As Hurricane Season Kicks into Gear, EESI Reflects on Resilience Briefings

Hurricane Dorian has been downgraded to a category 3 storm as it slowly moves towards the east coast of the United States after devastating the Bahamas as a category 5. Communities and businesses’ resilience measures will be put to the test as the southeast coast prepares for a likely impact.

The Southeast is no stranger to extreme weather events, as discussed in EESI’s 2014 briefing, Losing Ground: Managing Climate Risks in the Southeast. Despite the hazards facing the region, government and non-government organizations across the Southeast have worked to enhance resilience to extreme weather events. For example, in 2018, EESI highlighted Lessons in Resilience from America’s Coastal Communities which featured Nichole Hefty, Deputy Chief Resilience Officer for Miami-Dade County. She highlighted the work of the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact which brings four Florida counties together to address climate change mitigation and adaptation in tandem. Mark Wilbert, Chief Resilience Officer of the City of Charleston, South Carolina, spoke about his city’s “Pathways to Resilience,” which he describes as attention to land use, smart use of regulations, attracting and managing financial resources, outreach to the community, and resilience infrastructure.  

In 2018, EESI worked with the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) to explore issues around energy system resilience. The briefing, Energy Emergency Preparedness: A critical federal-state-private sector partnership, explains the role of state energy officials in preparing for energy emergencies, which are often caused by extreme weather events. During the briefing, Kelley Smith Burk, director of Florida’s Office of Energy in the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, spoke about their SunSmart E-shelter program which “provides community solar systems with battery backups to schools, which are a place of refuge for communities during emergencies.”

These storms remind us of the reason resilience work is of utmost importance, and reinforces the need to pay attention to key legislation, such as the National Flood Insurance Program reauthorization, that enables communities to continue to build their resilience in the face of climate change impacts.

 

 

Author: Anna McGinn