FEMA Guidance for Response and Recovery to Climate Change

The FEMA Response and Recovery Climate Change Planning Guidance was recently released and is intended to provide emergency managers with an overview of changes to the risk profiles of climate-related hazards for every region to enable appropriate response and recovery planning.

As noted in the document’s introduction, climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of natural disasters and thereby raising the possibility of climate-change related threats. This presents an imperative for emergency managers to anticipate increased response and recovery demands and devise ways to manage the impacts. While the guidance is primarily intended for FEMA’s internal use, it provides useful information that can be used by emergency managers of any affiliation. It includes an overview of climate change and its general impacts, with additional information on emerging trends and threats for specific hazards and regions of the country. Another section discusses how to incorporate climate change into planning processes and products, such as by reviewing future conditions data and expanding hazard/threat profiles. This section also reviews climate impact considerations aligned to the Community Lifelines, which reflects the recent addition of Water Systems as its own lifeline (after having removed it from the previous Food, Water, and Shelter lifeline – now Food, Hydration, and Shelter). A series of annexes provide more information, including the climate change threat/hazard profiles and climate resources and tools. Access the guide below or at FEMA.