On February 27, Deanne Criswell, FEMA Administrator, welcomed officials from federal agencies who share an interest in resilience for underserved communities to focus on three objectives: (1) Spotlight and learn more about commitments already made to support FEMA’s designated Community Disaster Resilience Zones (CDRZ), which themselves were mandated through a bipartisan amendment to the Stafford Act, (2) Expand the partnership of federal agencies for CDRZ with additional commitments and clear actions, (3) explore how to leverage existing roles/responsibilities and forums to provide support to communities with CDRZ as a whole-of-government.
Dr. Sarah Kapnick, NOAA Chief Scientist, represented NOAA and was supported by CPO’s Dr. Ned Gardiner. Kapnick emphasized NOAA commitments to adaptation and resilience, including efforts by the Climate Smart Communities Initiative to bring technical assistance to communities that contain CDRZ census tracts. Victoria Salinas, serving the duties of Deputy Administrator, summarized the topics for next steps and action: last mile service delivery; collaborative data analysis; community-driven planning; risk communication; and coordinated NOFOs.
For more information, contact Ned Gardiner.
Image credit: FEMA
