Central Appalachia Resiliency Exchange (CARE)

Central Appalachia is getting more rain, more intense storms, and more extreme temperatures and our communities need to be prepared.

What is Disaster Resilience?

Focus on teamwork and safety with visible protective gear and communication tools.

When we face extreme weather events, our communities have immediate and long term needs. Building community resilience allows us to put plans and resources in place before disaster to allow us to return to normal and recover more readily.

During a disaster, we can lose access to power, water, communication, and safe roads and must have plans in place to allow our communities to react. This can include using nature-based design for flood mitigation, investing in flood barriers, developing community resilience hubs, implementing emergency response plans, supporting resilient local agriculture, and supporting mutual aid networks to coordinate response. Central Appalachia is vulnerable to floods, high wind events, winter storms, and extreme temperatures.

The Community Resilience & Adaptation Working Group (CRAWG) has created the Central Appalachia Resiliency Exchange (CARE) an evolving Resource Hub with the goal of providing information and resources that are easy to accessible to the public.

For more detailed information on disasters resiliency in Appalachia, please read these research reports: 

Resiliency Stories

Below are stories from some of our Appalachian Community Resilience + Response Mini-Grant Awardees.

These grants were made possible through Mosaic.


Tri-County Mystery Meets is a regionally based theatrical initiative that have created an original play inspired by true stories of resilience from residents of Whitley, Laurel, and Knox Counties. Combining oral history, community engagement, and performance art, this production spotlights the strength, courage, and creativity of people who have weathered personal, environmental, and economic storms. They will be performing in Barbourville, Corbin, and London KY. To find out specific locations and times you can
find more information here

After the devastation of Hurricane Helene, a massive community effort formed in the absence of any government help. This community action would spark a new nonprofit, Full Circle Forestry Collective (FCFC). Today, FCFC helps neighboring communities clean up debris, which it then donates to firewood banks. This not only helps communities recover from past disasters, but it can also help limit the spread of potential forest fires! You can donate to FCFC here to help the mission: fullcircleforestry.org/donate

With the ACCR mini-grant, Hemphill Community Center is better equipped to feed disaster-impacted communities with the purchase of their new mobile brick oven! Gwen Johnson discusses the disaster response work that Hemphill has done to date, and how they plan to use their new resources going forward. To find out more about the Hemphill Community Center and Black Sheep Bakery, or to donate visit: https://hemphillcenter.org/

Disaster Resilience Through Art in Appalachia

Appalachia is a region of resilience. The people of these hills and hollers remain steadfast through tight local bonds and values. In response to an increase in natural disasters in states like Kentucky, West Virginia, and North Carolina, many Appalachian artists and communities have begun implementing public art projects as a way to come together, beautify their communities, and practice resiliency through art. These works can also aid in the collective healing process by providing an outlet for storytelling. 

Read More

Resource Hub

Explore our evolving resource hub that contains information curated for use in the region to cut through the noise and allow our communities to move towards implementation and resilience building. This toolkit is organized topically by potential users and is focused on those resources that are ready for implementation by communities, local businesses, households, farmers, and other organizations. Resources are all publicly available for different types of users in Central Appalachia.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE


Best practices for emergency medical response,
communication loss, food storage and safety, & community planning processes

FEDERAL RESOURCES


Mapping tools, flood insurance information, & government support programs

FLOOD MANAGEMENT


Green infrastructure, natural flood mitigation, & bioretention design guidance

RESILIENCE HUBS


Community spaces that provide critical services during emergencies and ongoing community support

Browse Resources by Stakeholder

Other Resource Pages We Recommend:

Disaster Resiliency Webinar Series

Webinar Series
Watch recordings of a new series that explores disaster resiliency in Appalachia

(listed below)

Vivid orange flames and sparks dance against a mysterious black backdrop.

CAN teamed up with our friends at the ReImagine Appalachia to offer a new virtual series that explores effective disaster response in depth. From causes to mitigation; resilience to recovery; resources to first-hand survivor advice, we’ll help you get equipped with region-specific disaster resilience tools and knowledge.