Bob Graham Center for Public Service

The West Central region ranges from urban counties that attract tourists to iconic Gulf beaches, to rural interior counties that are part of Florida’s agricultural heartland. While sea rise is among the major issues facing the coastal counties, all these counties have seen intense flooding, major storms swept in from the Gulf of Mexico, and more extreme heat.

The coastal counties have the will and the resources to hire resilience officers, carry out vulnerability assessments and create agencies within local governments dedicated to climate change and sustainability. Pinellas County is using a high-resolution storm surge models to rank risks to infrastructure and develop adaptation plans for its assets. Hillsborough County is drafting a resilience plan that will address concerns such as the fact that Tampa General Hospital, located on an island, could become inaccessible during a severe flooding event. Manatee County officials are pondering what will happen if islands such as Anna Maria become uninhabitable; would places now home to blue-collar workers, such as Oneco then gentrify, one displaced population displacing another? Within Sarasota County, the city of Sarasota has emerged as a climate leader even within a less-robust framework in larger North Port and more-rural reaches of the county. Many leaders see regional cooperation as crucial; the Tampa Bay Regional Resilience Coalition was modeled on south-east Florida’s 10-year-old climate compact.

The more rural counties face a different set of challenges, and often the response to climate change is minimal. Droughts, rising temperatures, severe storms, and soil challenges all threaten agriculture in these areas, thus economic livelihood. “If you ask any Glades County local they’d probably not focus on the term climate change,” wrote Scholar Jennifer Ronderos. “If you talk to them about flooding and drought, you have their attention.” These counties rarely have the dedicated resources, staff, or public will to raise awareness or combat “climate change.” The words generally don’t appear in these counties’ comprehensive land use plans, even though they would be well-served to prepare for in-migration from the coasts.

Glades’ is among the plans that promote reduced greenhouse gas emissions and energy conservation. In some cases, the words may be different, but the efforts are still crucial for a more-sustainable future.

Percent of counties that had a Local Resilience Officer (based on interviews): 27.3% Percent of counties that have conducted a climate vulnerability assessment (based on interviews): 36.4% Percent of counties that have had to apply for FEMA disaster aid within the last ten years (based on interviews): 100%

Total number of people with a disability, 2016: 565,387 Total number of individuals over 65 and living alone, 2016: 228,835 Average number of houses in FEMA flood zones, 2011: 53,811

* For time series data, see the Data Explorer page
Average number of extreme heat days, 2016: 21.36 Average number of extreme precipitation days, 2016: 41.45 Average number of weeks of moderate drought or worse, 2016: 0

* For time series data, see the Data Explorer page
Average number of emergency department visits for asthma, 2018: 47.83 Average number of emergency department visits for COPD, 2017: 90.76 Average number of emergency department visits for heat related illness, 2018: 36.92