LOCAL POLITICS
Working To Build A Resilent Future
Chattanooga is no stranger to catastrophic weather events, from floods and fires to extreme heat and tornadoes—and these events don’t know city lines or ZIP codes ... BY MAYOR ANDY BERKE
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s recently as a few months ago, devastating tornadoes ripped through several neighborhoods along Missionary Ridge and in East Brainerd before crossing into Collegedale. Recovering from these disasters takes months of hard work and lots of collaboration across boundaries. What can we do now to prepare for—and potentially prevent—future climate catastrophes? During my 2019 State of the City address, I announced that we would move forward with a Regional Resiliency Plan to create a framework and response plan for disaster prevention, emergency responsiveness, and development in potential danger zones. This plan will expand the City’s awareness of potential threats to regional systems, including utilities, transportation networks, waterways and natural resources resulting from ongoing changes to the climate, including storms, floods, and other catastrophic weather and naturally-occurring events. As we build out that plan, we need your help. We’ve created a survey to allow residents to share your opinions and participate in the resilience 16 •
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