Is your neighborhood at risk in extreme weather?

When Connecticut experiences an extreme weather event, how much are you and your family at risk? A new dashboard from the Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation (CIRCA) at the University of Connecticut aims to help answer that question, down to your street.

In the Climate Change Vulnerability Index (CCVI), researchers at CIRCA developed an equation to estimate how areas of the state could be impacted by extreme weather, like severe storms or high heat. The equation combines the physical characteristics of an area with the type of population or services that could be affected and factors in any community resilience or other adaptive assets it has.

Areas with a greater amount of poverty, elderly or disabled populations, non-English speakers, and other marginalized communities, for example, have a greater risk of impact from flood conditions. Those communities are less mobile, lack access to infrastructure upgrades that could mitigate flood effects or may have difficulty accessing or understanding emergency instructions.

In high-heat events, communities with high rates of asthma, a large population of children under five, or people without access to vehicles represent those with the highest risk of impact, in addition to the elderly or impoverished. No access to air conditioning or proximity to congested roadways can increase the burden heat places on a community.

These risk factors, however, can be mitigated by good city planning and private upgrades. Tree cover can lower heat impacts, as can a larger number of public housing units, access to public pools and cooling centers, and proximity to hospitals. The installation of more absorbent surfaces can mitigate the impacts of flooding, as can easy access to major roadways and evacuation routes, and access to public transit and critical facilities.

In Connecticut, more than 61% of the population lives in an area threatened by flooding, either at the state’s coastline or along the Connecticut River. This risk is higher in communities like Bridgeport, New Haven, and Hartford which have a higher population density and a larger percentage of the population struggling with poverty.

Heat events have a higher effect on the state’s major cities, which have less tree cover and, again, higher population density, and along the major highways, including I-91, I-95, and I-84.

The community assets outlined in the CCVI equation offer some insight into what may help as Connecticut looks toward the future.

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