As states agencies must respond to natural disasters, extreme weather, and other events on a regular basis ECOS and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) have worked with state and territorial health and environmental agencies in 2022 and 2024 hold listening sessions and discussions around building resiliency.
Resiliency and Vulnerable Communities
In Spring 2024, ECOS and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) partnered to gather information and share best practices for state and territorial health and environmental agency resiliency planning. ECOS and ASTHO held a series of regional listening sessions to hear from state agencies about how they plan for natural disasters and engage with disadvantaged or vulnerable communities, as well as what challenges they face in their emergency responses. Based on those discussions, ECOS and ASTHO developed this summary to assist health and environmental agencies in their planning process, with an emphasis on resiliency planning in communities with environmental justice concerns.
Report: State Resiliency Planning Considerations
Resiliency in the Face of Complex Disasters
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many states faced hurricanes, floods, extreme heat events, destructive wildfires, as well as other natural disasters and homeland security threats that test the resiliency of state agencies and the communities they serve. To learn more about state efforts, ASTHO and the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS), in coordination with the EPA’s Office of Research and Development, hosted two listening sessions in January 2022 on resilience and vulnerability to complex disasters or environmental events with multiple interacting impacts.
Listening Session 1 focused on best practices in planning for complex disasters. Listening Session 2 focused on best practices in implementing policies and practices during and after complex disasters. This summary document highlights lessons learned and offers a path forward for states and co-regulators.
Report: Lessons on State Resilience and Vulnerability to Complex Disasters