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I. Introduction Human-made emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are causing warming that is not typical of the historical record. The Town of Aurora has begun taking steps in addressing climate change, which will affect all areas of the world, even towns like Aurora. As part of its Comprehensive Plan update, on which work began in late 2024, the Town has initiated the development of a Climate Vulnerability Assessment. This document will fulfill the requirements of and outline for Section PE7 Action: Climate Vulnerability Assessment, set forth by the New York State Climate Smart Communities Program. The Climate Smart Communities (CSC) Program is an interagency initiative of New York State to support local efforts to meet the economic, social, and environmental challenges of climate change. Municipalities can adopt the CSC pledge and submit a variety of actions for CSC certification. The Town of Aurora’s Town Board unanimously passed the CSC pledge on September 26th, 2022. A task force was approved in October 2023 to implement the actions necessary for obtaining certification status with the NYS Climate Smart Communities Program. The Town was awarded Bronze-level Certification the same month and the task force continues to work towards achieving Silver-level Certification, which is the highest level of certification available. The Aurora Climate Smart Communities task force has shared extensive educational resources on the physical and social vulnerabilities related to climate change in the Town of Aurora and the Western New York region on its website. The purpose of the Climate Vulnerability Assessment is to assist the Town in analyzing and developing responses for and resilience against extreme weather events and other climate-induced impacts to come, the frequency and intensity of which are only projected to increase due to climate change. While the Town does have a disaster advisory committee, it has not actively met for several years and lacks the resources to accomplish its duties. This Climate Vulnerability Assessment should prove useful in guiding future emergency management decisions for the Town of Aurora. This assessment begins with a review of relevant studies, including the Erie County Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan (2022), the Erie County Climate Action Plan and Climate Vulnerability Assessment (2023), Town of Aurora Climate Smart Community Task Force’s website, and the New York State ClimAID Report (2011). Climate hazard and physical vulnerabilities were identified and described primarily based on the Erie County Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan (ECMHMP). Following this, a social vulnerability assessment is included, primarily based on the ECMHMP, CSC Task Force website, and Town of Aurora Comprehensive Plan. Additionally, findings from the Comprehensive Plan’s community engagement process as related to climate change are summarized and discussed. Finally, the assessment concludes with a summary of findings, paths forward for the Town of Aurora and its community organizations and stakeholders, and a timeline to reassess vulnerabilities and update the assessment report. II. Relevant Studies A. Erie County Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan (2022) First developed and adopted in 2007, Erie County recently updated their Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan in 2022. This plan aims to reduce the impacts of natural disasters and increase the resiliency of all municipalities within Erie County. Components of the plan include a countywide profile, a risk assessment for all potential hazards, and identified strategies to implement to reduce the impacts of 107