at the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment and Sustainability at Duke University.

Publication Date: April 2024

Related Organizations:

Sectors:

Resource Category:

Resource Types:

  • Planning guides

States Affected:

Impacts:

Go To Resource