As in an increasing number of places, floods and wildfires are no longer rare disasters in West Virginia—they are recurring, escalating threats that strike hardest at the most vulnerable communities. Families often face these crises without clear, practical guidance; existing safety messaging is often generic, fragmented, or poorly adapted to Appalachian conditions. This project will change that.

By producing and distributing a plain-language Flood and Wildfire Preparedness Guide—backed by quick-reference checklists and community leader tools—West Virginia University Extension Disaster Education Network (WVU EDEN) and partner West Virginia State Fire Academy will give households the knowledge to act, survive, and recover. Through WVU Extension’s trusted reach in all 55 West Virginia counties, this grassroots, evidence-based preparedness project will show how effective climate resilience and adaptation can be done in high-risk, rural regions.

Flooding is West Virginia’s most frequent and deadly hazard, with more than 423,000 properties projected to face severe flood risk in the next 30 years. At the same time, hotter summers and land use changes are fueling an emerging wildfire threat, especially in forest-adjacent rural areas with limited evacuation options. Generic national resources rarely meet Appalachian needs, where many households lack broadband access, literacy levels vary, and long emergency response times mean families must often act on their own. Without tools tailored to local realities, residents are left unprepared.

The WV Flood and Wildfire Preparedness Guide will include three core products:

• A booklet covering pre-event mitigation (drainage, defensible space, home hardening), emergency planning (evacuation, communication, pets/livestock), and recovery (safe re-entry, cleanup, health).
• A two-page checklist for households.
• A one-page summary for leaders and policymakers.

The project’s primary audience is West Virginia households at risk from floods and wildfires, especially in rural and lower-income areas with limited resources. Secondary audiences include community leaders, schools, and emergency service partners who reinforce household preparedness. The team aims to distribute at least 10,000 guides and 25,000 checklists, integrate this resource into community preparedness efforts, and measure knowledge gains amongst those who engage with it. After the guide is created, the team will create a digital version for online/mobile use, share it out through national Extension and EDEN networks, and continue integration into WVU Extension outreach and safety programming.

WVU Extension’s presence across the state, supported by 4-H leaders and the Fire Academy’s links with emergency services, provide trusted networks to deliver resources directly into homes, schools, and civic spaces, ensuring the guide is widely distributed rather than left online. It will be made available at county fairs, schools, and community events, as well as integrated into workshops hosted by WVU Extension and local emergency services. Families will be encouraged to use both the full guide and the household checklist.

This project is designed to be both replicable and scalable. While the first edition will focus on West Virginia, the framework—plain-language preparedness content, paired checklists, and distribution through WVU Extension’s county-level networks—can be readily adapted for other states. Rural and Appalachian regions share many of West Virginia’s challenges: steep terrain, dispersed populations, limited broadband, and long emergency response times. This project will create a template others can follow.

By building a field-tested guide in West Virginia, the team will create a durable resource that other states can adapt, while scaling within West Virginia through ongoing reprints, digital access, and integration into WVU Extension programming. Promoting preparedness and mitigation creates a cultural shift toward resilience: the project lowers life safety risks, strengthens community capacity, and reduces long-term costs of climate-driven disasters, so that resilience becomes not just a goal, but a lived reality across Appalachia and beyond.