Tag Archives: emergency preparedness
Radiation Disasters (Part 1)
Since the Fukashima Nuclear Power Plant disaster and shutdown caused by a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011, the impact of radiation on the public has been in the news. Radiation disasters can be either unintentional or intentional and are generally caused by either human error or a terrorist act. In this blog, I will concentrate on […]
The Inconvenience of the Flu
This season’s influenza is front and center in the news, especially with reminders to “get your flu shot”. It is perhaps this year’s the most universal health risk. Like other affronts to our physical condition, flu is a real and present threat. The death toll is rising, but is this different from any other flu […]
Avalanche!
The season is here again, when the local news gives a tragic story of another death from an avalanche. As I write this, the hourly news from my trusty radio just reported two deaths in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Avalanches kill more than 150 people throughout the world every year. Here in British Columbia, the toll averages 11 deaths annually. The 2008-09 winter was especially tragic, with […]
Back to the Future – An EMP
Recently, the first winter blast along the Canadian west coast resulted in a power outage for about an hour. Some folk pulled out flashlights and candles; intersections were on 4-way stop procedures; and, heaven forbid, internet connections were cut due to a lack of electricity to routers and local servers. This small inconvenience reminded me […]
The Big One
Earthquakes involve the powerful movement of the Earth’s crust, when two blocks of rock suddenly slip past one another. The rapid release of energy creates seismic waves that travel through the earth. The damage caused by earthquakes depends on their depth and fault type, as well as the geology of the region. Scientists use seismometers […]
Defining Risk
My consulting company is called Risk Reduction Strategies. I gave it this name after careful consideration. What is risk? Risk is the probability of something negative happening in the future, which will cause loss, harm, or suffering. Although risk is part of everyday life, risk can be “managed”. Risk management is the identification and prioritization […]
Flooding – the Billion Dollar Disaster
Last month’s flood event in Colorado, and a June 2013 event in Alberta emphasize that flooding is one of the most severe, ruthless, and destructive of disasters. Most of the natural disasters to which I have responded have been somehow related to flood waters. The SE Asia tsunami was, in essence, a flood, whose source was […]
The Season of Wildfires
All of us were shocked and saddened by news of an elite crew of firefighters in Arizona who died on July 2 when the wind suddenly changed and they were trapped. It is a reminder of the deadly danger that wildfires pose, and the risk that is taken by both homeowners and those battling the flames. Virtually every summer, […]
Food Security and Emergency Prep (Part 2)
On an earlier blog, I made a case for local vegetable gardens as an important step toward food security after a disaster. They resemble WWII ‘victory gardens’, since food was rationed during the war. Productive soil is the key to localizing food security. A 5m x 5m plot is more easily accessible than a large plot, especially […]
Food Security and Emergency Prep (Part 1)
An immediate human need after a disaster event is availability of food. We can’t live long without it. I live off the Pacific Coast, on Vancouver Island, where the vast majority of food is imported. This is true in almost all metro areas of North America, but is accentuated because of the water barrier to […]
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