A whole of government approach to extreme weather in King County, Washington

Extreme weather, exacerbated by climate change, causes significant health and infrastructure impacts nationally. In Washington State, the devastating 2021 heat dome, winter storms and increases in wildfire smoke have highlighted the inequitable impacts of extreme weather as well as the need for comprehensive resilience planning, ranging from near-term emergency management to long-range community and infrastructure planning. King County, in partnership with local communities, non-profit partners and multiple cities, has endeavoured to increase and diversify extreme weather planning and preparedness strategies related to emergency response, built environment, urban forestry, green spaces, multilingual outreach and building resilience in at-risk communities. To address these priorities, emergency management and climate preparedness staff led development of the King County Extreme Heat Mitigation Strategy and the Extreme Weather Sheltering Strategy through multiple engagement efforts with King County jurisdictions, local partners and people most acutely feeling the effects of extreme weather events. These strategies, released in 2024, aim at tailoring response and planning efforts in the near term while increasing longer-term resilience. Both can be adapted nationally based on local priorities and challenges. The whole of government approach employed by King County aims to increase resilience, reduce silos and create better outcomes for vulnerable populations. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.