Longmont board to discuss disaster-preparedness assessment findings

Longmont’s Sustainability Advisory Board is scheduled to discuss Nov. 18 how the city can use two 2025 disaster-resilience assessments in its plans and projects. Both reviews scored societal capacity—including community preparedness and warning outreach—as the city’s lowest-performing area, the meeting packet says.

Longmont scored 110 of 141 points, or 78%, on the general Disaster Resilience Scorecard; societal capacity was its lowest category, at 4 of 12 points. In a separate Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems assessment, the city scored 84 of 117 points, or 71.8%, with societal capacity again lowest at 4 of 15 points. Resilient urban development scored 1 of 3 points in the warning-systems review.

The assessments describe existing response arrangements and warning capabilities and recommend ways to improve who receives and trusts warnings and how residents can prepare. Suggestions include more inclusive, trusted outreach; additional training and feedback with community partners; identifying gaps in warning coverage; maintaining non-digital ways to reach people; and incorporating warning-system needs into development planning. The general assessment also recommends targeted preparedness work with vulnerable groups and businesses, and better planning for severe or cascading scenarios.

City staff and subject-matter experts facilitated the self-assessments. The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction describes its city scorecard as a tool for local governments to assess resilience, identify challenges and guide planning. Staff is seeking board feedback on where the findings could fit into city work. It plans to identify relevant city and partner plans, actions and projects, and explore ways to integrate hazard mitigation into plans and future projects.