NH joins regional effort to strengthen emergency response to climate change, other crises

As interconnected crises related to climate change, infectious diseases, and human-made hazards are increasing in complexity and frequency, New Hampshire is joining a new regional response meant to bolster resilience and training. 

Announced this week, the Northeast Emergency Management Training and Education Center will include all six New England states, and is being led by the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. 

The center will serve as a comprehensive training and education destination for state and local emergency managers who are facing these challenges in an ever-evolving world. 

According to a press release from the office of Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, the six states formed the new center “to meet a growing need among state and local emergency managers for improved access to training on emerging trends and expanding risks.” Participants will learn the latest strategies, tactics, and skills to mitigate threat severity and improve outcomes. 

“Today’s rapidly evolving threat landscape, driven in part by climate change, represents an immense challenge for the emergency management community,” Healey said in a statement.

The announcement of the new initiative cited a startling statistic from the World Meteorological Organization of the United Nations: Over the last 50 years, there has been a fivefold increase globally in the number of disasters, driven largely by climate change and extreme weather, including droughts, storms, floods, and extreme temperatures.