Building a Resilient Future: The White House and FEMA's Vision for Climate and Disaster Preparedness

Climate and Resilience Priorities

Caitlin Durkovich, special assistant to President Biden and White House National Security Council senior director of resilience and response, recently discussed the administration’s climate and resilience priorities at Triple-I’s National Town Hall. Durkovich emphasized the importance of resilience, not just bouncing back from incidents, but learning and improving to bounce forward. This approach is crucial as we anticipate the world 20 to 30 years from now, considering the lifespan of our built infrastructure.

Modernizing Hazard-Mitigation Programs

Durkovich highlighted the need to modernize longstanding hazard-mitigation and hazard-response programs spread across multiple agencies. By bringing the federal community together, there is an opportunity to modernize these programs, similar to how infrastructure is being modernized. This will help communities build back better after an event, but it will require more than just the federal government. Communities, state and local planners, infrastructure owners and operators, and the finance sector must all be involved.

A Whole of Government and Community Approach

FEMA’s Paul Huang echoed Durkovich’s enthusiasm for a “whole of government” and “whole of community” approach to resilience. Huang discussed a new FEMA program, Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC), which supports states, local communities, tribes, and territories in developing hazard-mitigation projects. This program aims to reduce risks from natural disasters and encourages new ideas from industry, working with local and state governments.

In conclusion, the administration's focus on resilience and modernization of hazard-mitigation programs is a step towards building a safer and more prepared future. Readers are advised to stay informed about these developments and consider how they can contribute to their local community's resilience efforts.