Mayor Wu Shares Boston's Preparations for Climate Emergencies

Today, Mayor Michelle Wu, Emergency Preparedness Chief Adrian Jordan, Chief Climate Officer Brian Swett, Chief of Operations Dion Irish, and public safety officials shared Boston’s preparations for extreme weather events, including efforts to lower risks with long-term climate resilience plans and ongoing efforts to update the City’s emergency response. As a coastal city, Boston faces the increasing climate risk of extreme heat, rising coastal flooding, and intense stormwater. The city’s cross-departmental approach has shifted the emphasis from planning to implementation, focusing on empowering residents, supporting communities at greatest risk of flooding and other emergency events, and lowering the risk citywide through resilience efforts. 

“Climate risks require an all of government approach, and here in Boston we’ve been working on short and long term initiatives to better respond in emergency situations and protect our residents in the generations to come,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “Emergency weather events in other parts of the country have highlighted the need for us to share our progress and remind residents to take precautions now such as signing up for AlertBoston and familiarizing themselves with our coastal flood map. I’m grateful to our City departments and external partners for all of their work behind the scenes to keep our communities safe.”

"Emergency preparedness is a shared responsibility. At the City of Boston, we are committed to providing the plans, resources, and communication necessary to keep our community safe,” said Chief of Emergency Preparedness Adrian Jordan. “However, the more our residents are informed, engaged, and prepared, the stronger our response will be in the face of any emergency. I encourage all residents to sign up for AlertBoston, consider joining our CERT program, and most importantly, create an emergency plan for themselves and their families."

"As climate risks intensify, our approach must be both proactive to our current risks and adaptive to our changing climate. Boston is not only strengthening its emergency response capabilities but also making longer term infrastructure investments to protect our neighborhoods from rising seas, extreme storms, and dangerous heat,” said Brian Swett, Chief Climate Officer. “I’m grateful for Mayor Wu’s leadership, the dedication of our city teams, and the engagement of residents and business owners in making Boston a national leader in climate resilience and emergency preparedness."

The City has been working to develop and implement climate resilience projects to address coastal flooding, stormwater management, and extreme heat. Today, Mayor Wu announced the Inspectional Services Department (ISD) brought on a Floodplain Administrator who is working to improve floodplain management practices. These efforts can increase access to lower cost flood insurance through FEMA’s Community Rating System Program, which hiring a Floodplain Administrator is a key first step towards qualifying for. Landlords and housing property managers will also see on this year’s rental registration forms the opportunity to identify if their buildings include basement units. Residents of these units are at a higher risk in the event of flooding, and the City is prioritizing knowing where they are to proactively provide support.

“Boston is taking actionable steps to prepare our City’s built environment for future climate emergencies, following through on previous planning work. Hiring the new Floodplain Administrator is an example of how we’re enacting Boston’s Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan,” shared Dion Irish, Chief of Operations. “We’re focused on making both our public safety facilities more resilient and on ensuring the buildings where our communities gather together can weather storms and continue to serve residents during and after major climate events.”

Mayor Wu joined city officials for today’s press briefing at the District A-7 police station in East Boston, which the Mayor opened in 2023. The new building design incorporates resiliency features, including stormwater chambers under the parking lot and stormwater planters that capture stormwater that falls on site, and a cool, white roof to help with extreme heat mitigation. 

"As a representative of one of Boston’s most vulnerable coastal communities, I know firsthand that climate change isn’t a distant threat—it’s a present reality,” said Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata. “Our neighborhoods are already seeing the effects of rising seas, extreme storms, and dangerous heat. I commend the administration for moving from planning to action, ensuring that residents, businesses, and infrastructure are better prepared for climate emergencies. From floodplain management to emergency response, these efforts will help protect our most at-risk communities and create a more resilient city."  

Other recent efforts to better respond to potential coastal flooding events include the Boston Fire Department’s new high water rescue vehicles, hosting the nation’s first Deployables Day training exercise last fall, and upgrading the City’s flood forecasting and tracking system. The City has also been working to lower the risk of flooding events in the long-term by implementing the Coastal Flood Resilience Overlay District (CFROD), a national-leading standard to embed coastal resilience into our Zoning code; redesigning parks and green spaces for resiliency such as McConnell Park in Dorchester and Ryan Playground in Charlestown; and allocating the highest amount of Capital funding in Boston’s history to coastal resilience projects. A new stormwater grant and credit program launched by the Boston Water and Sewer Commission and new green infrastructure standards are now in place to update the City’s aging water and sewer system and its capacity during heavy rain.

Similarly for extreme heat events, the City launched the Urban Forestry Division to bring shade to the hottest neighborhood streets. For instance, 1,912 new street trees were planted in 2024. Additionally, the City of Boston launched the Boston Tree Alliance while planting over 160 trees on private properties, and has installed the nation’s largest implementation of green roofs on bus shelters. New misting towers and tents are put in place at key sites, including nine Boston Public Library locations and three community centers, during heat emergencies to keep residents cool where they are. 

“The Healey-Driscoll Administration is fortunate to have a strong group of emergency management partners at the local and state level addressing the increasing complexity and frequency of crisis events caused by climate change,” said Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency Director Dawn Brantley. “Through collaboration, training, and planning, Boston is increasing community-level resilience and reducing long-term vulnerability, especially within disadvantaged communities that are often disproportionately impacted by disasters.”

In the wake of large-scale evacuations and severe weather emergencies around the country, residents are encouraged to educate themselves on their evacuation routes. The Office of Emergency Management is launching an update to the existing evacuation route signs around the City to better reflect current traffic flow and at-risk areas. This will also include a shift to more online education materials in addition to the physical signage.

Residents are encouraged to sign up for Alert Boston, a free service available in the City’s 11 most-spoken languages.