E24-059 Kittitas County SO 20SHSP - fully executed

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Attachment D-'I 20SHSP Investment Justification Washington is comprised of 39 counties with geography including forests, mountains, islands, rainforests, rivers, lakes, and plains. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis ranked Washington 9 of 50 states for gross domestic product in 2019; several world -class organizations headquarter their operations within the state. Washington has marine, aviation, rail, and road transportation infrastructure to support its position as a bustling trade center. Approximately half of Washington's 7.5 million population lives in the Seattle metropolitan area located along the Puget Sound. This area is the center of transportation, business, and industry and is the fastest growing region in the state. Over three -fourths of the state's population lives in densely settled urbanized areas. Understanding Washington's population is critical in order to mitigate vulnerabilities, respond to incidents, and effectively concentrate recovery efforts. Washington is subject to ten natural hazards and seven human -caused hazards. The THIRA focuses on eight of those risks: earthquake, tsunami, flood, biological [communicable disease], wildfire, radiological, cyber incident, and terrorism. Planning, training, and exercise efforts are being restructured to encompass the entire spectrum of catastrophic incidents within this context. Washington saw few significant changes in the 2019 Capabilities Assessment. The lowest rated capabilities were Situational Assessment, Mass Care Services, Economic Recovery, Health and Social Services, and Housing all essential during a catastrophic incident. The strongest capabilities are Pubic Information and Warning and the area with the most growth potential is Situational Assessment. The 2019 SPR results reinforced the findings from prior years: Stakeholders at every level struggle to sustain emergency response capabilities with dwindling resources and are significantly challenged preparing for catastrophic disasters. Since the early 2000s, cumulative emergency management funding at the state and local levels has reduced significantly causing an increased dependence on federal grants to meet necessary emergency management requirements. As a result, many areas are in a sustainment mode when it comes to emergency management capability and capacity. Regional Risks - Reasons for the Work Terrorist targets Include: • Energy producing dams • Large crowds during events • Access control to critical infrastructure DHS-FEMA-HSGP-SHSP-FFY20 Page 35 of 40 Kittltas County of. E24-059