What capacities are needed for effective response to compound events? And to what extent do these capacities exist within a selection of Swedish municipalities? Compound events are understood as when multiple crises occur simultaneously or in close succession within a geographic area. Scientists in the natural sciences emphasize that the occurrence of compound events will become more common in the future and request knowledge on how they should be managed. The identified capabilities considered particularly relevant to compound events are; awareness, collaboration, flexibility, planning, exercises, resources, and anchoring. The empirical study found that the capability most prevalent among the studied municipalities was awareness, 15 of 17 municipalities. 13 municipalities demonstrated anchoring, about half of the municipalities demonstrated collaboration, flexibility, planning and exercises, and resources was found in only one of the municipalities. Based on the policy cycle it can be observed that a majority of the municipalities are in the initial stage of the cycle, which is identifying the problem. The steps towards implementing and allocate resources to strengthen the necessary capabilities vary between the municipalities but have not been taken to any significant extent. Therefore, it can be concluded that the municipalities lack relevant capabilities to manage compound events, which becomes problematic due to the extensive disruptions and consequences they cause in the society. The contribution of this study is a theoretical framework containing relevant capabilities for managing compound events, as well as an empirical description of how these capabilities appear within the studied municipalities. The study concludes with suggestions for future research focusing specifically on a deeper understanding of the capabilities within the framework of the policy cycle.