Bob Graham Center for Public Service

Despite awareness of the Northwest Florida region’s susceptibility to extreme weather events such as worsening storms, climate change “does not exist at the forefront of the bureaucratic agenda,” as one Scholar reported. Although public attention outside the region may focus on hurricanes, significant flooding from extreme rain events has also dogged these rural counties, as has drought, creating ever-more uncertainty for farmers in the northern stretches. A FEMA disaster report following Hurricane Michael noted that “extreme flooding along with water table depletion has contributed to the immense damage over Bay, Calhoun, and Jackson counties.” These challenges will grow in the years to come, as more populated areas such as Panama City deal with flood events caused by Gulf storms, and more-rural parts increasing climate variability.

Income inequality presents a major challenge in this region. While the wealthy have the ability to evacuate more quickly, for example, lower-income residents are statistically more likely to be forced to remain. Meanwhile, in rural counties such as Calhoun, residents say while they are still suffering from Michael’s devastation, they have not had near the attention from Tallahassee and Washington. Local officials described how scant funds must be spent on the most-immediate issues, leaving longer-term resilience on the back burner.

Still, many leaders are figuring out ways to build awareness even without funding. Washington County’s new land-use plan calls for education about climate change in community outreach efforts.

* For time series data, see the Data Explorer page

* For time series data, see the Data Explorer page