Community Disaster Resilience Tool (CDRT)

The Community Disaster Resilience Tool (CDRT) is a map-based interactive tool created by Healthcare Ready to help local officials, emergency managers, community leaders, and researchers better understand the nuanced risks their communities face due to overlapping vulnerabilities, healthcare infrastructure, and exposure to hazards. By highlighting the intersectionality of these statistics, the tool provides a picture of how public health issues can be exacerbated by natural disasters, and which counties are most at risk.
 
The CDRT is made up of four different tabs, each which highlights specific information by county:
 
  • Chronic Condition Prevalence shows the prevalence of 21 chronic conditions if they are greater than the National Prevalence Rate. 
  • Healthcare Infrastructure communicates recent COVID-19 data including the number of active cases and vaccination rates, as well as information and a map for exploration of healthcare infrastructure. 
  • Population Information highlights statistical data relating to the public in the region, as well as a breakdown of Federal Disaster Declarations. 
  • Natural Hazards displays information on the percent of the county at elevated risk for earthquakes, flood, or wildfires. 
To switch between these tabs, click on the requested tab at the top of the workbook. This will take you to the requested visualization. For more detailed information on how to use the map, click here.
 
All tabs include a yellow button at the bottom righthand corner of the map that you can click to find more resources to prepare your community based on the identified hazards and vulnerabilities.

Disclaimer: The data included in the CDRT is sourced from reputable, publicly available sources. The data is contemporary for each data source as of at least July 2021; more recent data (e.g., COVID-19 cases and vaccination rates) are dated where they are included in the tool. No user inputs are saved by the tool. Click here to see the full Terms of Use for all Healthcare Ready webpages and tools.

Jump to: Project Approach | Preparedness Resources | Methodology | Feedback

For more information on how to use the CDRT, visit the Instructions / How-to page.

Project Approach

Datasets were chosen to assist in describing the demographic differences within each county such as existing healthcare infrastructure, which natural hazards are most likely to occur, and the health challenges faced by the communities. Additionally, this information is presented on a standardized scale without utilizing indexing methods so that counties cannot be ranked as “best prepared for disaster” or “least prepared for disaster.” Instead, almost all of the data has been standardized based on population (i.e., per capita), except for the Chronic Condition data. For more information, see our full Methodology below.

Preparedness Resources

The following resources can help create more resilient communities based on the population information, vulnerabilities, and hazards identified in the CDRT. Click on the title of the resource

  • Disaster Tip Sheets – A one-stop shop for hazard specific checklists to complete when preparing for natural disasters, including floods, earthquakes, and wildfires. Select this link for more information regarding the subject matter of the Natural Hazards or Chronic Conditions
  • Resource Ready – This list provides personalized preparedness and recovery resources based on the type of disaster and health condition(s) that are likely to impact your community. Select this link for more information regarding the Population Information or Chronic Conditions
  • COVID-19 Resources – Key information can be found here such as FAQs, tip sheets, tools and blog posts discussing the cascading impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. Select this link for details on Healthcare Infrastructure, Population Information, or Chronic Conditions.
  • Impact of COVID-19 on Communities of Color (IC3) Project – This report provides an in-depth look at how different communities and populations are being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and how we can best ensure every member of a community has an equitable chance to prepare for future challenges. Select this link for Population Information.
  • Rx Open – This is an interactive map which shows the location of every pharmacy and dialysis center in the US. When Healthcare Ready is activated for an event, this map also tracks the operational status of every pharmacy in the country. Select this link for more information on Healthcare Infrastructure.

Methodology

Below, please find the download links for the methodology we followed to construct the CDRT, including dataset identification, calculation processes, and data descriptions.

CDRT Instructional Videos

 

Community Disaster Resilience Tool: An introduction to the CDRT

Community Disaster Resilience Tool: How to Use the CDRT

Community Disaster Resilience Tool: Use Case Examples – Los Angeles, New York and Baton Rouge

Feedback

If you would like to provide feedback to Healthcare Ready on ways to improve this tool for your use, or to offer insights as to what data could be added to be more beneficial to you, please fill out our survey form by clicking the button below.

CDRT Feedback Form

The Community Disaster Resilience Tool was funded by the Walmart Foundation.