Emergency Response

Resources

Being properly prepared for emergencies can save lives and allow communities to recover more readily.
Documents & Case studies
A breathtaking satellite image capturing a swirling hurricane over the Earth's ocean.

Building Resilience to Extreme Weather Events in Central Appalachia – NOAA

This is a white paper that synthesizes stakeholder interviews across Central Appalachia to highlight local challenges, bright spots, and actionable recommendations for extreme weather resilience planning in rural, extractive landscapes.

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All-Hazards Preparedness for Rural Communities – Iowa State University

A guide to help rural communities prepare for threats to their family, farms, animals, and businesses

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Helene in Southern Appalachia – NOAA

This is story map and case study that is an event analysis on the effects of Helene. A story map is a narrative that combines interactive maps with other content that helps tell a story.

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Implementing the Steps to Resilience – NOAA

The Steps to Resilience framework guides communities through a risk assessment and decision support process to use climate information to make better decisions. The implementation guide allows consistent methods for identifying vulnerability and risk, making decisions, and measuring and evaluating on resilience efforts. This methodology is used by resilience practitioners and may be used by a consultant or other facilitator during a community process. The resilience building process presented in this guide can aid a community in preparation, response, and recovery to extreme weather events.

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Local Mitigation Planning Handbook- FEMA

Local Hazard Mitigation Plans are a cornerstone of both reducing hazards to local communities, but also building awareness of risks and associated approaches for reducing risks. This FEMA guide is a detailed guide for Hazard Mitigation Plan development at a local level in compliance with federal guidelines, including stakeholder and community engagement. Annex B includes Worksheets, Samples, and Starter Kits to support community engagement and broad input to hazard identification, asset mapping, and mitigation strategy development.

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Tools

Resilience Analysis
and Planning Tool – FEMA

FEMA supports the Resilience Analysis and Planning Tool (RAPT) to allow communities to map hazards, infrastructure, and social vulnerability. Users can add their own data layers as needed and can view socioeconomic indicators at a census tract level. This provides easily

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Ready Rating – American Red Cross

The Ready Rating Program is a free service to make sure your organization is safe and ready. It is provided through a partnership between the American Red Cross and the Canadian Red Cross

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Flood Inundation Mapper – USGS

Mapper that visualizes foecasted flood inundation in locations with forecasted rainfall likely to produce flood conditions.

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Flood Risk Forecast – University of Cincinnati

Forecast tool shows the number of buildings at risk of flooding in the next 16 hours.

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Climate Vulnerability Index – Texas A&M

The CVI map identifies socially and physically vulnerable communities at census tract level across the U.S. based on 12 climate hazard types. It supports planning, funding applications, and local risk assessments.

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Climate-Ready Communities Assessment Tool

Step by step guide from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to work through local risk, vulnerability and resilience with tip sheets and videos to support learning.

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DIY Risk Assessment Tool for Northeast Tennessee

Risk assessment tool exploring mapped data for Northeast Tennessee with a focus on Development, Flooding, Wildfire, Drought, Landslides, Extreme Temperatures, and Severe Storms.

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Community Resilience Assessment Tool

A practical survey + interview tool (household + key informant) covering infrastructure, health, environment, economy, social connectedness, disaster preparedness. Developed with developing nations so may have measures that don’t apply.

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Other resource pages we recommend for a deeper dive into Emergency Response: