Governments and the media remain focused on responding to disasters, not preventing or preparing for them. Here’s what must change — and will and won’t work — as Canada faces increased disaster risks.
Whether it’s pamphlets aimed at prevention or text alerts, mass communication is often relied on during disasters. This flawed approach can be improved by engaging meaningfully with communities.
Beyond the danger to human life and economies, wildfires also present considerable danger to communities and the mental well-being of survivors.
(AP Photo/Noah Berger)
To effectively address climate hazards like wildfire, we must consider the diverse experiences of people, account for longstanding institutions and create processes that empower local people.
Thick plumes of heavy smoke fill the Halifax sky as an out-of-control fire in a suburban community quickly spreads, engulfing multiple homes and forcing the evacuation of local residents on May 28, 2023.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Kelly Clark
When researchers look at CCTV footage of how people really react during earthquakes – as opposed to what they report after the fact – it looks like alerts aren’t yet inspiring protective action.
Boris Johnson and Joe Biden greet each other at the COP26 UN climate conference.
Robert Perry / EPA-EFE
While neoliberalism has allowed U.S. markets to grow, the resultant stunted public health system left Americans to figure out how to protect themselves from COVID-19 and its fallout on their own.
A house on Curly Dick Road, Meadow Flat in central west NSW, destroyed by the tornado.
NSW Ambulance / AAP
Some of the worst risks of earthquakes are in a zone running from the Great Lakes to the St. Lawrence River that includes major cities like Toronto, Ottawa and Québec City.
New research also identified steps people wished they’d taken to prepare for disaster, such as protecting sentimental items, planning a meeting place and better managing stress.
Mitigating climate change is more politically popular than adapting to its inevitable effects.
Mark Poindexter puts a tarp on the damaged roof of his home in Gulf Breeze, Louisiana, on Aug. 29, 2020, in the aftermath of Hurricane Laura.
AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Federal weather scientists are pushing to make the US more ‘weather-ready,’ which could mean prepping for fires, flooding or storms depending on where you live. The common factor: thinking ahead.
Director of Koi Tū, the Centre for Informed Futures; former Chief Science Advisor to the Prime Minister of New Zealand, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau