An interactive online tool will allow residents to see climate risks on the street level.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has considered Davidson County to be at a relatively high risk for climate-driven disaster.
The damage from Helene in East Tennessee showed what’s possible. Metro Nashville created an online tool to prep for severe weather down to the street level.
“We’ve all seen increased extreme weather events in terms of frequency, but also severity,” said Kendra Abkowitz, the senior director of sustainability & resilience with the Nashville Mayor’s Office.
Flooding, tornadoes, extreme heat, extreme cold — Tennessee has seen it all. To better prep for those events, Metro launched a storymap. It’s an online interactive tool where Nashvillians can see the damage extreme weather could cause down to the neighborhood.
Abkowitz’s team created the storymap so the public could easily learn more about risk.
“That’s really the main goal behind this story map: better equipping Nashvillians with information and starting a conversation so that the next time we do have an extreme weather event hit us here in the city, we all thought through that, we are well informed, and we’re better prepared to be responsive to it,” Abkowitz added.
Helene has showed what kind of damage is possible. Middle Tennessee has been no stranger to extremes as the region learned in the 2010 floods when 17 inches of rain fell and caused widespread flooding, or in 2023 when a deadly tornadoes hit in December.
This webpage allows you to zero-in down to the street level to see if it’s in a flood zone or in the path where a tornado once hit.
“Being responsive and preparing for these events creates a healthier more affordable city for all Nashvillians,” Abkowitz said.
Abkowitz noted that the storymap is one part of Metro’s environmental plan, which will start rolling out new initiatives in the coming months. But preparation starts first in your home.
“It’s a great opportunity to familiarize with climate risk and extreme weather event risk in your own city and start thinking about that plan,” Abkowitz said.