Toolkit Resources

Resilience strategies other communities are using

72 hour resilience for all city infrastructure: generator, supplies and storage, points of relocation for ops and loc center, training for all city departments about our response. Accelerate adoption of distributed renewable energy systems, electrification and microgrids. Account for projected changes in precipitation and sea level rise in water and water infrastructure planning. Acquire appropriate flood response assets for public safety. Across municipal operations, track water use and analyze trends at the building level. Reducing water use can prevent or alleviate drought impacts. Consider creating a dashboard to educate staff on water Add capacity to water supply Reservoir and determine viability and cost effectiveness Add continuous deflection separation units where necessary to the sewer system across the jurisdiction to prevent major debris from contaminating water systems. Add or increase local freeboard requirements in the flood ordinance so that all housing, household utilities and public facilities are built or rehabilitated to at least four feet above the base flood Add or update a list of nuisance vegetation and invasive species in the municipal code. Address flood-prone roads by installing green stormwater practices. Address the resilience of the regional flood control system. Coordinate with the Water Management District and local public officials to request a comprehensive Adopt building codes that restrict inappropriate redevelopment in areas damaged by inundation, erosion and flooding to prevent future losses. Adopt design standards that reduce heat absorption by building roofs and sides. For example, incentivize white or green roofs. Adopt emergency land-use provisions to address displacement and redevelopment in advance of a major or catastrophic event. Adopt low-impact development (LID) standards, add incentives and remove regulatory barriers (e.g., in the zoning ordinance) to encourage green infrastructure, especially in low lying areas. Green infrastructure Adopt planning and land-use policies that support clean air, clean drinking water and pollution-free waterways. Adopt practices that comply with the National Flood Insurance Program floodplain management requirements, such as proper issuance of development permits in a floodplain. Adopt regulations and launch programs to address the home ignition zone — areas on or near homes where embers can land and easily ignite. Examples of actions that reduce the spread of fire in home ignition Adopt stream buffers on any perennial stream using widths that have been established or tested as best practice within the region. Adopt or update sediment and erosion-control regulations or practices. Ensure guidelines accommodate changes that may occur due to the anticipated increased, heavier precipitation events.

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Drought

A drought is a deficiency of precipitation over an extended period of time resulting in a water shortage. Drought conditions range from dry weather patterns and low water supply to impacts on crops, ecosystems, and disruptions in supply and demand for various commodities. This website provides National Risk Index data based on agricultural losses for areas impacted by drought between 2000-2025. Explore options for addressing drought here.

Air Quality

Air quality reflects the abundance of pollution present in air. Pollution is a mix of hazardous substances from both human-made and natural sources. Primary sources of human-made air pollution include vehicle emissions, fuel oils and natural gas to heat homes, by-products of manufacturing and power generation—particularly coal-fueled power plants—and fumes from chemical production.

Extreme Heat

A heat wave is a period of abnormally and uncomfortably hot and unusually humid weather, typically lasting two or more days with temperatures above the historical averages for a given area.

Flooding – Coastal

Coastal flooding occurs when water inundates or covers normally dry coastal land as a result of high or rising tides or storm surges.

Flooding – General

Riverine flooding occurs when streams or rivers exceed the capacity of their natural or constructed channels to accommodate the flow of water. Flooding occurs when water overflows river banks, spilling out into adjacent low-lying, usually dry land.

Flooding – Rainfall-induced

Flash floods refer to high flowing water or inundation that begins within 6 hours of heavy rainfall. Flash floods generally occur along existing water channels or around existing water sources, including along coastlines.

Severe Winter Weather

Winter Weather consists of winter storm events in which the main types of precipitation are snow, sleet, or freezing rain.

Wildfire

Wildfires are unplanned fires burning in natural or wildland areas such as forests, shrub lands, grasslands, or prairies. Wildfires also occur within wildland-urban interfaces—areas where homes and other human structures intermingle with wildland vegetation.

Learn what communities like yours have done

Adapt Oklahoma City, OK

This photo has been released into the public domain because it contains materials that originally came from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. No endorsement by licensor implied.

Adapting to Rising Tides in San Francisco Bay, California

Photo attributed to Michael Oswald. This work has been released into the public domain by its author. No endorsement by licensor implied.

Adapting to Sea Level Rise and Coastal Erosion in Hawai'i

Photo attributed to CeciliaPang. This work has been released into the public domain by its author. No endorsement by licensor implied.

Addressing Climate Change Impacts in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement

Toby Anungazuk, Jr. Used with permission.

Addressing Links Between Climate and Public Health in Alaska Native Villages

Still image from video, "Fredericktown, Missouri: Water Utility Climate Adaptation Planning" from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Addressing Short- and Long-Term Risks to Water Supply

Ellen Wagner. CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/, via Flickr

Addressing Water Supply Risks from Flooding and Drought

Courtesy of NBBJ

After Katrina, Health Care Facility's Infrastructure Rebuilt to Withstand Future Flooding

Aachor. CC BY-SA 3.0, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en, via Wikimedia Commons.

After Record-Breaking Rains, Texas Medical Center's Planning Improved Resilience

Peggy Fagerstrom, Sitnasuak Native Corporation. Used with permission

Alaska Native Villages Work to Enhance Local Economies as They Minimize Environmental Risks

Chris Whitehead, Sitka Tribe of Alaska. Used with permission.

Alaskan Tribes Join Together to Assess Harmful Algal Blooms

This image has been released into the public domain because it contains materials that originally came from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. No endorsement by licensor implied.

Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership's Climate Ready Estuaries Project

Jon 'ShakataGaNai' Davis. CC-BY-SA-3.0, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, or GFDL, http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html, via Wikimedia Commons

Alert System Helps Strawberry Growers Reduce Costs

Travis Essinger on Unsplash

All Hands on Deck: Creating Green Infrastructure to Combat Flooding in Toledo

Photo attributed to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters. Incorporated here under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. No endorsement by licensor implied.

Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge/ Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula Climate Adaptation Project

Image provided on NOAA Sea Grant website.

Amending Land Use Codes for Natural Infrastructure Planning

Splash screen for NFWF Case Study: American Rivers

American Rivers: Increasing Community and Ecological resilience by Removing a Patapsco River Fish Barrier

scene Salem Lake ncwetlands KG, cropped, by NC Wetlands, public domain image, via Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ncwetlands/46127282494

Analyzing Future Urban Growth and Flood Risk in North Carolina

Tony Waupochick, Menominee Tribal Enterprises, surveys an oak wilt site after treatment. Image credit: Climate Change Response Framework (https://forestadaptation.org/adapt/demonstration-projects/menominee-tri…). Used with permission

And the Trees Will Last Forever