LANDSLIDEREADY COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM IN PUERTO RICO 2024-2026

LandslideReady is a natural hazard preparedness program for municipalities (county-equivalent) in Puerto Rico (PR), modeled after the well-established NWS StormReady and TsunamiReady programs. Over the last few years, the Puerto Rico Landslide Hazard Mitigation Office at the University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez has co-designed a pilot version of LandslideReady with input from physical scientists, social scientists, federal/state/local government, private industry, community leaders, non-profit groups, and other citizen partners. The LandslideReady recognition program is divided into three phases: assessment, preparation, and response for landslide hazards. Community-level presentations aim to inform residents about how to mitigate landslide hazards and make informed decisions before, during, and after natural events that could trigger landslide hazards. Local emergency management offices are the target groups to participate and be recognized as LandslideReady. In addition, LandslideReady program activities include community presentations and workshops for municipal employees.

Our first partner municipality for LandslideReady recognition is Utuado, which is located in the mountainous interior of Puerto Rico and is frequently affected by disruptive landslide hazards. For example, over 17,000 landslides occurred there during Hurricane Maria in 2017. We plan to expand the LandslideReady program to include 5 additional municipalities in 2025, and 15 additional municipalities in 2026. The LandslideReady recognition will be up for renewal every four years.

To monitor and evaluate the implementation of LandslideReady, our team is using convenience and snowball sampling to carry out focus groups in partner municipalities. Focus groups will be representative of municipalities’ overall demographics and will be used to measure stakeholder perceptions, understanding, and behaviors triggered by participation in the LandslideReady program.