Operational resilience in an era of extreme weather: what businesses can learn from North America’s climate disasters

Summary

North America’s brutal summer heat and severe storms in 2026, highlight why operational resilience has become a business priority rather than a compliance exercise. Organizations that combine climate risk management, lone worker protection, emergency response planning, and a robust emergency preparedness plan are better equipped to protect employees, maintain critical operations, and reduce disruption during extreme weather events.

This blog explains how businesses can strengthen organizational resilience through practical extreme weather preparedness strategies that improve readiness before, during, and after climate-related incidents.

Introduction

The month of March, often known for its mild spring weather, broke historical climate records across parts of the United States in 2026. Temperatures rose by 9.35° F (5.19° C) degrees above the normal average, making it the hottest March on record in 132 years! And that was just the beginning.

This summer has not been kinder, with a heat dome causing temperatures to soar on Independence Day and Canada Day. Toronto, for instance, experienced it’s hottest Canada Day with a temperature of 96.8°C (36°C), with the “feels-like” temperature reaching 118.4°C (48°C). As of the 5^th of July, over 20 deaths have been attributed to the heat wave in the United States.

But that’s not all in 2026. This year has seen extreme heavy rainfall and several tornado warnings across central US states, in addition to flooding and wildfires in Canada. This should be particularly concerning for sectors that rely on outdoor work such as agriculture, construction, manufacturing and utilities.

Such weather is no longer a ‘once in a generation’ occurrence, but something people and organizations have to be on the look for, for years to come. Businesses must now place operational resilience at the forefront of their planning, independent of public infrastructure. This blog will show you how you can do it.

Table of contents

Click on a specific section below to navigate to that area:

• Extreme weather events reveal more than just a climate issue
• Why operational resilience matters more than ever
• How climate change affects operational resilience
• What businesses can do to improve operational readiness before extreme weather events
• Operational readiness turns planning into action
• FAQs

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Extreme weather events reveal more than just a climate issue

These extreme weather events have exposed numerous vulnerabilities to a business’s sense of productivity and continuity. Various disruptions have been seen in the transportation industry, as well as a strain on utilities and power systems across the continent. And let’s not forget the raging wildfires in the region which have caused havoc.

Buckling roads and a strain on utilities and power systems

Extreme heat over the Fourth of July weekend caused roads, in places like Houston,Texas, to widen and stretch in the heat, leading to road buckling. This even affected a highway south of Baltimore, where the damage was so bad that the road had to be closed. Around 800,000 homes also lost power across North America due to thunderstorms caused by the extreme heat. Even railroad tracks have been warped due to extreme heat, affecting the transportation industry and causing supply chain disruptions.

Another major operational consequence of the heatwave has been the strain placed on energy systems, triggering utility outages and power loss. PJM Interconnection, which manages the grid across 13 states and around 67 million people, saw demand recently hit an all-time high.

Massive wildfires cause operational disruptions

Fires have already done massive damage in North America this year due to extreme weather. As of April 10, 2026, 1,707,778 acres have burned across the United States. Generally, a concern on the west coast of America and Canada, the Morrill Fire in March of this year was the largest fire in Nebraska’s history, burning over 643,000 acres across central states. Southern Georgia also saw two serious wildfires in April where more than 120 homes were lost.

Power lines and distribution networks have been damaged by these wildfires, causing certain utility companies to implement emergency measures to prevent further losses. Not to mention the disruptions to the supply chain, which has caused significant delays.

Why operational resilience matters more than ever

As these heatwaves are expected to become a regular occurrence, and indeed worsen, businesses cannot afford to wait. Operational resilience now means incorporating large-scale climate risk and crisis management into corporate planning. This way, when a major weather event such as a heatwave occurs, organizations merely have to execute their emergency preparedness plans, which have already been designed. This helps to establish operational continuity and resilience in times of crisis.

From climate event to operational disruption

In addition to infrastructure disruptions and losses, extreme weather events this year and in the past have also created operational disruptions in the region. For example, certain businesses in Canada were forced to close or delay operations in the transportation and manufacturing industry due to property damage or disruption. In 2024, insured damage relating to severe weather reached $8.5 billion CAD, shattering previous numbers.

Supply chains are also at risk due to flooded transportation routes and wildfires, affecting shipping and logistics. As previously mentioned, heat domes in North America have affected transportation systems, where even steel rail tracks have become warped, delaying freight trains. Water transit routes like the Walland Canal have also been affected by flash floods and changing water levels in the past, disrupting the supply chain.

The hidden business impacts

The business impacts of such climate events are not hard to picture: labor shortages are widespread, supply chains are disrupted, and major financial losses are seen across the board. Let’s take a closer look.

Such extreme weather has led to a dramatic shortage of workers in the construction, manufacturing, and agriculture industries, with hours being shortened to protect employee health and safety. What’s more, is a report by The World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) found that worker productivity drops by 2-3% for every degree above 20°C. This has led to a loss of productivity as well as financial losses for organizations that have committed to completing certain projects according to specific deadlines.

As previously mentioned, supply chain disruption is widespread due to changing water levels on highly used routes. This has delayed shipments and forced suppliers to look for other ways to transport goods. This has truly crippled certain organizations’ sense of continuity and has even caused reputational damage.

According to research done by KPMG, 92% of Canadian businesses expect some form of extreme weather to affect their business, with 56% already experiencing profitability losses due to extreme weather. 50% stated employee productivity has directly been affected, while 47% have suffered from supply chain disruptions.

Why operational resilience is becoming a competitive advantage

With hidden business impacts like financial and production losses, businesses must now make operational resilience during heat and major climate events a priority. Wherever possible, taking steps to minimize the health impact on the workforce, assess climate risk vulnerability, and respond effectively to crisis situations, is a must for all organizations.

The capability of organizations to minimize disruption to core operations during these events will be paramount going forward – and waiting for concerted national and international government action is not an option.

This is why organizations that have a dedicated climate risk strategy and a strong emergency and crisis plan will bounce back faster than those who are reacting to events as they unfold. If these events have taught us anything, it’s that in order to maintain business continuity, organizations must be proactive and have planned for such events months or even years in advance.

How climate change affects operational resilience

The first step in building operational resilience to heatwave events is to understand the precise climate risk to your business. The second step is managing that risk.

What is climate risk management?

Climate risk can be defined as the result of the following factors: hazard, exposure, and vulnerability.

Climate risk management is how businesses identify, assess, and mitigate these risks. This is done through gathering data on your physical climate risks and performing climate change risk assessments. Predictive models (climate scenarios) can be used at this stage to project the impact on your business (for example, different warming scenarios).

Connecting climate intelligence to operational decisions

Once you have identified and assessed your risk, it’s time to use this information to inform operational decisions. In the case of North America, adaptation might include investing in early warning systems for extreme heat or climate-proofing buildings and factories.

Designing the workday to account for heat and acquiring appropriate cooling equipment are also other possibilities.

What businesses can do to improve operational readiness before extreme weather events

There are several things businesses can do before extreme weather events to improve operational readiness. This includes creating a climate risk strategy (as previously mentioned), building an emergency preparedness plan, as well as protecting lone workers and field teams. Let’s dive deeper into each action.

Create a climate risk strategy

One of the first things an organization can do is create a strong climate risk strategy. This entails creating a climate risk assessment, which helps uncover any climate exposure threats by geographical area and supply chains. With a clear view of any and all physical climate risks, you can gain a better understanding of the necessary actions you need to take to avoid any business disruptions.

How can this be done? Climate risk software can help you quickly identify, measure, and prioritize any physical risks, so you can make data-driven decisions to create a strong plan to mitigate them.

Build an emergency preparedness plan

Next, businesses should build an emergency preparedness plan if they have not already. This plan will detail an organization’s approach to an emergency event, such as sudden extreme heat.

In general, an emergency preparedness plan will include:

• Risk/hazard identification
• Business impact analysis
• Clear triggers for implementing the plan
• A documented response plan with clear roles and succession
• Communications plan (both internal and external)
• Recovery strategies (such as alternate sites, IT/data backup, supply chain alternatives, cooling facilities)
• Testing and exercises
• Post review

You can strengthen your emergency preparedness plan with pre-planning. If you can have a pre-plan for various scenarios set up and ready to launch, it will help your on-the-ground incident management.

Uncomplicated crisis management software

When a serious incident happens, you’re fighting two battles at once. Managing the response and keeping everyone on the same page through scattered email threads and phone calls. D4H fixes that. The situation report is your command center, a central place for both management and teams on the ground where every update is time stamped and every action is logged automatically. So when the incident is over, your audit trail is already built. D4H forms are live and collaborative. They update in real time, so your team captures critical information in the moment, feeding directly into your incident action plan, ensuring compliance and decision making always move together. Status boards turn your response into a live dynamic system, feeding into a real time dashboard that keeps everything in view. Field updates hit the board the moment they’re made. Priorities shift, tasks get assigned, and your operation stays in motion automatically. With integrated chat, mapping, and a real time dashboard pulling it all together, D4H gives your team the clarity to make faster, better decisions when you need it most. Let us show you what your coordinated response could look like. Book your demo at ecoonline.com today.

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Protect lone workers and field teams

If you have lone workers, managing their safety during heat events is crucial, as their health and safety status can change from one minute to the next.

A lone worker who successfully checked in an hour ago may now be showing signs of heat stress. If they are not scheduled to check in again for a set period of time, how will you know if they have fainted from the heat? And what happens when a manager now must manage safety events for several lone workers over a large geographical area?

Businesses will also have to have a protocol for deciding when it becomes too hot for lone working. Keep in mind that heat may also change the working environment that a lone worker is going into, as seen in the rail disruption examples from earlier in this blog. Expanding and dropping cables may increase the risk faced by lone workers in utilities, for example.

Having a dedicated lone worker solution in place that gives wide coverage and reliability means that lone workers can be tracked on the job, while features such as man-down alerts let managers know if workers have passed out suddenly.

Operational readiness turns planning into action

In this blog, we have looked at how climate risk management, crisis and emergency management, and lone worker safety form vital roles in businesses’ operational resilience.

Of course, all of this requires a significant amount of research, time, and investment. For instance, activities such as researching past weather patterns and manual data entry to identify your climate risks can lead to significant time being spent on administrative tasks. This is all the more difficult if you are not familiar with managing this kind of data.

Manually running emergency response protocols can lead to a delay in managing an incident, as teams become bogged down in sourcing documentation, calling defunct contacts, and locating personnel and equipment. Plus, relying on check-ins to manage lone workers means that you could be unaware of a developing situation where time is crucial.

EcoOnline’s Operational Readiness bundle brings all of these functions together, turning lone working, crisis management, and climate risk data into coordinated preparedness. Using our solutions, organizations can understand exposure, plan effectively, and respond consistently when incidents occur:

• Our emergency & crisis management software lets you create a common operating picture, communicate goals, and collaborate on resolution – all while quickly adapting to changing scenarios.
• Our lone worker software solution provides the greatest level of network resilience available. Non-movement detection and fall detection enable a rapid response without user input.
• Our climate risk software takes over all the heavy lifting when it comes to research. It uses accurate, science-backed data to assess the physical risks that your organization could face.

The time for operational resilience in an era of extreme weather is now. If you are interested in improving operational resilience in your organization, check out our Operational Readiness Bundle now.

Operational Readiness Bundle

Explore EcoOnline’s new Operational Readiness Bundle, which brings together lone worker protection, emergency and crisis management, and climate risk insights.

Gain a true sense of operational resilience and business continuity with one connected view.

I’m ready for lasting operational resilience