Emergency Preparedness Case Studies
This tab features case studies that describe examples of how adaptation has been incorporated in emergency preparedness planning and policy.
Resources are automatically presented by date. Apply additional filters to narrow the list by state, impact, region, or jurisdictional focus.
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June 16, 2022
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services (CMSWS) is a joint municipal–county stormwater utility that manages and maintains the regulated floodplains within Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, including the City of Charlotte. CMSWS has developed a system for assessing community flood risk through the Mecklenburg County Risk Assessment/Risk Reduction (RARR) Tool for comprehensive mapping, impact analysis, and county-wide floodplain management. This map-based application allows the agency to collect and analyze flood risk data to help identify and reduce flood risk at the parcel level and regionally. RARR is a data-driven framework and set of tools that dynamically assess, evaluate, and ultimately prioritize flood mitigation strategies. The flood risk analysis processes supported by the RARR tool, along with the resulting solutions that CMSWS offers as described in this case study and a companion report, can guide other local jurisdictions in flood resilience planning, and promote climate adaptive policies. This case study is one of 24 case studies featured in a report written by the Georgetown Climate Center, Greauxing Resilience at Home: A Collection of Lessons and Case Studies from Louisiana and Beyond
Related Organizations: Georgetown Climate Center
Resource Category: Solutions
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June 16, 2022
Houston has been battered by six federally declared flooding disasters in five years, including the record-setting Hurricane Harvey in 2017. A significant amount of Houston’s existing development is located in vulnerable floodplains. These land use patterns, combined with recurrent disasters, have served as the impetus for Houston to undertake several related efforts to increase local resilience. The city has thus begun to plan to increase its resilience against future storms. In 2018, the city responded by adding structural elevation requirements in the 500-year floodplain and increasing them for the 100-year floodplain. In addition, the city developed the Resilient Houston plan. If implemented, the proposed recommendations in Resilient Houston will promote affordable housing with access to job centers, improve community resilience through green space preservation, and enhance stormwater management through the promotion of green stormwater infrastructure. Other local governments facing similar threats from disaster events and pressures to develop in floodplains could evaluate and consider adopting some of Houston’s planning and land-use actions. This case study is one of 24 case studies featured in a report written by the Georgetown Climate Center, Greauxing Resilience at Home: A Collection of Lessons and Case Studies from Louisiana and Beyond
Related Organizations: Georgetown Climate Center
Resource Category: Solutions
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June 16, 2022
In recent years, Asheville, North Carolina has faced population growth and affordable housing challenges compounded by climate change. Against this backdrop, Asheville also recognizes the importance of retaining its unique sense of place, culture, and character, including protecting trees and natural landscapes. As such, the city is working to ensure that it creates a healthy, livable community resilient to these and other impacts. Over the last two decades, Asheville has released several plans, assessments, and policies related to growing the city’s climate and environmental resilience and ensuring an adequate affordable housing stock. Accordingly, the city has pursued — and plans to continue pursuing — strategies that preserve the city’s culture and character while making the area a safer, more affordable place. Many of these strategies are facilitated through prioritizing the environment and affordable housing in different city plans and incentives-based amendments to zoning ordinances. Asheville serves as an example for other jurisdictions seeking to integrate climate and resilience elements within local governance structures, plans, and zoning ordinances while tackling other local challenges, such as maintaining or increasing affordable housing stock or retaining a distinct local culture. This case study is one of 24 case studies featured in a report written by the Georgetown Climate Center, Greauxing Resilience at Home: A Collection of Lessons and Case Studies from Louisiana and Beyond
Related Organizations: Georgetown Climate Center
Resource Category: Solutions
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June 16, 2022
Greauxing Resilience at Home: A Regional Vision is an innovative legal, planning, and policy resource to promote community resilience through housing and nature-based solutions in places where flooding, extreme weather events, and other factors are driving population changes and transitions. It was developed by Capital Region Planning Commission and Georgetown Climate Center, in collaboration with policymakers, community members, and other stakeholders in Region Seven of the Louisiana Watershed Initiative
Related Organizations: Georgetown Climate Center , Capital Region Planning Commission
Authors or Affiliated Users: Katie Spidalieri , Rachelle Sanderson , Suhasini Ghosh , Annie Bennett , Katherine McCormick , Jennifer Li
Resource Category: Solutions
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June 16, 2022
In August 2016, a historic flooding event severely impacted the infrastructure and people in the city of Denham Springs in Louisiana. In response to the flooding, the city worked with its residents to create a long-term recovery plan called Denham Strong. The goal of the plan to increase community resilience in the aftermath of the disaster. The plan lists various affordable housing and mitigation recovery projects under three main categories: (1) Flood Recovery; (2) Disaster Resilience; and (3) Community Development. Denham Strong is a guiding document with the ability to adapt to future changed circumstances in Denham Springs. Denham Strong is a noteworthy example of a recovery plan that encompasses community input, provides examples of projects for stormwater management, includes resilient affordable housing considerations, and keeps the community updated as projects are implemented. Other local governments impacted by disaster events can consider similar opportunities to supplement local comprehensive plans and engage residents with proactive thinking about building long-term resilience. This case study is one of 24 case studies featured in a report written by the Georgetown Climate Center, Greauxing Resilience at Home: A Collection of Lessons and Case Studies from Louisiana and Beyond
Related Organizations: Georgetown Climate Center
Resource Category: Solutions
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September 14th, 2021
The U. S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released this report, in response to congressional requests, to determine how agencies prevent or reduce natural disaster damage to real property. As the largest real property owner in the United States, the federal government has assets that are exposed to a high level of risk from extreme weather and climate-related events. The federal government has an opportunity to enhance natural disaster resilience of their real property through effective asset management.
Related Organizations: U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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June 2021
In 2019, after decades of repetitive flooding, the town of Hamilton in Skagit County, Washington partnered with Forterra, a local land conservancy nonprofit, to annex a 48-acre parcel of land located outside of the town’s 100-year floodplain. Annexing this land will provide Hamilton with a higher, drier ground area where town residents could voluntarily relocate to new homes. Forterra is developing plans for the annexed parcel to build affordable, environmentally conscious homes for Hamilton residents. Hamilton provides an example for other municipalities and local governments either in a pre- or post-disaster context for revitalizing a community challenged by frequent flooding through adaptation actions. As done in Hamilton, local governments may consider possibilities for providing relocation options to residents within a floodplain, including by annexing new land, particularly where sufficient higher ground land within existing municipal boundaries is not available. Annexation can allow local governments to maintain local communities, tax bases, and economies.
Resource Category: Solutions
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August 2020
This white paper from Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) describes the roles that community organizations play in responding to natural disasters, as well as the accomplishments and challenges relating to this work. With natural disasters related to climate change occuring at increasingly frequent rates, community organizations provide critical emergency aid and recovery services. Furthermore, these services can help reduce the recovery gap within communities, as underlying economic, social, and housing factors and public policy decisions create disparities which are exacerbated through natural disasters. Drawing on interviews with various organizations in California, Florida, Puerto Rico, and Texas, this paper reviews the different strategies that these groups use and puts forth some recommendations for policy changes that may be necessary to advance equity in recovery and resilience.
Resource Category: Solutions
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July 25, 2020
The Florida Keys Community Land Trust (CLT) demonstrates how land trusts can deliver resilient affordable housing options in disaster-affected areas. The Florida Keys, a 125-mile long chain of islands off the southern tip of Florida in Monroe County, were devastated in 2017 by Hurricane Irma. Irma made landfall at Cudjoe Key as a Category 4 hurricane and its sustained winds of 132 mph and 8-foot storm surge devastated homes, businesses, and infrastructure in the Lower and Middle Keys. Twenty-five percent of the homes in the Florida Keys were damaged or destroyed by the storm, with disproportionate impacts on manufactured homes that made up the bulk of affordable housing in the County.
Related Organizations: Florida Keys Community Land Trust
Author or Affiliated User: Jessica Grannis
Resource Category: Solutions
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In Louisiana, a state-created land trust is supporting floodplain buyouts and helping families relocate out of vulnerable flood-prone areas. The Louisiana Land Trust (LLT) was created in 2005 to support buyouts after hurricanes Katrina and Rita. After more recent flood events, LLT expanded its role to help communities relocate to safer, higher ground areas. The land trust is helping to facilitate the resettlement of residents of the Pecan Acres subdivision in Pointe Coupee Parish and the Isle de Jean Charles community in Terrebonne Parish. The Pecan Acres subdivision is located in a lower-income neighborhood north of the City of New Roads, and has experienced repeated flooding 17 times over the past 20 years. LLT is working to help resettle approximately 40 households within the subdivision by acquiring their flood-prone properties, and supporting a development on higher ground where they can relocate. Isle de Jean Charles is a narrow island in South Terrebonne parish and is the home of the Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha Confederation of Muskogees and United Houma Nation tribes. The island has lost 98% of its land mass since 1955 and many residents have left as a result of increasing flooding, where encroaching seas often flood the only roadway connecting the island to the mainland. With funding from the , the state is working to support implementation of a tribal resettlement plan. LLT acquired the resettlement site, about 40 miles north of the island that will be redeveloped. Eligible and participating families and individuals will be offered properties on the site with a five-year forgivable mortgage. Both the Pecan Acres and Isle de Jean Charles resettlement developments will incorporate resilient and green design features (including elevation about FEMA minimum standards, LEED certified construction, green infrastructure, and community amenities like parks) and will enable the residents to relocate together, maintaining social bonds and cohesion. This example demonstrates how land trusts can support efforts to relocate whole communities, and support development of sustainable and resilient receiving communities.
Related Organizations: Louisiana Office of Community Development - Disaster Recovery Unit (OCD-DRU) , Louisiana Land Trust
Resource Category: Solutions
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