Preparing for Disaster

OTTAWA — From last year’s devastating tsunami in Southeast Asia to Hurricane Katrina that washed over New Orleans and the recent earthquake that levelled parts of northwest Pakistan and Kashmir, Canadians have witnessed the toll nature can take around the world.

But how ready are we when a natural disaster strikes in our own backyard?

In May, forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, predicted an “above-normal” Atlantic hurricane season, which ends Nov. 30, of between 12 to 15 tropical storms – three to five of which could be major hurricanes.

That’s not good news for Eastern Canadians. But the situation isn’t much better for Canadians living on the West Coast where experts believe the odds are 1 in 10 that British Columbia will experience a major earthquake – not to mention face the risk of a resulting tsunami – over the next 50 years.

However, while these natural disasters are non-preventable, the extent of their destructive forces can be managed, as regular contributor Christopher Guly explains in the cover story of the fall edition of Living Safety.

In “Preparing for Disaster: How to Keep Your Home Safe When the Wind Blows, Rain Falls and Ground Moves,” Guly profiles the work of the Toronto-based Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR), which runs a program called “Designed…for safer living” with support from Canadian insurance companies, universities and the Ontario government.

Since opening its doors in January 1998, the ICLR has provided support for about $50 million in research related to disaster-proofing Canadian homes.

For instance, the University of Western Ontario in London is building the world’s first full-scale laboratory featuring a two-storey house and a wind tunnel that will be used to simulate storms, such as hurricanes.

“Through this research, we will learn what makes a house safe and what elements can be added to make it safer – all of which could help revise residential building codes,” says Paul Kovacs, who established the ICLR and serves as its executive director.

Meanwhile at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, scientists have built a two-storey house that sits on a platform, known as a shake table, which moves back and forth to simulate an earthquake and will be used to determine how to minimize damage to a dwelling during a quake.

Guly’s feature story also looks at the ICLR’s relationship with Canadian home builders to construct “disaster-resilient” domiciles – an initiative modelled after one developed in the United States.

According to Kovacs, home builders in Canada could ask buyers whether they want the “regular - house or the disaster-safe house that comes with extra features,” which he says will be affordable – and though not visible by the time the house is built – will have undergone an inspection by the ICLR to ensure that “no corners were skipped.”

The goal is to have as many as eight new disaster-safe homes constructed across Canada by year’s end with the participation of the insurance industry. “Preparing for Disaster” also features a section on steps homeowners can take in making their homes safer.

The ICLR, which provides a guide on its web site, has completed non-structural retrofits on individual homes across the country.

Last year, a Halifax home was “hurricane-proofed.” This year, an ICLR team “earthquake-proofed” a house in Vancouver.

The Canada Safety Council publishes Living Safety on a quarterly basis.

October 13, 2005