Transition Brockville archive
Tag : Emergency preparedness (39)
Globe & Mail / Don Forgeron / 30 April 2017
Lost in all the talk and analysis of the most recent federal budget was a landmark investment of $2-billion for disaster mitigation funding – the largest infusion of dollars dedicated to disaster mitigation in Canada’s history. The investment is designed to reduce the almost $9-billion spent by the federal government in unbudgeted disaster relief expenditures from 2005 projected through 2020.
Many commentators completely missed the significance of this investment.
[ FULL ARTICLE ]
The Weather Network / Jonathan Belles / 07 April 2017
The first three months of 2017 claimed the most billion-dollar weather disasters for the same stretch of any year on record, according to a report released Thursday by NOAA.
Five separate disasters, ranging from tornado outbreaks and wind damage to late season freezes that wiped out crops in the South, racked up damage tolls over $1 billion.
This frequency of billion-dollar events is the largest since records began in 1980 and more than doubles the average number of 2.4 such disasters over the last five years.
[ FULL ARTICLE ]
Toronto Star / Peter Goffin / 09 January 2017
Canada’s insurance industry is calling on all levels of government to improve climate-change preparedness, after a record-breaking year of damage caused by natural disasters.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada says $4.9 billion in insurable damage was caused by natural disasters such as wildfires, floods and ice storms across the country in 2016.
It’s the most ever in a single year.
Damage costs have increased steadily since the 1980s, says the IBC.
They are expected to keep growing.
[ FULL ARTICLE ]
Globe and Mail / Shawn McCarthy / 30 October 2016
The insurance industry is particularly concerned about rising costs for flood and other weather-related disasters, including this year’s devastating fire in Fort McMurray, Alta. Payouts have soared and seven of the past eight years have seen insured costs from natural disasters exceeding $1-billion.
Prof. Feltmate’s report surveyed each province and the Yukon on 12 factors related to preparedness to limit flood damage. They included flood-plain mapping and land-use planning; the availability of home adaptation audits and commercial property; and climate-related assessments of transportation, energy, drinking water and sewage systems.
[ FULL ARTICLE ]
Council of Canadians / 05 October 2016
In this report, Savaria Expert-Conseils Inc. evaluates the impacts of a petroleum hydrocarbons spill from TransCanada’s Energy East pipeline in the main watercourses of the Ottawa-Gatineau region.
The proposed Energy East pipeline would pass through the south end of the City of Ottawa. It would cross 68 watercourses in the Mississippi and Rideau watersheds, including those two rivers. Both of these rivers are major tributaries of the Ottawa River.
Highlights from the report include:
- A spill from the proposed Energy East pipeline could have a direct impact on the drinking water sources for the cities of Gatineau and Ottawa, which are 52 km and 60 km away from river crossings for the Mississippi River and Rideau River respectively.
- A spill from the proposed Energy East pipeline could have impacts on aquatic ecosystems, recreational activities and economic activity (e.g. tourism).
- The pipeline goes through the Baxter Conservation Area and other wetlands, where a spill could cause irreversible damage to those ecosystems.
- A catastrophic spill could dump up to 23 million litres into the rivers within two hours.
- Cleaning up a major spill could cost up to $1 billion.
- Case study: 250,000 litres of heavy oil were spilled in the North Saskatchewan River and travelled over 500 km downstream.
- Case study: 3.3 million litres of oil were spilled in the Kalamazoo River (Michigan) and travelled at least 60 km downstream.
[ FULL MEDIA RELEASE ] [ DOWNLOAD REPORT ]
Kemptville Advance / 29 September 2016
A table-top emergency exercise simulating widespread tornado damage and extreme weather striking the region has recently been completed by a majority of municipalities in Leeds and Grenville.
More than 75 emergency response officials, including police, fire, health, Counties and municipal staff from Leeds and Grenville municipalities, responded to a mock severe weather episode with tornados, down bursts and funnel clouds impacting several municipalities and the City of Brockville. Injured and trapped people, as well as a fatal, multi-vehicle accident and a potential chemical spill at the juncture of Highways 401 and 416, added to the severity of the emergency exercise.
[ FULL ARTICLE ]
Lost in all the talk and analysis of the most recent federal budget was a landmark investment of $2-billion for disaster mitigation funding – the largest infusion of dollars dedicated to disaster mitigation in Canada’s history. The investment is designed to reduce the almost $9-billion spent by the federal government in unbudgeted disaster relief expenditures from 2005 projected through 2020.
