Options Database | U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit

Option	Hazards	Assets
Include rail lines and airports in the communication strategy when flood waters are rising rapidly.	Flooding – General Flooding – Rainfall-induced	Transportation and Mobility
Include a requirement in future school bus contracts to minimize emissions from school buses	Air Quality	Transportation and Mobility
Include vulnerability analyses in emergency management planning activities. Integrate climate vulnerability analysis data, as well as climate adaptation planning and funding, into existing emergency planning and funding documents.	Multiple or All Hazards Flooding – General	Critical Facilities Multiple or All Assets
Include water efficient strategies (i.e. efficient landscapes, sprinkler systems, xeriscape, cooling tower systems) in public awareness campaigns.	Drought	Property
Incorporate green infrastructure in urban landscape change and capital improvements.	Flooding – Rainfall-induced	Transportation and Mobility
Incorporate information on bridge and road vulnerability to erosion, flooding and landslides into capital improvement planning processes.	Landslides Erosion and Shoreline Recession Flooding – Coastal Flooding – General Flooding – Rainfall-induced	Transportation and Mobility
Incorporate the impact of anticipated development in flood modeling and flood maps. Local regulations may refer to these maps, even if they do not align with Flood Insurance Rate Maps.	Flooding – General Flooding – Rainfall-induced	Property
Increase adoption of distributed energy resources such as solar and wind by lowering financial and regulatory barriers to permitting and development. When installed with battery backup or emergency power inverters, distributed energy resources can provide some electrical power in the event of a long-term outage. For homes and other facilities on wells or septic systems, these backup power can be sized to run the well pump.	High Winds Landslides Multiple or All Hazards Severe Winter Weather Wildfire Extreme Heat Flooding – Coastal Flooding – General	Critical Facilities Energy and Utilities
Increase and improve stream buffers with cross-community collaboration and watershed plans.	Flooding – General Flooding – Rainfall-induced	Water Infrastructure – Wastewater Natural Areas and Wildlife
Increase awareness of erosion and landslide hazards. Consult with emergency management professionals to create a community warning or public notification system.	Landslides Erosion and Shoreline Recession	People
Increase awareness training for drivers of high profile vehicles.	High Winds	Transportation and Mobility
Increase drainage and storage design standards for private development.	Flooding – General Flooding – Rainfall-induced	Property Water Infrastructure – Stormwater
Increase efforts and funding towards pollution prevention programs at wastewater facilities. The programs ensure that facilities adhere to available treatment capacity.	Water Quality	Water Infrastructure – General Water Infrastructure – Wastewater
Increase Firewise programming and wildland-urban interface (WUI) code enforcement within neighborhoods. Firewise is a program of the National Fire Protection Association. It aims to help neighbors in a geographic area get organized, find direction, and take action to increase the ignition resistance of their homes and community and to reduce wildfire risks at the local level. The WUI is the zone of transition between unoccupied land and human development.	Wildfire	Urban Landscape and Tree Canopy Natural Areas and Wildlife People Property
Increase floodplain and channel roughness to help dissipate the anticipated increase in runoff. Install bioengineered surfaces (e.g., vegetation incorporated with wood and rock to harden channels) along streams adjacent to main travel ways.	Water Quality Flooding – General Flooding – Rainfall-induced	Water Infrastructure – Wastewater Natural Areas and Wildlife
Increase freeboard to above Base Flood Elevation for all new and substantially improved structures.	Flooding – General	Property
Increase investment that support reductions in inflow and infiltration into wastewater collection systems.	Water Quality	Water Infrastructure – General Water Infrastructure – Wastewater
Increase prescribed fire and thinning, when and where appropriate.	Wildfire	Agriculture and Food Supply Aquatic and Marine Resources Natural Areas and Wildlife
Increase reporting of health data monitoring systems to evaluate emerging diseases related to climate change and increased flooding.	Vector-Borne Disease Flooding – General	People
Increase/require use of Low Impact Developments.	Flooding – Rainfall-induced	Property