U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit

In Florida's humid climate, strawberry growers are in a constant battle with two kinds of fruit rot. Using a decision support system, they can save money by spraying fields only when the plant diseases are a threat.

Researchers identified areas vulnerable to urban growth in Pender County, North Carolina. The team analyzed land cover change, mapped wetlands in coastal areas, and used census and business data to determine the level of flood risk in areas with high urbanization. This has helped planners understand trends in the development growth of the county and informed local government planning regulations.

In North Carolina's Outer Banks, the coastal Town of Nags Head is vulnerable to flooding from heavy rain events, hurricanes, tropical storms, nor’easters, and storm surge. To add insult to injury, vulnerability is increasing with sea level rise. Town managers and residents recognized the need to build the town's resilience and moved forward to prioritize and plan.

When water utility personnel recognized their groundwater withdrawals were damaging ecosystems in the Tampa Bay area, they found new ways to reduce their dependence on it.

To better prepare for current and future sea level rise, four counties in South Florida joined forces to agree upon consistent sea level rise mapping methods.

Faced with episodic high-tide flooding, partners in Charleston, South Carolina, calculated the potential extent and frequency of similar flooding in the future. Focus group feedback on this information helped organizers design an informative fact sheet.

It's not easy to keep faucets flowing year-round in southwest Florida. To make sure their customers can get ample clean water at a good price—even through dry seasons—water utility managers crafted a useful index to help them decide which water sources to use.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s storymap contains case studies and videos that describe the experiences of small and medium-sized drinking water utilities that successfully responded to drought. Explore the story of Hogansville, GA.

Along a shoreline that was buffeted by fierce wave action and boat wakes, a dual-defense strategy led to a 30 to 90 percent reduction in destructive wave energy.

Partners in the Keyswide Home Elevation Education Project developed trainings and informational materials to demystify the process and increase knowledge on home elevation. Materials help answer homeowners' and contractors' questions about costs, methods, barriers, permitting, duration, and financing.

A federal study assessed vulnerabilities of transportation infrastructure to extreme events in Mobile, Alabama. The effort also resulted in tools and approaches that other transportation departments can use to assess and address their own vulnerabilities.

Differences in social vulnerability across Richmond meant that the city's resilience plan didn't work equally well for all neighborhoods. To enhance their plan, the city worked with partners to develop a novel tool—the Climate Equity Index—to document neighborhood vulnerability to climate impacts,

At the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, the city of Norfolk, Virginia, lies within ten feet of sea level. It's taking steps to envision and implement a resilient future.

Following a role play simulation on community planning for climate adaptation in Georgetown County, South Carolina, participants reported increased empathy for differing viewpoints and a high level of support for stakeholder engagement in planning processes.

Louisiana’s Highway 1 carries a significant fraction of the gas and oil that comes from the Gulf of Mexico to distribution points in the United States. Faced with rising seas and sinking land, would the cost of rebuilding the road be worth the investment it required?

After conducting an assessment that showed their building’s vulnerability to wind damage, the Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami looked for a way to improve safety for patients and staff.

Residents along the U.S. Gulf Coast are familiar with the flooding hazards associated with storms, yet many are unaware of the risk of sea level rise. Shoppers at a local mall had a chance to explore the potential impacts of sea level rise on their communities.