U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit

The Village of Walton, New York worked with their Soil and Water Conservation District to engage community members in decisions about flooding in their community. The Village eventually took action to restore portions of the floodplain to reduce flooding.

Widespread damage from flooding at the Texas Medical Center in Houston revealed the complex's vulnerabilities. Implementing a long-term hazard mitigation plan is reducing future risks.

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.

Planning with extreme weather thresholds catalyzes a $400,000 green infrastructure investment in a historically underserved neighborhood in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Residents of Barnstable County, Massachusetts, have found an unlikely but financially rewarding pairing: county efforts to keep mosquito populations under control are reducing residents' flood insurance premiums.

Educating local middle-schoolers about emergency preparedness allows the small city of Miami to build climate resilience in an accessible way—and broach the topic of climate change.

Researchers in Washington's South Fork Nooksack River are seeking to better understand the potential impacts of climate change on water quality and salmon recovery—a process they hope can be replicated and scaled in other watersheds across the country.

When a flood is forecast for the Red River of the North, community leaders, emergency responders, and residents around Fargo, North Dakota, and Moorhead, Minnesota, can gauge their need for preparation by accessing visualizations showing the extent, depth, and timing of expected flooding.

The city charts its path to resilience by focusing on extreme weather and interdepartmental collaboration.

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,

The four member tribes of the Upper Snake River Tribes Foundation collaborated on a Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment, resulting in a quantified assessment of their shared concerns and establishment of a common foundation for future adaptation efforts.

Two major fires and subsequent flooding events wreaked havoc on a critical watershed and reservoir that supplies Denver with water. Now, a public-private partnership is working to ensure a clean, reliable water supply.

After a nightmare flood in 1997, Fort Collins, Colorado, stepped up efforts to improve resilience in the face of extreme events—efforts that will also serve the community well if climate change leads to heavier rainstorms.

O'ahu's busy construction industry depends on being able to dispose of demolition and construction wastes. Forecasts for a developing La Niña—often accompanied by heavy rains in Hawai'i—alerted managers at the island's main construction landfill to their climate vulnerability.

Faced with an increased chance for heavy precipitation and flooding, an emergency manager in Oregon spread the word, encouraging groups to be prepared.

The coastal “Lowcountry” region of South Carolina faces unique vulnerabilities to climate change. Researchers engaged with this social and ecological community to determine how strong community resilience can promote adaptive capacity in light of a rapidly changing world.