When the next storm comes—and it will—you shouldn’t have to wonder where you and your loved ones can go. You should already know. Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Connecticut National Guard.
Véronique Jarrell-King, Esq. is a senior fellow with CLF specializing in environmental law and policy.
When the storm closed in, I had nowhere to go. The rain began as whispers on the roof, then roared like a freight train. Thunder cracked like the sky was splitting apart. Trees bent in the wind, and the lights went out. My phone buzzed: “Severe storm warning. Seek shelter now.” I grabbed a flashlight and looked around my darkening house, heart pounding. Where was I supposed to go? How could I protect my family and pets? The roads were flooding, the power was gone, and every option seemed too far, too risky.
In that terrifying moment, I realized something: When disaster strikes, knowing where to shelter isn’t just helpful—it’s survival. And storms like this aren’t rare anymore. Floods, heat waves, and winter storms are hitting harder and faster, making the question urgent: Where can we find safety and support for extreme weather events?
The good news is that here in Connecticut, where I live, state leaders are working to provide residents with refuge, yet that support system is not yet up to par. Here’s why they need to work more urgently.
Climate Change is Fueling Extreme Weather Across Connecticut
Increasing global temperatures impact every corner of Connecticut. As the earth warms, atmospheric water vapor is responsible for more intense rain and snowstorms. That same heat means rising sea levels due to melting ice caps and warming oceans. What were once rare weather events are now commonplace.
Connecticut summers are getting hotter and longer. By 2050, average temperatures could rise another 5°F, adding more hot summer days and making heat waves far more dangerous.
Heavy rain events have surged 70% since 1958, driving frequent flooding and stronger snowstorms. On top of that, some areas of the state have seen sea levels rise 5 inches in just the last 60 years.
These changes come at a huge price. Every year our utility bills grow, our farmers suffer significant agricultural losses, we are forced to spend more on home and infrastructure repairs, and our communities struggle with skyrocketing climate related health care costs. But the costs we face aren’t only monetary; our safety is at risk.
As these severe storms become more common, we are forced to ask those unsettling questions. How will I protect my home from flooding and high winds? How will I pay for it all, and most importantly, where will I go to protect my family?
Connecticut’s Sheltering System Today
Connecticut has a patchwork of options: warming centers for winter cold snaps, cooling centers for summer heat waves, and emergency shelters during storms. These are often libraries, schools, or community centers. They’re lifesavers—but only if they are open, you know where they are, and can get to them safely.
The truth is, the current shelter system isn’t enough. The locations often vary, their hours are limited, they don’t always have the necessary resources or backup power, or they only open when disaster strikes. What if, in addition to these centers, we had places that were ready all year, at all times of day, with backup power, clean water, bathrooms, outlets, and more? That’s where dedicated extreme weather shelters come into play. They are open before, during and after extreme weather events, to provide the community with a shelter and the resources they need.
Resilience Hubs Are an Example Done Right
Imagine a neighborhood center that’s more than a shelter. It’s a place where you can cool off during a heat wave, charge your phone during a blackout, warm up during the winter, gather with your community during an emergency, and maybe even attend a workshop on solar energy when the weather is calm. That’s all possible through resilience hubs, a type of year-round extreme weather shelter.
Luckily, resilience hubs aren’t just a theory, but something practical and achievable. California has interconnected hubs that share resources and are powered by solar panels and batteries. Baltimore has hubs integrated into its emergency management system, focusing on the most climate-vulnerable neighborhoods. Hawaii runs a statewide hub program designed to not only respond to emergencies but also build community connections, offer equitable access to resources, and increase island-wide capacity to withstand and adapt to climate change.
Unfortunately, Connecticut has been much slower to adopt a resilience hub system. Multiple resilience hub projects have been identified throughout the state, but a lack of funding has sidelined them. Instead, community organizations have stepped in to fill this gap. The first to be completed is the Swift Factory in Hartford. Others, such as the African American Society headquarters in Hamden and the Resilient Bridgeport community center in that city’s South End are in progress.
While these pilot hubs are a fantastic step forward, what we need is a state-supported program to speed up the adoption of resilience hubs. We need more communities to push for hubs in their neighborhoods. And we need resilience hubs to become a household word. It’s no longer a question of if communities will need these hubs, but when.
What You Can Do—Starting Today
- Ask your town leaders: “What’s the plan for extreme weather shelters and resilience hubs?”
- Support legislation and funding: Back state and municipal climate resilience laws and grants.
- Speak with local organizations: Churches, community centers, senior centers, and libraries can serve as resilience hubs or partners.
- Engage corporations and institutions: Businesses, hospitals, and universities can provide funding, technology, and innovation for hub development. Encourage them to invest in backup power, renewable energy, and community programs.
- Create community coalitions: Organize neighbors and local groups to demand action from local, state, and federal leaders. Collective voices can push for funding, policy changes, and faster implementation.
- Volunteer: Support shelters and warming/cooling centers with donations or volunteer time.
And here’s something simple: talk about it. At book club, at church, at the grocery store, on social media. The more we normalize resilience hubs and other extreme weather shelter systems, the faster they become reality.
Because when the next storm comes—and it will—you shouldn’t have to wonder where you and your loved ones can go. You should already know.
