Applying Lessons From Home Flood Protection to Enhance Residential Earthquake Preparedness: A Canadian Perspective
by Caroline Metz, Cheryl Evans, and Dr. Blair Feltmate
October 2024
This report draws on lessons learned from the Intact Centre’s Home Flood Protection Program. It shows how approaches to mobilize flood protection at the residential level may be applied to reduce earthquake risk, for homes in Canada’s major earthquake zones. Both floods and earthquakes share similarities in risk and ability to prepare; risk can be reduced through proactive action. The report profiles three principal mechanisms that have the potential to motivate protective behavior for earthquakes:
- Developing and circulating an earthquake protection infographic,
- Engaging with professional associations in the residential sector, and
- Personalizing risk preparedness through door-to-door outreach.
The findings offer practical approaches which may strengthen earthquake risk management and guide homeowners toward greater preparedness.
When the Earth Shakes: Applying Lessons from Home Flood Protection to Residential Earthquake Preparedness
New guidance, developed by the University of Waterloo’s Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation, draws on the Centre’s insights to mobilize flood resiliency for homes, which also apply to residential earthquake risk reduction.
While flooding and earthquake differ in origin (flooding can be climate-change related, and earthquake is naturally occurring), from the perspective of risk and preparedness, they share many similarities.
For both hazards, the ability to reduce residential risk often hinges on motivating and changing homeowner behavior in advance of a natural disaster. It is reasonable to infer that mechanisms that have motivated homeowners to protect their homes against residential flooding, could be applied to motivating protective behavior for earthquake.
This new guidance profiles three principal mechanisms that have the potential to motivate homeowners/households to build protection and reduce earthquake risk at the level of the home:
- Develop and circulate an earthquake home protection infographic to motivate more homeowners and tenants in earthquake zones, to prepare their homes (as shown on page 9 of the new guidance).
- Engage with professional associations in the residential sector such as the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), Canadian Association of Home and Property Inspectors, Insurance Brokers Association of Canada (IBAC), Mortgage Professionals of Canada, and the Appraisal Institute of Canada to ensure that professionals who interact directly with homeowners provide guidance on how to protect homes in earthquake zones.
- Personalize risk preparedness, by conducting door-to-door outreach for targeted communities in earthquake zones, to educate householders on measures to protect homes.
Changing homeowner behavior to help reduce residential earthquake risk can be done practically and cost-effectively. For example, some of the simple actions that can be taken around the home include using flexible connections for gas appliances, bracing water heaters, and securing large appliances and bookcases to walls.
While earthquakes occur in all regions of Canada, there are three main areas where there is higher probability of seismic activity:
- Western zone (southwestern British Columbia);
- Eastern zone (southeastern Ontario-southern Quebec-Atlantic region) that wraps around the Ontario-Quebec border from the Ottawa Valley to the St. Lawrence River Valley and includes the Atlantic Coast; and
- Northern zone (spanning the Yukon, Northwest, and Nunavut Territories, and Arctic Islands).
Natural Resources Canada (2021) and AIR Worldwide (2013) estimate that in a 50-year period, there is a:
- 30 percent probability of an earthquake strong enough to cause significant damage in the highest hazard regions (e.g., in the western zone),
- 5-15 percent probability of an earthquake causing significant damage in the moderate hazard regions (e.g., in the eastern zone), and
- less than 1 percent probability of significant damage within the lowest hazard regions.
Implementing the approaches learned from home flood protection may be important for enabling residential protection for earthquake, and limiting earthquake impacts and loss for residents.
“Helping homeowners understand earthquake risk and how to protect homes is an important step in building resilience. Lessons learned from home flood protection show that when homeowners know what to do, it supports action. Homes are the single biggest investment for Canadians. Protecting homes not only saves money, but safeguards health and well-being, and ability to learn, work and prosper”.
– Caroline Metz, Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation
“This report takes evidence-backed strategies for encouraging homeowner actions to reduce flood risk, and extends them to address earthquake risk across Canada. The user-oriented strategies described are vital for effecting change at the household level, and can only happen when Canadians understand their earthquake risk and know what to do about it. This report is a big step in the right direction, and I hope it will be well-read by decision makers at all levels.”
– Tiegan Hobbs, Research Scientist, Natural Resources Canada
Contact details:
Caroline Metz, MSc, MEB
Managing Director, Climate Resilience and Health, Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation
University of Waterloo
519-957-2482 | caroline.metz@uwaterloo.ca
Dr. Blair Feltmate
Head, Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation
University of Waterloo
226-339-3506 | bfeltmate@uwaterloo.ca
References:
AIR Worldwide. (2013). Study of Impact and the Insurance and Economic Cost of a Major Earthquake in British Columbia and Ontario/Quebec. Study of Impact and the Insurance and Economic Cost of a Major Earthquake in British Columbia and Ontario/Québec – DocsLib
Natural Resources Canada. (2021, April 6). Simplified seismic hazard map for Canada, the provinces and territories. https://www.seismescanada.rncan.gc.ca/hazard-alea/simphaz-en.php