Public entities are going to be increasingly exposed to weather-related hazards, because climate change is expected to result in significant shifts in the frequency, severity, intensity and geographic distribution of extreme weather events in the coming years and decades. As cities and municipalities turn to activating their emergency response plans, they need to keep public services running in the midst of devastating catastrophes.

Even in the aftermath of disastrous storms such as Superstorm Sandy in 2012 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005, few cities have planned for climate change. City planners say they are stretched financially and have limited resources available to help their cities prepare for such natural disasters. Therefore, they often focus on recovery efforts rather than risk control and mitigation.

This Business Insurance white paper examines the nature of catastrophic threats facing public entities, describes the steps cities and municipalities can take to reduce these threats and gives examples of effective crisis management and emergency preparedness. As they seek to reduce their exposures and speed recovery efforts from catastrophes, many public entities are discovering the benefits of collaboration with the local private sector.

An enterprise risk management approach within a city's risk and crisis management department that links federal and local government agencies, the community and the area businesses goes a long way in disaster preparation. Through this collaborative effort between the public and private sectors, public entities can greatly improve the resiliency of communities against the next natural disaster. View a sample.

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