Disaster Governance in Fort McMurray will be Critical to their Recovery
The residents of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB) have experienced enough disaster for one life-time. They are a resilient bunch of people; however, how much more can they take? The hazards that surround them are not going away. And even though the flooding they experienced is considered a 1-in-100 year flood (in other words each spring break-up there is a 1 percent change of similar flooding) the community is still vulnerable and exposed, their ability to govern their recovery will be critical to their future as a community.
In January 2020 the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health published Short-Term Solutions to a Long-Term Challenge: Rethinking Disaster Recovery Planning to Reduce Vulnerabilities and Inequities.
Disaster Governance
In the paper, disaster governance is described as: “a coordination mechanism for collaboration and spans the phases of disaster management from preparedness to long-term recovery. Tierney defines disaster governance as “the interrelated sets of norms, organizational and institutional actors, and practices . . . designed to reduce the impacts and losses associated with disasters”
…….In contrast to the typical top-down, command-and-control emergency-centric approach, disaster governance emphasizes: engaging multiple actors at multiple levels; building trust and social capital through collaboration and leadership; learning and innovation; and building strong formal and informal networks through bridging and boundary spanning organizations.
…………..a core feature of disaster governance is social inclusion, that is, engaging a broader constituency of local society in decision processes about disaster response and recovery in the short- and long-term.”
One step the RMWB will need to undertake early on in their recovery is an assessment of their disaster governance. Do they have the systems in place to engage with the multitude of actors, at all levels, that is required for managing the reduction of vulnerabilities and inequities?
steps the RMWB will need to undertake include:
What is the composition of their Disaster Advisory Committee? Is it sufficient? Who is missing from ‘the table’? What needs to change for their recovery?
Does the current committee have the ability to address “the interacting socio-economic, cultural, environmental, and physical factors that contribute to vulnerability and to ensure that pre-disaster inequities are not amplified in post-disaster futures” (Short-Term Solutions to a Long-Term Challenge: Rethinking Disaster Recovery Planning to Reduce Vulnerabilities and Inequities.)
What policies exist that will aid in their recovery? What policies are missing? Do they have a build-back better policy and plan in place? Will the Government of Alberta support the use of financial assistance for prevention/mitigation efforts?
How does their Hazard Vulnerability Risk Assessment support the spending of their post-disaster financial assistance?
What are their critical recovery success factors?
These are just a few questions that will help the RMWB assess their current disaster governance state. If they need to make adjustments they will need to undertake them now so they do not create additional vulnerabilities within the community.
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Author: Brad Ison is a professional disaster and emergency management coach. He’s held various position specific roles in the Alberta Provincial Operations Centre and had decade long career at the Alberta Emergency Management Agency where his focus was on Disaster Recovery and his last role served was as the Director for Training, Accreditation, and Standards.
