SEVERE WEATHER AND CRITICAL

INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCE

1200 First Street NE

Washington, DC

10th floor conference room

March 14, 2013

Preparing Washington DC

Bloomingdale in Summer 2012. Source: Fox News.

WELCOME! SEVERE WEATHER & CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

RESILIENCE: PREPARING WASHINGTON DC.

1 Severe Weather and Critical Infrastructure Resilience: Preparing Washington, D.C.

Keith A. Anderson

Acting Director Harriet Tregoning

Director

Steve Winkelman

Director of Adaptation

TODAY’S WORKSHOP HAS SEVERAL GOALS.

1. Disseminate and share expert information

• Problems and Solutions

2. Understand stakeholder priorities and concerns

3. Identify collaboration opportunities

• Public-public and public-private

• Focus on short-term efforts with multiple benefits

4. Document potential next steps

• Research, workshops, capacity building, outreach, policy, action

2 Severe Weather and Critical Infrastructure Resilience: Preparing Washington, D.C.

WHAT IS RESILIENCE?

3 Severe Weather and Critical Infrastructure Resilience: Preparing Washington, D.C.

? It’s more than reacting to a storm.

WHEN THE NEXT SUPERSTORM OR HEAT WAVE COMES,

WE WILL STILL BE ABLE TO TURN ON THE LIGHTS…

4 Severe Weather and Critical Infrastructure Resilience: Preparing Washington, D.C. Washington DC. Source: Panoramio

…GET TO WORK AND DO OUR JOBS….

5 Severe Weather and Critical Infrastructure Resilience: Preparing Washington, D.C. Washington DC., Chinatown Metro. Source: Amazon AWS

….AND STILL HAVE FUN!

6 Severe Weather and Critical Infrastructure Resilience: Preparing Washington, D.C. Washington DC. Source: Biography.com

RESILIENCE

7 Severe Weather and Critical Infrastructure Resilience: Preparing Washington, D.C.

Resilience is the ability to prepare and plan for,

recover from, and better adapt to adverse events. (Based on National Academy of Sciences)

Risk = Hazard x Exposure x Vulnerability

Prevention: Reducing the Hazard

(e.g., reduce GHG emissions)

Preparedness: Reducing Exposure and Vulnerability

E.g., Hazard Mitigation and Climate Change Adaptation

THERE’S A RICH & GROWING LITERATURE ON DIFFERENT

ASPECTS OF, AND APPROACHES TO RESILIENCE.

8 Severe Weather and Critical Infrastructure Resilience: Preparing Washington, D.C.

CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION: 5 KEY STEPS

1. Assess climate impacts – E.g., use climate models to asses different future scenarios

2. Identify risks and vulnerabilities – Location and state of critical infrastructure, recent impacts….

3. Assess potential solutions – Review best practices, analyze effectiveness, costs and benefits

4. Develop and Implement Action Plan – Prioritize short- and long-term actions

– Measure progress and revise plans accordingly

5. Garner support for implementation – Visualize solutions, quantify risks and benefits

– Address top stakeholder concerns

9 Severe Weather and Critical Infrastructure Resilience: Preparing Washington, D.C.

AGENDA

Problem Weather- and climate-related risks

Solutions

• Sustainable DC, climate policies, hazard mitigation

• Best resilience practices – Electricity

– Insurance

– Visualizing solutions & measuring benefits

Group discussion – Q&A throughout the day

– Lunch: round-the-table updates

– Final session: Short-term Opportunities? Priorities, Needs, Opportunities, Next Steps

Happy Hour after the meeting – at the Hilton.

10 Severe Weather and Critical Infrastructure Resilience: Preparing Washington, D.C.

PLEASE THINK ABOUT THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS….

1. How do you currently prepare for severe

weather events?

2. What promising efforts do you already have

underway that advance long-term resilience?

• Are you considering climate change?

3. Promising opportunities to make progress in the

short-term?

11 Severe Weather and Critical Infrastructure Resilience: Preparing Washington, D.C.

July 1984 2012 (US Dept of Interior Photo)

http://instagram.com/p/SdUoIZAu_n/

GLACIER BAY, ALASKA: THEN AND NOW

Climate Adaptation and Community Resilience 12

“AN INCONVENIENT SEWER OVERFLOW….

13

… this is not about polar bears; it's about backed-up

sewers in your streets or basements.”

~ Steve Winkelman in ClimateWire, May 4, 2012

Climate Adaptation and Community Resilience