Local residents concerned about climate change

Flooding at the Sleepy Hollow Bath & Racquet Club on Sleepy Hollow Road in July 2019.

Close to half – 45 percent – of Fairfax
County residents are “extremely concerned” about climate change. 

That’s one of the key findings in a
survey conducted this summer to inform the county’s first-ever Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan, which is being developed by the Resilient Fairfax initiative. 

Among other survey findings:

• 81
  percent of survey respondents said they are concerned about severe storms, 79
  percent are concerned about temperature changes, and 60 percent are concerned
  about flooding.
• 25 percent of respondents have
  experienced flooding in their current neighborhood in the past five years, and 10
  percent have experienced flooding in their current home in the past five years.
• When
  asked to identify areas prone to flooding, some of the responses included
  Woodburn Road, Prosperity Avenue, and Little River Turnpike.
• Among
  the areas cited as socioeconomically vulnerable to the impact of climate change
  are Leesburg Pike and Little River Turnpike.
• Aside
  from flooding, 81 percent of respondents have seen storm damage in their
  current neighborhood and 20 percent in their current home
  in the past five years.
• 94
  percent of respondents have experienced a power outage in the past five
  years.
• Three-quarters
  of respondents feel they could count on their neighbors for assistance in an
  emergency or natural disaster.

When
asked for open-ended comments on climate change, respondents offered the
following recommendations for county officials:

• Provide
  incentives for homeowners to preserve trees.
• Prohibit
  development and buy out properties in floodplains.
• Have
  a backup plan in case of internet failures during a disaster.
• Provide
  incentives for clean energy, such as solar energy and electric vehicles.