Are We Prepared for the Next Disaster? Evidence from Ice Storm

Ali Asgary,Nooreddin Azimi,Ali Vaezi

doi:10.24815/ijdm.v4i2.21183

Ali Asgary, Nooreddin Azimi + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.24815/ijdm.v4i2.21183

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Abstract

This study examines the impacts that an emergency had on people’s preparedness levels, using the December 2013 Ice Storm in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) as a case. A questionnaire consisting of three sections was developed to measure the associated impacts, people’s reactions/opinions, as well as their preparedness levels before and after the ice storm. The goal of the research is not only to discuss the factors that influenced people’s ability to prepare, respond to and recover from the ice storm but also to generate useful insights for future disasters that are similar in nature. Our analysis includes various aspects such as the effectiveness of advance warnings and their ability to disseminate information to mass audiences. The findings show that, most of the respondents believe that they learned a lot about ice storms and their impacts because of their prior experience; a significant majority believe that it is the city’s/municipality’s responsibility to prepare for emergencies like ice storms; home ownership was significantly associated with the previous ice storm preparedness; and, power outage experience was significantly associated with the next ice storm preparedness.

Highlights

Ice Storm, aka Silver Storm, is a “storm characterized by a fall of freezing liquid precipitation” (American Meteorological Society, 2020)
The findings show that, most of the respondents believe that they learned a lot about ice storms and their impacts because of their prior experience; a significant majority believe that it is the city’s/municipality’s responsibility to prepare for emergencies like ice storms; home ownership was significantly associated with the previous ice storm preparedness; and, power outage experience was significantly associated with the ice storm preparedness
The December 2013 Ice Storm was associated with notable consequences, including several days of power outage, which affected around 2.5 million individuals across Southern Ontario

Summary

Introduction

Ice Storm, aka Silver Storm, is a “storm characterized by a fall of freezing liquid precipitation” (American Meteorological Society, 2020). The December 2013 Ice Storm (December 20-23) was one of the worst natural hazards to hit Southern Ontario (Canada), the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Damage to power lines resulted in more than 600,000 households losing power when the ice storm started (Government of Ontario, 2013). By the time it ended, as many as 830,000 hydro customers (around 2.5 million individuals) across Southern Ontario had experienced power outage for several days (Public Safety Canada, 2020). The ice storm generated huge amounts of debris in the form of broken power poles, power cables, trees, homes, buildings, and vehicles. The lack of power, icy roads, and debris kept most people at home

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