Resources for Resilience and Adaptation in New England (RAINE)
- General information about climate change
- Adaptation and resilience case studies and tools
- Programs and tools used in the RAINE database
General information about climate change
The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP)
This program coordinates and integrates federal research on changes in the global environment and their implications for society. Thirteen departments and agencies, including EPA, participate in the USGCRP. The USGCRP develops and updates the National Climate Assessment.
Climate Ready Estuaries
This EPA program works with National Estuary Programs and coastal management community to: assess climate change vulnerabilities; develop and implement strategies; and engage and educate stakeholders. You can find tools, guides, checklists, reports, and more.
NOAA Climate
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration provides timely and authoritative information about climate. NOAA provides climate science and climate-related events through videos, stories, images, and data visualizations; creating data products and services that are easy to access and use; and provide tools and resources that help people make informed decisions about climate risks, vulnerability, and resilience.
Adaptation and resilience case studies and tools
Climate and Adaptation Knowledge Exchange (CAKE)
CAKE includes case studies of on-the-ground adaptation efforts, a library of resources to support your work, a community forum with an expert advice column
Georgetown Center Adaptation Clearinghouse
The Adaptation Clearinghouse seeks to assist state policymakers, resource managers, academics, and others who are working to help communities adapt to climate change.
Naturally Resilient Communities
This guide provides information about how communities along rivers and coasts, rural or urban can incorporate nature-based solution in local planning, zoning, regulations and built projects to reduce their exposure to climate impacts. It includes tools, case studies, resources and funding sources.
Sea Level Rise and Coastal Flood Web Tools Comparison Matrix
Climate Central created this matrix to provide the planning and coastal management communities with an expandable chart to compare the functions and methods of publicly available sea level rise and coastal flood web tools.
US Climate Resilience Tool Kit
The Climate Resilience Toolkit provides resources and a framework for understanding and addressing the climate issues that impact people and their communities.
Programs and tools used in the RAINE database
Programs: What programs have communities engaged with, for example: Community Energy Challenge or 100 Resilient Cities
- 100 Resilient Cities
Rockefeller Foundation supported effort for urban resilience from 2011 to 2019. - Climate Ready City
Center for Disease Control (CDC) program for state and city health departments - Climate Ready Estuaries
A partnership between EPA and the National Estuary Programs (NEPs) to address climate change in coastal areas - Community Energy Challenge
An EPA New England challenge focusing on mitigation efforts from 2008 to 2015. - Community Rating System
A voluntary incentive program through FEMA and the National Flood Insurance Program for communities who exceed minimum requirements for flood protection - Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy
An international alliance of cities and local governments with a shared long-term vision of promoting and supporting voluntary action to combat climate change and move to a low emission, resilient society. - ICLEI
A non-profit member based organization that has adaptation tools for members - Massachusetts Green Communities
The Green Communities program assists cities and towns find clean energy solutions that reduce long-term energy costs and strengthen local economies. - Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement
Supported by U.S. Conference of Mayors, committing communities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions - Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) program
This program provides support for cities and towns in Massachusetts to plan for resiliency and implement key climate change adaptation actions for resiliency. - National Estuary Program
A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) place-based program to protect and restore the water quality and ecological integrity of estuaries of national significance - New England Municipal Sustainability Network
A consortium of New England cities and towns that collaborate to build more sustainable communities consistent with the goals of the Global Covenant of Mayors. - RI Municipal Resilience Program
This program provides direct support to cities and towns in Rhode Island to complete a municipal-driven process that will bring together climate change information and local knowledge to identify top hazards, current challenges, and community strengths. - StormReady
A program of the National Weather Service that uses a grassroots approach to help communities respond to extreme weather— from tornadoes to hurricanes. It provides emergency managers with clear-cut guidelines on how to improve their hazardous weather operations. The program is targeted to communities, universities and businesses. - Sustainable CT
A certification program to recognize thriving and resilient Connecticut municipalities which provides menu of best practices and opportunities for grant funding.
Tools: Tools used during the process for developing information for products or plans
- Being Prepared for Climate Change: A Workbook for Developing Risk-Based Adaptation Plans
The workbook provides guidance for conducting risk-based climate change vulnerability assessments and developing adaptation action plans. It is an ideal tool for organizations that manage places, watersheds or coastal environments. - Beyond the Basic - Hazard Mitigation Planning
This website helps local governments prepare a new or update and existing hazard mitigation plan. - Climate Resilience Evaluation and Awareness Tool (CREAT)
CREAT is a software tool that assists drinking water and wastewater utility managers in understanding potential climate change threats, assessing the related risks at their individual utilities, and developing adaptation strategies. - Climate Smart Strategy Toolbox - Water Managers (PDF)(37 pp, 513 K, About PDF)
This provides climate change preparedness strategies for water managers and consumers, which is organized according to sector and goals or outcomes the strategy achieves. - COAST
COAST predicts damages from sea level rise and storms of various intensities. It evaluates relative benefits and costs of response strategies using a stakeholder process. - Coastal Resilience Tool Kit
The toolkit offers advanced decision-making for coastal risk assessment. This interactive suite of tools allows users to examine storm surge, sea level rise, natural resources and economic assets. It also allows users to develop risk reduction and restoration solutions. -
Community Resilience Building
This community-driven process, uses information, experience, and dialogue, where participants identify top hazards, current strengths, challenges, and priority actions to improve community resilience for all hazards today, and in the future. - Digital Coast
This data viewer provides coastal managers and scientists with a preliminary look at sea level rise and coastal flooding impacts. It is a screening-level tool that uses nationally consistent data sets and analyses. - Flood Resilience Guide: A Basic Guide to Water and Wastewater Utilities
Targeted to small and mid-size utilities, the Flood Resilience Guide outlines a simple, 4-step assessment process to help any water utility know their flooding threat and identify practical mitigation options to protect their critical assets. - HAZUS
Hazus is a nationally applicable methodology that contains models for estimating potential losses from floods, earthquakes and hurricanes. - National Stormwater Calculator
EPA's National Stormwater Calculator (SWC) is a desktop application that estimates the annual amount of rainwater and frequency of runoff from a specific site anywhere in the United States. Estimates are based on local soil conditions, land cover, and historic rainfall records. - Sea Level Affecting Marshes Model (SLAMM)
This model simulates the dominant processes involved in wetland conversions and shoreline modifications during long-term sea level rise. - Sea, Lake and Overland Surges from Hurricanes SLOSH
SLOSH estimates storm surge heights resulting from historical, hypothetical, or predicted hurricanes by taking into account the atmospheric pressure, size, forward speed, and storm tracks. - Sea-Level Change Curve Calculator
An online tool to evaluate sea level and climate change for coastal projects using local tide gauges. - U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit
The site is for citizens, communities, businesses, resource managers, planners, and policy leaders. It provides scientific tools, information, and expertise to manage climate-related risks and opportunities, and improve their resilience to extreme events.