On the Canadian natural hazards assessment project

Disaster Prevention and Management

ISSN: 0965-3562

Article publication date: 1 August 2001

67

Citation

(2001), "On the Canadian natural hazards assessment project", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 10 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/dpm.2001.07310cab.005

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2001, MCB UP Limited


On the Canadian natural hazards assessment project

On the Canadian natural hazards assessment project

In recent years, Canada has experienced a dramatic increase in the costs resulting from natural disasters; examples include the 1996 Saguenay flood, the 1997 Red River flood, and the 1998 ice storm. These trends in Canada reflect global trends of the last two decades that have been a driving force behind many national and international activities, including the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR), which ended in 1999, and its successor, the United Nations' International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR). Examinations of Canadian disasters suggest that they by no means represent a worst-case scenario and that significant vulnerabilities to natural events exist in Canada that will one day lead to disasters of proportions that will make the ones experienced thus far seem minor. Costs from natural disasters to the public purse, private sector, and individuals are very large and likely to grow larger. An important part of the process of developing resilient communities and effective policies to reduce the impacts of natural disasters is to take stock of what a city, province, or nation knows and does not know, how information is or is not applied (and why), what the breadth and focus is of existing disaster-related research, and what gaps in knowledge need to be filled in order to achieve these goals.

Recognizing this need, a community of Canadian scientists, scholars, and practitioners in the natural hazards and disasters field have come together to conduct a major new survey of current understanding of the causes and consequences of natural hazards and disasters and to identify critical needs regarding both knowledge and action in the discipline (see the Observer, Vol. XXIV No. 4, p. 19). The project is designed to help determine national policy. It will rely heavily on the freely-contributed time of scientists and experts from many disciplines, as well as others involved in disaster policy and management among government, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, and affected populations.

Similar evaluations have been undertaken in other countries from time to time (for example, the USA has just completed its second hazards assessment – see the Observer, Vol. XXIII, No.4. p. 3), and after evaluating these previous efforts, the Canadian group recognizes that the project's focus must be broad and interdisciplinary, involving social and physical scientists, academics and practitioners, policy makers and communities. The study is not intended to be simply an academic exercise, but rather an effort that will provide a guide to all users of natural disaster information and a plan for the future that will reduce the physical and human costs of disasters in Canada.

The Canadian Natural Hazards Assessment Project is guided by a small steering committee, which in early 2000 conducted an initial workshop in Mississauga, Ontario, during which 65 people developed a conceptual model and plan of action for the project. Although the participants came from a wide variety of backgrounds and from most regions of Canada, the organizers feel that the circle of interests must be broadened further. The plan calls for a two-tiered effort over a period of three years, during which a set of background papers will be developed that will serve as the basis for a publication – Canadians at Risk: The Vulnerability of Canada to Natural Hazards/Disasters – aimed at a general audience. Unifying themes of risk and vulnerability will be used to create an integrated set of papers that will provide a critical evaluation, not just a literature review. These papers will include:

  • hazard-by-hazard assessments of physical and socioeconomic vulnerability;

  • assessments of adaptive coping mechanisms;

  • case studies;

  • sectoral studies; and

  • a review of the potential impacts of global change.

The set of background papers will be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals to give the assessment added credibility and to meet the publishing needs of the contributors.

For more information on the Canadian Assessment of Natural Hazards Project, contact David Etkin, Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Toronto, 33 Willcocks Street, Suite 1016, Toronto, Ontario, Canada MSS 3E8. Tel: (416) 978 6310; E-mail: david.~etkin@ec.gc.ca; WWW: http://www.msc-smc.ec.gc.ca/hazards-assessment/

A Web site has been established for the ongoing Canadian Natural Hazards Assessment Project discussed above. The site will act as a source of current information on the project and will be updated and modified as the project progresses. The designers ask interested persons to examine these Web pages and send any suggestions or comments to Lianne Bellisario, Adaptation and Impacts Research Group, Meteorological Service of Canada, Environment Canada, c/o Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Toronto, 33 Willcocks Street, Suite 1016V, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 3E8. Tel: (416) 978 0309; Fax: (416) 978 3884; E-mail: lianne.bellisario@ec.gc.ca

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