Preparing for the Worst: Natural Disasters and Your Critical Infrastructure
June 19, 2025 | Makenzie Kellar
Any Coloradoan can tell you that the state is no stranger to extreme weather events. It’s an unfortunate fact that’s often learned after leaving a car out in some “light hail” and coming back to a vehicle that looks like a mob of angry golfers took their best shots at it for an hour straight.
While cosmetic damage such as this can be costly and frustrating, the real danger lies with damage to an organization’s critical infrastructure. Damage to the wrong piece of equipment can shut down operations which—in the most extreme circumstances—puts lives on the line.
This article will break down what critical infrastructure is, what sorts of extreme weather Colorado tends to encounter, and how you can set your organization up for success regardless of the forecast.
What is Critical Infrastructure?
For the purposes of this article, critical infrastructure is meant to refer to an organization’s property and assets—whether physical or virtual—that are essential to the functioning of the organization and can cause damage to the organization’s security, financial health, or employee and public safety if compromised.[MK1]
The wordiness of this definition may make the concept seem complicated, but it’s easy enough to recognize in practice. Say, for example, the organization’s printer gets jammed. It will likely be inconvenient for those who need to use it, but employees and the organization as a whole should be able to operate normally until it is fixed. Additionally, unless some unique modifications have been made to it, a non-functioning printer certainly wouldn’t be considered a safety hazard.
But what if a water filter stops working at a water and sanitation district? What if your organization provides emergency services and the phone lines go down? The impact of these problems would be felt immediately, and there is a very real chance of people being hurt if the issue is not resolved quickly.
It is these assets that are considered critical infrastructure. Although, it is worth remembering that what exactly is considered “critical” may vary between organizations, and different assets are affected by each type of disaster in unique ways.
Extreme Weather and Natural Disasters
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released a report of “Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters” which tracked climate events from 1980 to 2024 that had “great economic and societal impacts.[MK2] ” Since their data takes into account physical damage to buildings, electronic infrastructure, vehicles, and public assets among others, it provides a decent measure of which events likely resulted in the loss of critical infrastructure.
Using the data they provided from Colorado, we’ve broken down what types of extreme weather and natural disasters produce the highest risk for organizations based on how many times the hazard appeared in NOAA’s report:
Freeze
With one event listed in the report, damage from freezes make up only 0.2% of the total costs of disasters NOAA included. While there were at least 100 casualties from this event across the U.S., the damage to physical assets was mostly confined to agriculture. On top of that, the single event that made the cut took place in December of 1983. While it’s important to consider the impact of all possible disasters, this one probably shouldn’t be a top priority where infrastructure is concerned.
Flooding
Flooding is slightly more of a concern with two instances making the cut from 2013 and 2015. The 2013 incident is most notable as a record amount of rainfall caused widespread destruction in Colorado across multiple cities and towns, costing the state about $2 billion. The NOAA report also noted that these instances of flooding were particularly devasting to infrastructure. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, since flooding often results in damage to foundations, walls, ceilings, roads, bridges, and can even disrupt phone and cable lines.[MK3] Despite only making up 2.6% of the catastrophic events for Colorado in the report, it resulted in 4.1% of the total cost of damages. While this may not seem like a lot, winter storms (the next weather event on the list that we’ll discuss) had three occurrences and only accounted for 0.8% of the total cost of damages.
Winter Storm
While cold weather is certainly not new to the state of Colorado, high-cost winter storms are more recent occurrences. Only three instances are included in the report, but all of them have occurred within the last five years (2021, 2022, and 2024 if you want specifics). High winds and freezing rain caused damage to businesses and vehicles while frozen water pipes helped drive up the costs.
Wildfire
Jumping up to 12 events, wildfires were reported to have cost anywhere from $5 billion to $10 billion in damages during the timeframe NOAA studied. Structural damage was listed as one of the major causes of loss with burnt homes being a large part of that category. Air quality was also a concern for areas affected by the fires and residents were typically warned to stay inside. As such, any outdoor infrastructure that requires regular maintenance—even if it isn’t directly in the way of a fire—may need to have protocols in place for how it can be maintained when getting outside isn’t feasible for employees.
Drought
Despite having the second highest number of events on the list for Colorado, droughts may not initially seem like a major threat—at least where infrastructure is concerned. The industries that tend to be impacted most heavily by droughts include agriculture and livestock, which special organizations generally don’t have a stake in. However, the low water levels brought about by droughts can cause sinkholes and throw a wrench in hydroelectric power systems. Droughts are also often accompanied by extremely hot weather which can damage asphalt roads and train rail lines. If all of that weren’t enough, drought conditions and the associated death and drying out of plant life make it more likely for wildfires to sweep through affected areas. If the drought somehow managed not to cause any damage to your organization’s critical infrastructure, a drought and a wildfire certainly will.
Severe Storm
Finally, the number of severe storms included in the NOAA’s report for Colorado came in at a whopping 42! And while I may have quipped about the cosmetic damage hail can cause at the beginning of this article, there is potential for serious damage to both structures and people when the hail is, to quote the NOAA’s report directly, “golf ball to baseball-sized” in one instance and “baseball to softball size[d]” in another. Tornadoes were also included in this category, and the damage effecting basically everything above ground should be a concern for any organization.
What Can Be Done?
The first step to protecting your critical infrastructure is identifying what your critical infrastructure is. Take some time to seriously consider what assets your organization cannot function without and use that to determine which extreme weather events would cause the most problems.
Next, research which disasters your organization is most likely to encounter. While the NOAA data is useful on a statewide level, it won’t tell you that Weld County is the most tornado prone in the state.[MK4] It won’t tell you if your specific location is in a floodplain or likely to be in the path of the next wildfire. Thankfully, in this day and age, resources for finding this information are abundant. Check out the Colorado State Forest Service’s Wildfire Risk Viewer[MK5] interactive map or the Colorado Water Conservation Board’s collection of information on flooding[MK6] .
Finally, once you know what you and your organization are dealing with, invest in upgrades and equipment that will both your organization’s property and the people it serves. The CSD Pool offers members complimentary access to Crisis24’s OnSolve: a mass communications platform that can be used to alert employees about damaging weather events and provide advice on how to make it through these events safely.
While you may not be able to prevent extreme weather, staying informed, vigilant, and prepared can help ensure that your organization remains functional throughout the worst of it.
If you have any questions about your coverage, would like to request a consult about business interruption plans, or would like to learn more about OnSolve, email info@csdpool.org.
[MK1]This definition was refined using the definition of critical infrastructure provided by CISA at Critical Infrastructure Sectors | CISA.
[MK2]Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters | Summary Stats | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)
[MK3]What water damage is caused by flooding? - Geographic FAQ Hub: Answers to Your Global Questions
[MK4]How common are tornadoes in Colorado? Here are the numbers