Boosting Disaster Resilience: Small Communities Leveraging Big Resources

The Facts -

Small Communities Harness Big Resources for Disaster Resilience

Communities across the U.S. face increasing threats from natural disasters such as flooding, wildfires, and droughts. For many, especially smaller communities, the challenge is profound due to limited staffing, technical expertise, and funding. Enhanced resilience to these extreme weather events requires building durable local capacity, a need that persistently emerges as a key barrier. Despite some state governments introducing programs to aid communities in planning and project development, nationwide efforts remain insufficient.

The Pew Charitable Trusts’ State Resilience Planning Group convened virtually in February, bringing together experts to address these issues head-on. Three organizations, active in Texas, the Southeast, and the West, shared insights on helping communities develop resilience plans and make informed decisions to enhance risk reduction and capacity building.

Headwaters Economics, a nonprofit focused on community development and land management, presented data on community preparedness using their Rural Capacity Index. Findings indicated that communities with lower capacity faced significant risks, with 46% exposed to high flood risk, 38% to wildfire risk, and 19% encountering both. Notably, 76% of FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grants have been allocated to high-capacity communities, revealing a disparity in resources available to smaller locales.

Community Planning for Wildfire and Flood Resilience

To address capacity challenges, Headwaters Economics initiated two programs: FloodWise Community Assistance and the Community Planning Assistance for Wildfires (CPAW). FloodWise supports Western and Central U.S. communities in project development and planning, while CPAW offers tailored land-use solutions and communications help. These initiatives bolster local government capacity through partnerships and training.

In Three Forks, Montana, a town of 2,000, updated flood-plain mapping revealed a higher flood risk than anticipated. FloodWise assisted in prioritizing strategies, leading to a $4.15 million FEMA Flood Mitigation Assistance grant for flood risk reduction projects. Dr. Kristin K. Smith of FloodWise emphasized the importance of sustainable funding mechanisms at the local level.

Facing wildfire risks, the CPAW program aids communities by improving land-use planning and communications. Doug Green, CPAW manager, noted, “We know wildfires are going to occur and to assume that we can suppress all wildfires is a costly and deadly mistake.” In Estes Park, Colorado, CPAW contributed to revising landscaping regulations to incorporate fire-resistant plants and create defensible spaces around structures.

Data-Driven Resilience in Texas Towns

Rural and marginalized communities often struggle with accessing current data for resilience planning. In Hudspeth County, Texas, outdated flood-risk data posed challenges. Texas A&M University’s Institute for a Disaster Resilient Texas addressed this through the Digital Risk Infrastructure Program (DRIP), funded by the Texas Legislature. DRIP combines drone-collected spatial data with community input to produce flood-risk maps, as seen in the creation of 73 tailored maps for DRIP communities.

Dr. Sam Brody highlighted the role of accessible data, noting, “This was a great example of leveraging technology and resources in a community lacking them.” Brody also acknowledged that different communities have unique preferences for data formats, such as printed versus online maps.

Strengthening Local and State Government Capacities

For resilience efforts to succeed, knowledgeable leaders are crucial. SBP launched the Resilience and Recovery Fellows program, placing trained professionals in small and medium-sized communities to aid in securing recovery assistance and planning for climate threats. Hannah Trautwein of SBP explained, “The Fellows program is great for communities that have a lot going on but don’t necessarily have the budget to set aside a salary for someone to be completely focused on this.”

Collaborative Pathways for Resilience

Programs like DRIP, CPAW, FloodWise, and the SBP Fellows initiative demonstrate that building local capacity is achievable. State governments can leverage these successes by fostering relationships with local entities and customizing solutions to specific community needs. This collaborative network of technical support remains vital in empowering small, rural, and historically marginalized communities to enhance their disaster resilience capabilities.

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