The Escambia County Resiliency Program is a grant-funded effort housed within the Department of Natural Resources Management. Established in 2022, the Resiliency Program includes the Brownfields Program, Support for the Environmental Justice Committee, and project and grant management for environmental and resiliency projects in Escambia County.
To enhance resiliency in Escambia County by promoting inclusive and sustainable projects that protect the health of our natural and human communities.
Resilience refers to a community's ability to prepare for hazards, be aware of changing threat levels and adapt in a way that leads to a quick recovery. Preparing for hazards involves building adaptive capacities, including gathering rapidly accessible resources, having back-up plans for critical infrastructure, and ability to leverage human and social capital. A resilient outcome occurs when a community makes a quick recovery to restore population wellness and uses lessons learned from the exposure to hazards to adapt in a more hazard-resistant manner.
Likewise, citizens may develop individual and household resilience to hazards by learning about potential hazards, staying aware of changing threat levels, and by having and discussing a disaster plan with household members, neighbors, and loved-ones.
Escambia County is the oldest county in Florida and has a long history expressing community resilience. While there is no shortage of disaster in the history of Northwest Florida, more recent disasters and initiatives are more useful in demonstrating recent work supporting a resilient future for Escambia County.
When over 30 inches of rain fell over parts of Escambia County in two days beginning April 29, 2014, the area suffered immense damage. County staff and local officials sprung into action to develop a damage assessment, form a Stormwater Advisory Team and develop a recommendation report.
Other local initiatives aim to enhance natural capacities to protect private and public property, such as Pensacola Beach Dune Restoration and the installation of living shorelines, both of which help to mitigate the extent of damage of hurricanes.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has awarded Escambia County with Resilient Florida Program Funding to develop a Resiliency Plan in 2023.
Escambia County regularly updates its Local Mitigation Strategy (LMS) in an effort to help reduce the spiraling costs of disasters. The LMS identifies specific hazards and created a strategy to try and mitigate our community against those disasters. Mitigation tactics include construction activities and public outreach and education.
In an effort to pass flood insurance savings along to citizens, the County also participates the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Community Rating System (CRS). Escambia's CRS score is 6, which passed along an average savings of $77 per flood policy in 2012.Be Ready Escambia is a resource provided by Escambia County Public Safety to help citizens prepare and plan for hazards, and be aware changing threat levels in the event of a disaster.
The mission of Escambia County government is to provide efficient, responsive services that enhance our quality of life, meet common needs and promote a safe and healthy community.
Under Florida law, IP addresses and both the content of emails and email addresses are public records. If you do not want your IP address and the content of your email or your email address released in response to a public records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in person.