Photo courtesy Armtec
How resilient communities differ from the current situation
It is clearly in the public interest to reduce property losses (and injuries and fatalities) associated with natural disasters, and to encourage the development of resilient communities through sustained efforts involving mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. These efforts include improved land-use decisions and building code implementation, as well as construction of a built environment that includes resilient buildings and infrastructure. (True community resilience also requires improved business and household planning to minimize loss, as well as better orchestrated response of both citizens and local agencies.)
A resilient community can more quickly restart local services (e.g. utilities, businesses, and schools) and chart a path to a ‘new normal.’ A more resilient community incurs some losses, but avoids additional ones because it has taken informed measures—such as anticipating threats, disaster response plans, and recovery strategies—to minimize the impact of the disturbance.
The key to disaster recovery is not only to get essential services back up and running, but also to allow people to return to their homes and workplaces. This means structures must not only resist the damages caused by an adverse event, but also be in a condition suitable to occupancy as soon as possible after the event. The choice of building materials can play an important role in this regard.
The missing link
Canada’s model codes are a set of minimum requirements for building design, construction, and operation to protect public health, safety, and natural resources. The codes can now offer enhanced protection to make communities more resilient, sustainable, and livable for generations to come, lowering the price of mitigation for business and building owners. Excessively damaged buildings may slow or even prevent recovery for some neighbourhoods and businesses.
Climate change is already damaging the global economy. Until recently, the usual thinking among macroeconomists has been that short-term weather fluctuations do not matter much for economic activity. However, recent events have prompted this view to be rethought. (For more, see the October 17 World Economic Outlook article, “Seeking Sustainable Growth: Short-term Recovery, Long-term Challenges.”)
Extreme weather certainly throws a ringer into key short-and long-term macroeconomic statistics. With the ability to add or subtract 110,000 jobs to monthly North American employment data, it is now the single most-watched economic statistic in the world, and generally thought to be one of the most accurate.
The global insurance industry tracks the number of natural catastrophes worldwide. The trend in catastrophes caused by weather, water, or climate has increased over the last 30 years. A 2012 report from the Insurance Bureau of Canada states “climate change is likely responsible for the rising frequency and severity of extreme weather events, such as floods, storms, and droughts, since warmer temperatures tend to produce more violent weather patterns.”
Payouts from Canadian insurance companies for damages caused by natural disasters—including those related to weather and water—have doubled every five years since 1983. The extreme weather events of greatest concern in Canada include heavy rain and snowfall, heat waves, and drought, which are linked to flooding and landslides, water shortages, forest fires, and reduced air quality.
Photo courtesy Lafarge Precast
These events also have impacts related to property and infrastructure damage, business disruptions, and illness or mortality. Such costs are borne by individuals, businesses, and governments. Science links recent climate change to the greenhouse gases (GHG) released to the atmosphere through human activities over the past century. Based on historic emissions, further changes are unavoidable. (To read WMO’s “Statement on the State of the Global Climate in 2017 Provisional Release,” visit http://bit.ly/2AzaGzp.)
A key component to economic, societal, and environmental viability, the need for enhanced resiliency of buildings and structures, is becoming increasingly important, both nationally and globally. A 2011 United Nations report on risk reduction identified losses from disasters are rising faster than gains made through economic growth across all regions, threatening the economies of low- and middle-income countries, as well as outpacing wealth gains across many of the world’s more affluent nations.
Recent major natural disasters and their impacts on national and global economies have heightened awareness and spurred activity to improve the nation’s infrastructure. The National Research Council’s (NRC’s) new Climate-Resilient Buildings and Core Public Infrastructure program will help develop new building codes to reflect the fact Canada is seeing more heavy rain, floods, high winds, snow, ice, temperature swings, and all-around extreme weather conditions. NRC has received $40 million from Infrastructure Canada to make updates to its model codes. The money is also being used to improve the resilience of core public infrastructure—such as buildings, bridges, sewage systems, and roadways—by developing new guides, risk-assessment tools, and life-cycle modelling tools.
