CR4HC Hurricane Element 1: Prospective Risk Assessment

Element 1. Prospective Risk Assessment

Climate change is leading to changes in the incidence, distribution, and severity of tropical storms, resulting in more damaging hurricanes, the effects of which can include wind damage, coastal storm surge, and flooding. Healthcare organizations can increase their resilience to worsening hurricane seasons by incorporating prospective hurricane risk assessments in their emergency preparedness plans. For example, Oschner Health in New Orleans, LA, has prepared for increasingly frequent flooding and hurricanes by purchasing a fleet of eight flat-bottomed boats and eight high-water trucks to transport supplies, staff, and patients to and from the hospital during high water events. The hospital also dug wells to create a supplemental supply of process water for their building systems during water outages (Boyle, 2022).

Climate Resilience Strategies:

Download PDF of Climate Resilience Strategies

Tools and Resources:

This section links to technical information and funding opportunities supporting the climate resilience strategies above.

Planning

ASPR Risk Identification and Site Criticality (RISC) Toolkit: This toolkit is an objective, data-driven all-hazards risk assessment that can be used by public and private organizations within the healthcare and public health sector to inform emergency preparedness planning, risk management activities, and resource investments. https://aspr.hhs.gov/RISC/Pages/default.aspx
ASPR Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange (TRACIE) Healthcare System Recovery Timeline: A White Paper for Texas: This resource answers the question “How long does it take the healthcare system to recover from a major hurricane?” It includes an extensive literature review of published and grey literature and open-source media accounts of past disaster recovery reports. https://files.asprtracie.hhs.gov/documents/aspr-tracie-ta-healthcare-facility-recovery-timeline-white-paper.pdf
ASPR Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange (TRACIE) Topic Collection Natural Disasters: The resources in this collection highlight lessons learned from recent events, communication tools and information, and checklists, plans, tools, and templates that can be modified to suit specific threats and needs. Articles in this Topic Collection address specific natural disasters and hazards and relevant elements of emergency preparedness planning. https://asprtracie.hhs.gov/technical-resources/36/natural-disasters/27
Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters: This site offers access to data and reports detailing significant weather events that have caused over a billion dollars in damages in the United States, providing insights into the frequency, severity, and impacts of these events over time. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/
CDC National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network: Explore, view, and download climate change-related exposure, vulnerability, and health outcome data by indicator/measure of interest, geography (e.g., state, county, etc.) and time (e.g., year). https://ephtracking.cdc.gov/DataExplorer/
Climate Mapping for Resilience and Adaptation (CMRA): This is an interactive portal to help communities identify, understand, and prepare for climate-related hazards including wildfire, drought, inland flooding, coastal flooding, extreme heat, and extreme cold. https://resilience.climate.gov/pages/hazards
FEMA Risk Mapping, Assessment, and Planning (Risk MAP) Program: This website describes the Risk MAP program that maps the country's flood risk, produces flood insurance rate maps (FIRMs), and compiles flood mitigation resources. https://www.fema.gov/flood-maps/tools-resources/risk-map
NOAA Coastal Inundation Dashboard: This interactive map provides information and visuals on the forecasts for coastal inundation and flooding across the U.S. and its territories. https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/inundationdb/
NOAA Storm Events Database: This is a database of records on various types of significant storm events and outcomes with data beginning in January 1950. https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/
NWS Hazards Map: This website provides and archives weather, water, and climate forecasts and warnings for the United States, its territories, and adjacent waters and ocean areas. https://www.weather.gov/
NWS Hurricane Center Data Archive: This website created by the National Hurricane Center and Central Pacific Hurricane Center provides a comprehensive data archive of tropical cyclones and hurricanes. https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/
NWS National Hurricane Center: This website by the National Hurricane Center and Central Pacific Hurricane Center provides current tropical weather conditions and forecasts for the United States, its territories, and adjacent waters and ocean areas. hhttps://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
NWS National Hurricane Center Storm Surge Risk Maps: This interactive map shows vulnerable areas for storm surges in the case of category 1-5 storms. https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/203f772571cb48b1b8b50fdcc3272e2c
NWS Sea, Lake, and Overland Surges from Hurricanes (SLOSH) Model: This website by the National Hurricane Center and Central Pacific Hurricane Center presents prediction models for sea, lake, and overland surges from hurricanes and estimates storm surge heights. https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/surge/slosh.php

Additional Resources

References

Files:

Hazard_Hurricanes_1.0.pdf