91亚色 is Canada鈥檚 preeminent disaster and emergency management university with undergraduate and graduate DEM degrees

TORONTO, May 6, 2024 鈥� Droughts, historic flooding, the possibility to beat last year鈥檚 worst wildfire season on record, stronger hurricanes and shifting tornado corridors, and that鈥檚 just in Canada. It may be Emergency Preparedness Week but managing the escalating disasters plaguing the world is a year-round effort, say 91亚色鈥檚 DEM experts.

Fires are still smoldering underground in British Columbia and Alberta, while new ones are already igniting, and the upcoming 2024 Atlantic hurricane season is predicted to generate the most named storms on record prompted by warmer than usual ocean temperatures.

Are the forecasted disasters unmanageable? 91亚色鈥檚 experts from the in the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies are available to discuss how to identify, prepare for, mitigate and recover from disasters wherever they occur. They can also talk about emergency response, community training, disaster management and evacuation.

, director of the master鈥檚 DEM program, coordinator of the bachelor鈥檚 DEM program at 91亚色, is a working group member at the Canadian Dam Association on dam safety and emergency management issues, an adjunct professor at the United Nations University - Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), and a Co-Director of the CDSN-MINDS project on domestic operations for natural hazards in Canada. Agrawal鈥檚 book, (2018), provides a comprehensive approach for disaster risk evaluation, including identifying early warning systems for various types of hazards.

She can speak to:

• Flood risk due to urbanization
• Disaster risk management
• Physical dynamics of natural hazards
• Community resilience assessment using GIS and remote sensing
• How to better understand the science of a changing climate
• Navigating adaptation to climate-activated risks
• The issue of floodplains and is it too late to retreat?
• The importance of engaging communities to better understand gaps between perceptions and actual risks

is associate director of (ADERSIM) and 91亚色鈥檚 disaster institute Y-EMERGE, director of the Centre International de Formation des Autorit茅s et Leaders (CIFAL), and an expert in disaster and emergency planning and policy. His research includes creating for various types of natural, technological, and human made disaster events.

He can speak to:

• The impact of evacuation
• Criteria for evacuation in a disaster
• Disaster response, recovery and reconstruction
• Disaster simulation and exercise
• Use of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligent, virtual reality, and drones in disaster and emergency management 
• Emergency evacuation and shelter planning
• Economic aspects of disasters and emergencies

, an associate professor in Disaster & Emergency Management, associate director of Y-EMERGE, and editor-in-chief of the , is an expert in wildfire and forest fire management in Canada and around the world. He also specializes in the use of science, evidence, and science advice in disaster management.

He can discuss:

• Fire management & fire response in Canada and globally
• Causes and types of fires in Canada and impacts of climate change
• How individuals and governments can prepare for fire
• What happens during a fire response
• Changes and reforms needed to fire management and the importance of 鈥渓earning to live with鈥� fire rather than just fight it
• Social dimensions and human impacts of fire
• Wildfire misinformation
• Use of science & evidence in disasters; both wildfire and beyond

, an assistant professor and environmental and disaster sociologist, examines complex socio-environmental problems.

She can discuss:

• The role of local government in disaster and emergency management
• The importance of community-based research and engagement
• Community training around what to do in a disaster
• Innovative, educational and engagement strategies to strengthen societal disaster resilience, including serious games
• Flood risk management and governance

, associate professor, looks at social vulnerability and capability during and after disasters, risk assessment, as well as hosting and resettlement issues. She is currently working on a book project capturing the lived experience of various vulnerable groups facing disasters across Canada.  She is the principal investigator on , which is currently investigating the development of a stigma-focused agenda for emergency management. Mamuji is a member of the Digital Global Health and Humanitarianism Lab in the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research, which examines how digital technologies are used in emergencies and disasters, as well as the challenges, risks, benefits and opportunities involved in their use.

She can speak to:

• Social vulnerability in disaster management
• Responses to international natural disasters
• Hazard and risk assessment
• Collaboration and coordination, during and after disasters
• Refugee resettlement
• Community-based initiatives

, assistant professor and sociocultural anthropologist, examines the connection between various individuals and social groups living and working at the intersection of environment and society, particularly when faced with extreme weather events, emergencies and disasters, including hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, and unusual heat, such as heat domes, in Canada and the United States.

She can discuss:

• How people perceive and communicate risk, including early warning notifications
• The role of discourse in disaster management
• Social vulnerability and disaster risk creation
• How people make decisions in response to threat and to mitigate harm聽
• Recovery following extreme events and disasters, with a focus on 鈥渟low healing鈥� and the importance of mental health in recovery outcomes
• Community engagement as a method for building disaster resilience

, an associate professor, is a subject matter expert in the field of emergency management. He has research and practice interest in the field of interdisciplinary emergency management and homeland security. He is also active in field-based qualitative research at locations that have been impacted by disasters of natural, technological, or social origins.听 His recent areas of specialty include terrorism, mass shootings, man-made hazards, and hazards of social origin.听Rozdilsky also has an interest in the study of infrequent and unusual disaster events.听Civil defense for nuclear war is one such topic being investigated.听He is working on forthcoming books related to social vulnerability in Canada and disaster and popular culture.听He is an also author for media outlets providing analysis of current events related to disasters, emergencies, and public safety.听His writings can be found in .听

He is available for comment on the following issues:

• General emergency management issues (natural, technological, social disasters)
• Disaster response
• Emergency preparedness
• Terrorism
• Mass shootings
• Man-made hazards
• Nuclear war threats
• Emergency management policy
• Canada鈥檚 federal Emergency Act
• Canada鈥檚 provincial state of emergency declarations
• Disasters in the United States

The post Avoiding disaster, a riskier proposition as weather extremes swirl ever larger appeared first on News@91亚色.

Two years after devastating wildfires razed 90 per cent of Lytton, B.C.,  and residents remain displaced and .

This summer, , including almost the entire population of Yellowknife, due to a wildfire.

The year 2023, in fact, marked Canada鈥檚  wildfire season, with nearly 19 million hectares of forest scorched by mid-October.

Unfortunately the cycle of disaster and displacement is not new in Canada, according to the . It indicates 351 disasters took place from 2000-2020, resulting in the displacement of an estimated 569,224 people and almost $20 billion in costs.

Humanitarian approach

Canada faces a , and the impact and financial costs of these crises are .

In 2022, Canada saw , more than five times higher than the annual average over 1983 to 2008. This 鈥渘ew normal鈥� includes annual multi-billion-dollar insured losses following increasingly destructive climate-driven events.

Canada鈥檚 response to climate-related disasters follows a familiar pattern 鈥� local authorities and provincial and territorial resources become overwhelmed, prompting the federal government and the Canadian Armed Forces .

This reliance on the army as a 鈥溾�� for domestic emergencies is costly and logistically challenging.

Essentially, Canada鈥檚 approach mirrors the humanitarian approach to international crises. However, these recurring disasters  the armed forces鈥� capacity to respond effectively, leading to  of how Canada currently handles environmental disasters.

Fundamentally, humanitarianism involves saving lives and safeguarding vulnerable populations. Internationally, humanitarian aid focuses on immediate necessities during emergencies, sometimes in contrast to international development aimed at enhancing long-term human well-being.

Unfortunately, investments in long-term international development  for years, while global spending on short-term humanitarian assistance reached nearly  in 2022.

Deferring investments

Many governments apparently prefer responding with humanitarian aid after disasters, rather than supporting development activities that would reduce disaster impacts. That鈥檚 problematic.

Federal and provincial governments have deferred expensive investments that would reduce the impact of extreme weather events, just as they continue  from oil and gas extraction.

This 鈥溾�� is the impetus behind Canada鈥檚 first National Climate Adaptation Strategy introduced earlier this year. The gap is evident in the  from high-emitting provinces over the federal government鈥檚 clean electricity targets and its goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.

Despite the fact that a  of Canadians support increased investments in climate action, governments continue to pass the buck on climate policy. Instead, endless debates over carbon pricing monopolize much of the public discussion on climate policy.

In doing so, governments are in effect creating different classes of Canadian citizens. Rural, remote, northern and Indigenous communities located further from southern cities and emergency management resources will remain reliant on the Canadian Armed Forces to come to their aid in times of crisis.

If the frequency of such disasters increases while the army鈥檚 capacity to respond is already strained, then these communities will continue to experience humanitarian responses that do little to protect their communities in advance and fail to support reconstruction or strengthen community resilience for the future.

Policy choice

This shortfall in climate adaptation and preparedness is a policy choice that has significant implications for Canadians.

The current humanitarian model for responding to environmental disasters is politically expedient, but it鈥檚 neither cheap nor effective. It is also contrary to our understanding of sovereignty.

Sovereignty involves a  in which governments pledge to protect their citizens in exchange for their loyalty to its institutions and constitutional order.

Protecting citizens requires defending them when threats arise and preparing for those threats. When governments fail to adequately safeguard their citizens, respond only after crises have already begun or neglect long-term needs, they fall short of their responsibilities.

As residents of one of the world鈥檚 wealthiest nations, Canadians should demand greater accountability from their governments to reduce the need for last-minute humanitarian efforts in the face of climate-related disasters in their communities.

Co-authored by , assistant professor in the Department of Equity Studies, 91亚色

This article is republished from 

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