Thank you to Everyone who Attended the 2020 RNPN Forum Series
We would greatly appreciate your feedback!
We sincerely thank everyone who participated in the Resilient Nation Partnership Network's "Alliances for Equity" 2020 Virtual Forum Series throughout October. If you missed any of the sessions, you can watch the replays here.
If you attended and have not already provided your feedback, we would greatly appreciate if you could do so here.We look forward to building upon the important conversations that took place during the series.
The topic of equity is fundamentally interwoven with resilience. The “Alliances for Equity” series advanced conversations and partnerships with thought leaders representing diverse backgrounds and perspectives. More than 30 speakers, representing 28 organizations from the public, private and nonprofit sectors came together to discuss current challenges and actionable steps toward prioritizing and building a more equitable and resilient future.
The RNPN team is creating a post-event resource to continue facilitating conversations and promoting action to advance equitable solutions. Please be on the lookout for updates on the development of that resource.
We look forward to continued partnership and collaboration.
COVID-19 Stories of Resilience Across the State of Texas
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s Resilient America Program is collaborating with the University of Texas Medical Branch to collect stories about how organizations across the State of Texas have successfully adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Landmark Nationwide Losses Avoided Study Finds That Building Codes Save
Using big data, FEMA’s modeling of the 18.1M buildings constructed in the United States since 2000 has found that the nation has benefited to the tune of $1.6 billion in savings each year. These savings represent the cumulative losses avoided from property damage associated with using the International Codes or similar building codes during floods, hurricane, and earthquakes. FEMA projects that by the year 2040, the nation will have saved around $3.2 billion per year. This adds up to almost $133 billion in total losses avoided from 2000 to 2040. If you are interested in learning more about Building Codes Save and how you can integrate the study’s findings into your program, please send an email to Jon Westcott.
State Resilience Assessment and Planning Tool (SRAP Tool)
The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices’ (NGA Center) released a tool to help governors and their staff assess state resilience, identify gaps, and plan for natural and human-made disasters. The tool and related efforts build upon the experiences of states and community leaders around the U.S. and globally. Focusing on state operations, energy, and other infrastructure systems, the SRAP Tool is designed to help state officials prepare for a wide range of natural and human-made hazards. State officials, under the leadership of the governor’s office, can complete it on their own terms or with direct NGA Center assistance upon request.
Newly Published Article: Equity in Addressing Climate Change: Using Law and Policy to Serve Frontline Communities
Climate change does and will continue to impact frontline communities the hardest... they have commonalities with similar communities globally: disproportionately poor, Black, Brown, and located in vulnerable areas. Many times, this is so because of the cost of living, cultural ties and structural oppression. Rather, cheap land is often coastal and vulnerable (“Climate impacts on coastal areas,” US EPA, 2017). The way we enforce or do not enforce laws and policies to address these disparities, particularly in the context of climate change, will shift outcomes for these and all communities (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
Hear more about this article and other climate justice work live on Cimpatico.tv December 17 and January 14 at 7:00 pm ET on the "Climate.edu" channel.
What You Need to Know About New FEMA Funding for Community Resilience
Investing in pre-disaster mitigation saves money and lives. FEMA’s new BRIC program can provide ongoing federal support to states, local communities and tribes to invest in the planning and projects necessary to address growing climate risks.
Obstacles to Timely Emergency Messaging Study Published in JEM
A recent article in the Journal of Emergency Management aims to help prepare emergency managers for the obstacles that can delay or prevent emergency alerting.
Creating Connections: Resilience and Equity in Transportation
The Climate Adaptation Forum held an event on November 20 from 10 am - 1:15 pm ET, to explore initiatives to improve transportation resilience and equity, and the resilience of the communities that rely on this infrastructure. Attendees heard from experts from around the country who work on various modes of transportation, who are thinking creatively about how to adapt and protect our infrastructure and make it responsive to changing needs.
FEMA Region 2 Individual and Community Preparedness is hosting upcoming webinars on financial preparedness, public health preparedness and mental health considerations during the COVID-19 pandemic – please register by clicking on the link below. For more information or to submit suggestions for future webinars, send an email to FEMA-R2-Prepares@fema.dhs.gov.
Climate Resilience Consulting Report: How State Governments Can Help Communities Invest in Climate Resilience
This report presents recommendations for how state governments can develop climate-resilience financial systems that help local communities invest in protecting residents, businesses, public infrastructure, private property and natural resources from climate-driven stresses and shocks.
The Climate Resilience Fund Announces New Awards to Accelerate U.S. Climate Resilience-Building, in Partnership with NOAA’s Climate Program Office
From land-use planning to energy and transportation, decision makers in many sectors across the country are increasingly seeking tools, services and resources to build resilience to climate-related impacts at local and regional levels. In response to this growing demand, the Climate Resilience Fund is pleased to announce over $320,000 in competitive grant awards through its Coordination and Collaboration in the Resilience Ecosystem Program for new collaborative projects led by seven organizations.
Register for the FEMA Office of Equal Rights Civil Rights Stakeholder Summit on Environmental Justice: Implementation Throughout Disasters
Don't forget to register for the FEMA Office of Equal Rights (OER) Civil Rights Stakeholder Summit on Environmental Justice: Implementation Throughout Disasters. FEMA understands that disasters impact individuals and communities differently. To foster a more inclusive, prepared and resilient nation, OER seeks to strengthen the agency’s communication with members of underserved and historically marginalized communities, such as those with low income, differing ethnic groups and limited English proficiency.
The Summit will take place on Thursday, December 3 from - .
New EESI Report: A Resilient Future for Coastal Communities: Federal Policy Recommendations from Solutions in Practice
EESI's report—designed as a usable and practical resource for Congress, federal agencies, and the public—includes 30 coastal resilience federal policy recommendations on community engagement, land use and development, cultural heritage, climate adaptation and resilience data, disaster preparedness and financing adaptation and resilience.
NOAA RISA Program Announces New FY21 Funding Opportunities
The RISA program is seeking applications for interdisciplinary science teams to promote adaptive capacity in nine US regions, as well as applications for collaborative planning activities in the Southeast and Caribbean (where a RISA team does not currently exist).
2021 Leadership in Community Resilience Grant Program is Now Accepting Proposals
The National League of Cities 2021 Leadership in Community Resilience program is now accepting proposals from cities seeking additional funding for resilience-related projects. Each city selected for the 2021 cohort will receive $10,000 in financial support and customized support from both NLC and the Resilient Cities Network (formerly 100RC). Apply today! The deadline for applications is December 23, 2020. Check this page for more info on past projects.
The National Recreation and Park Association actively monitors developments around COVID-19 and how it impacts parks and recreation. Our COVID-19 Resource Center contains the most up-to-date information and resources from NRPA, health organizations and federal agencies to help the field respond to and recover from the pandemic.
Expanding Mitigation Partnerships, Promoting Resilient and Equitable Communities Webinar - Dec 2, 2020 1:30 PM
In this session, FEMA, HUD (Pending) and Enterprise Community Partners will introduce FEMA’s Guides to Expanding Mitigation, produced to highlight innovative and emerging partnerships for mitigation that can be achieved at the local, state and federal level and can be used to support new programs like BRIC.
NRDC Data Dashboard Highlights Repetitive Flooding Data
A new interactive data tool from the Natural Resources Defense Council showcases previously unpublished data on severe repetitive loss properties under the National Flood Insurance Program. The tool, Losing Ground: Severe Repetitive Flooding in the United States, illustrates how few of these properties have received mitigation assistance, showing how we are literally and figuratively losing ground in the face of increasing flood risk. Users can also download a redacted version of FEMA’s severe repetitive loss dataset for use in their own analyses, research or planning.
The Great Lakes Flood Risk Video: Using Animation to Communicate Risk
Mapping flood risk along the shorelines of the Great Lakes is a technically complex task, but it’s important for community members to understand so they have confidence in the underlying data, study methodology and conclusions. To help explain coastal mapping, FEMA Region 5 developed an easily shareable video that illustrates an overview of the coastal conditions captured by newly mapped special flood hazard areas. The final product provides easily understandable information to introduce the topic of coastal flooding and help generate dialogue to increase understanding of updated flood risk in coastal areas.
New ULI Report on the Business Case for Resilience in Florida
In the face of coastal storms and sea level rise, the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact along with local business and nonprofit communities partnered with the Urban Land Institute to evaluate the economic impact of investment in resilience infrastructure in the region. The project’s culminating report, The Business Case for Resilience in Southeast Florida, is based on a regional economic assessment conducted by AECOM that found investments in climate adaptation now makes financial sense for the region.
The Urban Land Institute’s Urban Resilience Program is hosting its 2nd annual Resilience Summit, following last year’s engaging and action-provoking one-day event. This exclusive event which will take place virtually on December 2, 2020, will unpack the new realities of resilience during a pandemic, while examining the ways in which industry leaders can make informed decisions to further protect communities and investments from future climate risks.
The Urban Land Institute recently released Firebreak: Wildfire Resilience Strategies for Real Estate, which details the implications of wildfires for the real estate industry and explores best practices in building design and land use policy that can reduce the damage caused by wildfires and help set communities up to thrive in the long run.
This fall, FEMA Region 8 announced the expansion of their youth engagement program, the RISE Challenge, along Colorado’s Front Range and in Montana. The RISE Challenge, standing for Resilience, Innovation, Sustainability, and the Environment, uses project-based learning to educate students on the importance of environmental health and sustainability.
Originally named the Rocky Mountain Environmental Challenge (RMEC), the program combines classroom learning with an annual competition and summit focusing on natural hazards and student-led learning. Students work throughout the year to find vulnerabilities to natural disasters in their local community and submit a real-life solution to the identified risk. The winning projects are then awarded prize money to implement their solutions. Projects in past years ranged from local wildfire mitigation activities to organizing a flood awareness event for a local mobile home community to installing park shelters at bus stops to keep people safe during storm events.
The risk of wildfires, storms, hurricanes, floods, and heat waves is growing as the sea continues to rise and the planet continues to warm. And the costs are growing as well. Since 2005, the United States has suffered $1.24 trillion in economic losses from 173 weather and climate disasters, each one inflicting at least $1 billion in damages. These events disproportionately harm lower-income and minority households and communities. In addition, climate has been recognized as a threat multiplier, leading to cascading consequences projected to threaten all aspects of life, including worldwide peace and security.
