Community Preparedness
Communication & Outreach
Emergency preparedness can help people know what to expect during extreme temperature events, extended power-outages, and other climate risks and impacts. Providing the public with the information and resources most needed following a climate emergency is critical.
Increasing and improving communication, outreach, and education to all Howard County residents will ensure that underserved communities have access to critical emergency preparedness information. Incorporating new outreach techniques and tools will help the County reach underserved communities with this information.
Community Preparedness
Reducing Flood Vulnerabilities
Increased precipitation due to the effects of climate change will exacerbate erosion, flooding, and poor water quality in Howard County, leading to climate emergencies.
Stormwater management can help reduce these impacts on residential, nonprofit, and commercial properties. Best Management Practices (BMPs), such as raingardens and rain barrels, are designed to reduce runoff from frequent storm events and improve water quality. Well maintained practices can minimize the risk of flooding and prepare communities for future climate emergencies.
Community Preparedness
Leading by Example: Community Stormwater Partnerships
The costs of stormwater Best Management Practices (BMP) installation is a barrier for many nonprofits and neighborhoods. To address this, Howard County provides nonprofits and homeowners associations (HOAs) with opportunities to alleviate the cost of stormwater practices and enhance community resilience to increased precipitation.
Howard County’s Community Stormwater Partnership grant program provides funding for implementing stormwater management practices on nonprofit and HOA properties. As of 2023, $552,680 has been awarded to support the installation of BMPs, sustainable landscaping, tree planting, and more. Grant recipients are encouraged to involve community members in both the design and implementation of their projects. Through improved stormwater management, this program has increased community resilience to the impacts of climate change.
Howard County offers similar programs to help residential and commercial properties manage their stormwater.
Emergency Resources
Extreme Heat Preparedness
When the National Weather Service issues an extreme heat advisory for Howard County, the County activates cooling centers to keep residents safe from the heat. These cooling centers can be located at community centers, libraries, or 50+ centers.
The Howard County Government website has adopted a notification banner to inform residents of summer heat alerts, cooling center activations, and hours. In addition to banner alerts, during the summer of 2024’s 43 days exceeding 90 degrees Fahrenheit, multiple County departments and agencies communicated heat-related resources and information via social media and other outlets. The Department of Community and Resident Services’ Emergency Status Hotline (410-313-7777) provided opening/closing status of DCRS facilities during weather and emergency events.
Follow Howard County Government for Alerts on Facebook and X.
Emergency Resources
Services & Partnerships
Howard County has partnered with the CAREAPP service that connects Howard County residents with resources and services that assist with or provide transportation, housing, food, education, and more. Download CAREAPP Howard County to your Apple or Android device and start searching for resources today. Click here to learn more.
The County has also developed two different centers, the Family Assistance Center (FAC) and Disaster Assistance Center (DAC), that are activated after an emergency to provide people with emergency support resources such as case management support for food, water, and shelter.
Emergency Resources
Existing Plans
Check out these plans published by the Office of Emergency Management that address climate hazards and how the County responds to disasters:
- 2024-2029 Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan
- The 2020-2025 Office of Emergency Management Strategic Plan
- Howard County Flood Mitigation Plan
- Howard County Comprehensive Emergency Response and Recovery Plan (CERRP)
- Howard County Hazard Identification Risk Assessment (HIRA) Plan
- Community Hazard Handbook
- Animal Disaster Preparedness Packet
What You Can Do
Prepare for the Future
Explore these resources to learn more about public health, climate hazards, and community resilience.
