In its just published 2022 National Preparedness Report, FEMA provides an assessment of the state of national preparedness and highlights areas of strength and opportunities to build resilience.

The 2022 National Preparedness Report, or NPR, covers calendar year 2021 and contains sections on the most prevalent national risks, capability trends as assessed from Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA) and Stakeholder Preparedness Review (SPR) data, and opportunities to bolster emergency response capabilities and disaster resilience to reduce risk, among others. The effects of climate change loom large in the report, which notes 92 percent of communities identified at least one natural hazard associated with climate change as being most stressful to emergency management capabilities in their assessments. It also observes the U.S. experienced a total of 20 billion-dollar climate and weather related disasters in 2021. Additionally, the NPR pays significant attention to the risks posed by cyber attacks, noting 62 percent of communities identified this as their most stressing threat or hazard type. In terms of improvement opportunities, FEMA groups these into three overarching areas, which focus on building community-wide resilience to climate change impacts, reducing physical and technological risks to critical infrastructure, and increasing equity in individual and community preparedness. Given the challenges the described by the NPR, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell emphasizes “emergency management cannot be reactionary in today’s environment.” She also reminds partners “the private sector owns much of the nation’s critical infrastructure” and observes “public-private partnerships and increased information sharing…remains pivotal to reducing risk.” Read the report at FEMA and below.