Climate change continues to wreak havoc on communities and facilities by intensifying already destructive natural disasters, including coastal flooding, hurricanes and wildfires. In response, organizations nationwide are rethinking their resilience plans and implementing upgrades designed to protect buildings, occupants and operations.
Recently, NYC Health + Hospitals announced the completion of its Climate Resilience Plan that is designed to ensure the resilience of the health system’s infrastructure in the face of climate change. NYC Health + Hospitals has an overall footprint of 20 million square feet in over 75 buildings and over 1,000 pieces of mechanical equipment.
The plan is the result of a survey of the system’s hospitals and post-acute care facilities. A team studied the impact of stormwater flooding, coastal flooding, extreme heat and wind on each facility under different levels of projected greenhouse gas emissions and the resulting extreme weather due to climate change. It considered the impacts on key facility operations, including electrical power, natural gas, steam, telecommunication, potable water, wastewater, transportation and logistics.
The plan recommends a series of infrastructure projects, such as installation of additional emergency generators linked to critical HVAC equipment, improving the drainage capacity of roofs and windows, building additional flood barriers, and installing green infrastructure to reduce ponding and heat island effect.
Dan Hounsell is senior editor for the facilities market. He has more than 30 years of experience writing about facilities maintenance, engineering and management.
