On August 13-14, SCIPP participated in the Oklahoma City Extreme Heat Tabletop Exercise led by NOAA, the National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS), and the City of Oklahoma City. The exercise brought together several city, county, and state departments/entities, academia, local community organizations and non-profits, healthcare representatives, and utility companies with a stake/role in extreme heat events that impact Oklahoma City and surrounding areas. The objectives of the exercise were to better understand heat, heat risk, and the populations most at risk in the area; identify and strengthen pathways of communication across and within organization and community groups related to high heat to ensure effective communication to stakeholders; and to recommend solutions (action plan for intervention, remediation) for both short (1-2 years) and longer term (10-15 years) that can occur at various social levels (individual, community, municipality, etc.).
As part of the climate information segment to set the stage, Darrian Bertrand, SCIPP Climate Assessment Specialist, presented impacts of extreme heat to health and infrastructure. Bertrand, Caylah Cruickshank (SCIPP Program Manager), and Xochitl Hidalgo (SCIPP Climate Communications Assistant) also participated in the exercise, which included breakout group discussions about key issues regarding response and preparedness for extreme heat. Participants were given a realistic scenario and questions to address with their breakout groups, with facilitation by NOAA and NIHHIS staff. Through this exercise, about 70 participants brainstormed and identified who is most at risk from heat, organizations and entities that can play a role in heat mitigation and response, and actions that can be taken to reduce short- and long-term heat risk. Oklahoma City aims to use this information as a path forward to increase heat resilience and reduce heat impacts on those most vulnerable.
NOAA, NIHHIS, and partners have also conducted extreme heat tabletop exercises in Las Vegas, NV; Phoenix, AZ; Miami, FL; and Charleston, SC. For those in other cities that are interested in this exercise, NIHHIS and NOAA’s Regional Collaboration Network recently opened the Heat Tabletop Exercise Design Challenge, which invites local governments in close collaboration with community leaders and organizations to develop plans to host a heat tabletop exercise that can simulate and evaluate local heat response efforts. Up to 10 communities will win prizes of at least $20,000. The application is open through November 15, 2024. Read more about the challenge, new NIHHIS heat resources, and the National Heat Strategy for 2024-2030 here.