Emergency preparedness « Transition Brockville

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Tag : Emergency preparedness (49)

Pandemic hurts ability of nations to face natural disasters

Globe & Mail / Nick Perry / 4 April 2020

Every year, the world contends with devastating typhoons, wildfires, tsunamis and earthquakes. The dynamic doesn’t change just because the globe also happens to be fighting a pandemic.

What has changed for the worse, however, is the ability of nations to prepare for and respond to natural disasters. Not only that, but experts also fear the usual protocols for coping with the aftermath of such disasters could further spread the virus, compounding the death toll from both.

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Building community resilience: before, during & after COVID-19

Transition US / Don Hall / 30 March 2020

Due to accelerating impacts from climate change, as well as ongoing economic and political instability around the world, these crises will continue to periodically crash up against our shores, more and more frequently in coming decades, threatening to significantly erode our capacity to respond. In order to successfully counter this reality, those of us who are called to leadership will need to learn how to respond skillfully during these periodic crises and build local community resilience long-term.

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Regions brace to fight rising floodwaters and COVID-19

Toronto Star / Laura Osman / 28 March 2020

The last couple of years have taken on a biblical tone in the rural Pontiac region of Quebec.

The small community of about 6,000 has recovered from five natural disasters in just two years. Floods and microbursts have wiped out homes, roads and culverts. Last year’s tornado was the cherry on the cake.

“Our little municipality has become experts at managing crises,” said Mayor Joanne Labadie.

But nothing could prepare them for the possibility of fighting another flood with a global pandemic on their doorstep, she said.

Still, they’re getting ready as best they can.

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‘Focus on the things you can control’: coping with uncertainty

The Guardian / Oliver Burkeman / 28 March 2020

Many of the most fruitful techniques for coping with uncertainty involve a similar move: they are ways to refocus your attention away from your runaway fantasies. If you’re confined to your home at the moment, giving yourself some structure by drawing up an approximate schedule can reconnect you to the texture of the day. (“Even if we hate our jobs, having somewhere to be at 9am is very containing, psychologically,” Marchiano says.) You’ll get a related “grounding” effect by returning to the body through virtually any form of physical exercise. (As a specific antidote to anxious feelings, I highly recommend the “shaking practice” demonstrated by the coach Deepika Sheleff on her website, which is what it sounds like – and has the added benefit of being so ridiculous as to be incompatible with total misery.)

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Credit crunch could make 2008 look like ‘child’s play’

The Guardian / Martin Farrer / 20 March 2020

A worldwide credit crunch triggered by the coronavirus will set in motion a wave of corporate bankruptcies that will make the global financial crisis look like “child’s play”, investors have warned.

With the world’s most advanced economies all entering a shutdown that could last months, companies that have gorged on cheap money for the past decade face going out of business thanks to a huge spike in borrowing costs on international money markets.

The sudden loss of revenue faced by airlines, tourism-related businesses and carmakers make them extremely vulnerable, ratings agencies have said, with parts of the energy sector also at risk.

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Telecom networks dealing with ‘unprecedented’ pressure

CBC News / Thomas Daigle / 20 March 2020

Bell spokesperson Nathan Gibson said home internet usage is up to 60 per cent higher than usual during the day and 20 per cent higher at night.

Widespread outages have not been reported, but University of Toronto computer science professor Yashar Ganjali warned “significant changes in typical traffic might lead to unforeseen situations that might lead to temporary disruptions in some services.”

The three main service providers said they’re all increasing their ability to deal with the traffic as usage grows.

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