Description
Rural areas are more likely to become isolated during extreme weather events or other disasters due to limited access and distance from services. These areas often face longer recovery times as well. King County will seek grant funding to enhance community resilience in rural areas to climate-related events such as extreme weather, wildfire, wildfire smoke, and other emergencies. Initial efforts will be focused on Skykomish and Vashon-Maury Island. Work on this action will include identifying existing structures that can serve as resilience hubs in Skykomish and on Vashon-Maury Island; providing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning upgrades and seismic retrofits to identified structures; and creating wildfire defensible spaces. Additional activities include hosting disaster skills training workshops, helping to equip hubs with emergency supplies and resources, and creating and maintaining partnerships with local organizations.