Transcript:

When a disaster strikes, churches, mosques, and synagogues often provide relief and a safe place to go.

Cummings: “Religious communities … are places that people turn to.”

But Lucy Cummings of New York Disaster and Interfaith Services says many houses of worship are themselves vulnerable to the growing impacts of climate change, including flooding and extreme heat.

And many of the buildings are old and inefficient and cost a lot to heat and cool.

So last year, her group launched the NYC House of Worship Climate-Ready Audit Program.

It provides houses of worship with free inspections to assess their energy efficiency, heating and cooling systems, drainage, emergency preparedness, and more.

Each congregation gets a report with ways to improve resilience and save money. And they can apply for a small grant to start the work.

She says the program reaches diverse congregations across the city.

Cummings: “We worked with a mosque in Brooklyn, a Lutheran church in Staten Island, a Seventh-Day Adventist church in the Bronx, a Pentecostal church in the Far Rockaways.”

So these trusted institutions can be better prepared to help the people who depend on them in a crisis.

Reporting credit: Sarah Kennedy / ChavoBart Digital Media