Disaster Preparedness - Main Street America

Disaster Preparedness and Resilience

The National Park Service Main Street Community Disaster Preparedness and Resilience Program is funded through generous support from the Emergency Supplemental Historic Preservation Fund administered through the National Park Service.

Be Prepared

From record-breaking hurricanes to quick-spreading fires, disasters are all too common occurrences in Main Street communities across the country. Despite their frequency, there are very few disaster preparedness and resilience-related resources available to commercial district revitalization organizations. Without a comprehensive preparedness plan in place and tools to support both short- and long-term recovery efforts, the physical and economic aftereffects of disasters can be devastating, especially to the residents, local businesses in Main Street communities, historic structures, and public spaces.

Program Overview

To address the need for more resources, Main Street America (MSA) has launched the National Park Service Main Street Community Disaster Preparedness and Resilience Program, funded through generous support from the Emergency Supplemental Historic Preservation Fund (ESHPF) administered through the National Park Service. Over the next three years, MSA will create a suite of resources that provide immediately useful information for Main Street revitalization organizations to use in preparing for and responding to catastrophic events.

Specifically, through this program, MSA will convene experts and stakeholders, create a clearinghouse of curated resources, create a toolkit with strategies and worksheets for the most frequent disasters, and hold workshops and trainings related to disaster preparedness and resilience.

Upcoming

Early 2022: Disaster Preparedness and Resilience Toolkit, including handbook and online resource library
Summer - Fall 2022: Six regional workshops on topics related to commercial district preparedness and resilience. Dates and locations TBD

Past Events

September 9, 2020: National Workshop #1 (View agenda)
October 27, 2020: Building Main Street Resilience: Getting Ready for Climate Change | National workshop, in conjunction with PastForward 2020 (View agenda)
April 15, 2021: Disaster Preparedness Roadmap: Building Main Street Resilience | National workshop, in conjunction with Main Street Now 2021 (View agenda)

National Preparedness Month

Join us for National Preparedness Month in September! Several times this month, national partners and local Main Street directors will be taking over our social media channels to discuss their experiences and offer tips to making your community more prepared and resilient in the face of natural disasters.

In addition, we want to know about YOUR experiences with disaster preparedness and resilience. Please take 10 minutes to fill out this survey to help us better understand how disasters are affecting Main Streets. Results will be published in our upcoming disaster preparedness toolkit!

TAKE THE SURVEY

Advisory Committee

Katherine Beck, Florida Main Street Program, Bureau of Historic Preservation, Tallahassee, FL

Katharine Burgess, Smart Growth America, Washington D.C.

Mileyka Burgos-Flores, Allapattah Collaborative, Miami, FL

Shonterria Charleston, Housing Assistance Council, Atlanta, GA

Jamie Crawley, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C, Texas Main Street/THC, Austin, TX

Amanda Elliott, California Main Street Alliance/MSA, Richmond, CA

Madeline Fraser-Cook, LISC, Government Investments and Technical Assistance, Cambridge, MA

Diana Luna, Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR

Jan Opper, Opper Strategies and Solutions, Alexandria, VA

Joseph Quinata, Guam Preservation Trust, Hagatna, Guam

Ivonne Sanabria, Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR

Laurie Schoeman, Enterprise Community Partners, New York, NY

Ray Scriber, Louisiana Main Street/LA DHP, Baton Rouge, LA

Rhonda Sincavage, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Washington D.C.

Jake White, National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders, San Antonio, TX

Connect with Us

Thank you for your interest in staying connected with the National Park Service Main Street Community Disaster Preparedness and Resilience Program! If you are interested in attending one of our workshops or in being added to our stakeholder mailing list, please complete this survey. If you want to recommend any disaster preparedness and resilience plans, reports, or other resources, please complete this survey.