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