Adaptation to Extreme Weather

The purpose of this document is to provide local, rural communities with an outline for the development of extreme weather adaptation plans. Extreme weather events, such as recent heat domes, droughts and flooding, will increase in both frequency and intensity in the coming months and years. Hopefully this document will stimulate discussion and development of priorities for action that will address this inevitable increase in extreme weather. The focus of this document is extreme weather events and possible ways to address and mitigate their impact on the community and individual homes. A companion document would be possible ways of reducing the contribution of communities to the factors that are the drivers of extreme weather.

Note: This document is not meant to address individual home owner adaptation, but rather to address neighbour interaction and community wide aspects of adaptation. As insurance companies include risks associated with extreme weather this community adaptation strategy will hopefully assist in keeping homes insurable and costs ‘reasonable’.

Guiding Principles for extreme weather adaptation:

  1. Cooperation is essential. Working together, and sharing ideas and information with other communities, we can reduce the impacts on our community and individual properties.
  2. Leadership is shared. All of us have important skills and resources to contribute. Initiative and leadership among neighbours and community wide is to be encouraged and supported.
  3. Action is required. Planning and decision-making processes need to be focussed on getting things done, even if the plans aren’t perfect.
  4. Maintain a sense of urgency. The unpredictability of extreme weather coupled with the certainty of extreme weather increasing in intensity and frequency demands a sense of urgency in response.
  5. Respond to the unexpected. The community needs to be both nimble and flexible in updating adaptation actions and responding to new and unexpected weather events and patterns.

Extreme weather events and their mitigation:

Wind
As storm systems intensify, frontal wind speeds (especially maximum gusts) will continue to increase. In heavily treed communities it is important to assess and address trees that have the potential to cause severe damage to infrastructure (roads, powerlines, etc.) and to individual residences. There are two types of trees that are of particular concern. They are aging deciduous trees such as alders that are nearing the end of their life cycle, and Douglas Fir trees that are susceptible to root rot. All trees are also more likely to become unhealthy and a hazard as drought, heat and flood cycles continue.

Possible Action Plan Elements:

  1. Conduct a community wide assessment of tree wind firmness (often called a danger tree assessment) – including along all roadways and around individual homes. This could likely be done initially using remote sensing information and followed up by ground inspections.
  2. Conduct an assessment of individual home (roof) vulnerability to damage by large limb breakage from healthy trees.
  3. Remove danger trees that are a threat to individual homes.
  4. Power line right of way – remove danger trees in the forest that could reach the power lines.
  5. Secondary / communication cables – remove danger trees that could reach the cables.
  6. Emergency services / equipment: tarps for roof coverage.

Note:
Chipping of tree debris, that normally occurs during the year, rather than burning will mitigate smoke pollution and CO2 contribution. This could be done through a contract with a chipper operator who could traverse a community and chip and remove the debris a few times a year. Hopefully some of the local residents will have a use for the chips, making disposal easier.

Flooding
As the atmosphere warms and holds more moisture the incidence of high precipitation storm events will increase. Additionally, the incidence of atmospheric rivers that skirt the pacific high and impact the coast of Vancouver Island will also increase.

Possible Action Plan Elements:

  1. Conduct a community wide assessment of water runoff patterns and how runoff will likely change with increased precipitation. This could include an assessment of areas that have been cleared, logged, paved, etc. to determine hydrological impacts and potential runoff origin points.
  2. Assess all culverts for their ability to handle a significant increase in flow. Replace (upsize) culverts as required.
  3. Assess ditching and its ability to handle increased runoff and flow. Improve ditching to work with culverts and handle peak flows.
  4. Bevel edges of roads to ensure water flows from the pavement into the forest or into ditches and culverts. This will prevent gully erosion and undercutting at the edge of the pavement.
  5. Conduct residence flood risk assessments. Including how divergence (ditching and culverts) can be improved to protect homes from increased flow and runoff. This would include how neighbouring properties impact each other when peak flows occur and developing cooperative plans for water divergence.
  6. Develop a neighbourhood ‘culvert keepers’ program where local residents insure culverts are not plugged during rain events.
  7. Maintain wetlands and other key water absorption areas (no clearing, draining or compaction).
  8. Rehabilitation of areas that have lost absorption capacity or create concentrated runoff.
  9. Hardening of areas where runoff can’t be contained in ditches / culverts.
  10. Emergency services / equipment: sand bags, water bars, pumps, fans, dehumidifiers, culvert clearing and ditch maintenance equipment.

Freezing
If a high precipitation rain event occurs over frozen ground the runoff will be much more severe. Likewise, a significant ‘rain on snow’ event that rapidly melts snow can radically increase the runoff rate and volume. Frozen areas, including ploughed snow along the side of roads can effectively act as ice dams in the event of a significant rain event. Extreme fluctuations from freezing / snow to rapid increase in temperature and accompanying intense rain events will likely increase.

Possible Action Plan Elements:

  1. Conduct an assessment of how freezing conditions, rain on snow, and ice dams may impact flood risk.
  2. Modify ditching, culvert entrances, and road maintenance to address the increase flood risk from freezing, rain on snow, fast snow melt, and ice dams.
  3. Emergency services / equipment: snow / ice removal from culverts and ditches


Fire
Increased fire hazard in forests, due to extreme weather, is one of the highest risk factors to communities.

Possible Action Plan Elements:

  1. Fire Dept training and equipment to fight interface and forest fires.
  2. Conduct Firesmart BC assessments of homes and buildings and implement Firesmart recommendations
  3. Controlled burning to reduce forest fuel loads
  4. Pruning and undergrowth removal to prevent ladder fuels from conducting fire into tree crowns.
  5. Home sprinkler systems and backup power to run pumps.
  6. Evacuation planning (grab bags and evacuation routes)

Smoke

Increased fire hazard in forests will result in an increase in lightning and man-caused fires. Even if these fires are not close by they can have significant impact on air quality. This can be dangerous for everyone and particularly for those with breathing problems. Smoke can also cause significant eye irritation.

Possible Action Plan Elements:

  1. Air filters associated with heating and cooling systems.
  2. Stand alone air filtration systems.
  3. Good quality personal masks.
  4. Develop a smoke free space program for those at risk / or don’t have air filtration – possibly in the community hall or private houses.


Heat
With increasing incidence of ‘heat domes’ it is likely that extreme heat will impact communities. This will cause direct impacts on residents and can cause increased tree mortality.

Possible Action Plan Elements:

  1. Update danger tree assessments and responses after intense heat events to determine if trees have been affected and become hazards. (see section on Wind)
  2. Develop a self-assessment process for residents to use to determine their preparedness for extreme heat, including vulnerabilities that increase due to underlying medical conditions.
  3. Develop a contact system / buddy system for folks at higher risk.
  4. Develop a safe cool space program for those at risk / or don’t have air conditioning / or are otherwise at risk – possibly in the community hall or private houses.
  5. Emergency services / equipment: fans, swamp coolers.


Drought
The increasing incidence of ‘heat domes’ and longer summer drought will put greater strain on wells and community reservoirs.

Possible Action Plan Elements:

  1. Conduct a hydrological assessment to determine if all wells in a community come from the same source aquifer.
  2. Conduct a drought risk assessment to determine how many and the location of wells that have run dry or been stressed in previous droughts. Include an assessment of wells that suffer from salt ingress as this will likely be exacerbated by increased sea level rise.
  3. Develop a water restrictions program in line with drought indices as used in other communities. Including priority for food producing gardens.
  4. Develop a water sharing / buddy well and water storage program – especially for residents with a history of well stress.
  5. Develop a program to increase the number and capacity of water reservoirs and access to storage in times of severe drought.
  6. Maintain wetlands and other key water absorption areas (no clearing, draining or compaction).
  7. Work with road maintenance to transition to the use of sand rather than salt on roads in winter to prevent ingress of salt into wells.
  8. Emergency services / equipment: water storage / distribution

Power Outages
With increasing incidence of extreme weather it is likely that power outages will increase in frequency and duration. The adaptations listed under Wind will counteract this to some extent but larger scale power outages will likely also increase and be of longer duration.

Possible Action Plan Elements:

  1. Assess vulnerability to longer term power outages (residents with no generator or battery backup systems). Include resident’s ability to heat / cool homes, cook, and pump water in times of power outages.
  2. Encourage backup system development by residents with a priority on battery systems.
  3. Emergency services / equipment: generators

Note:
While the widespread use of generators may appear to be a solution it is worth noting that gas and diesel generators contribute to the drivers of extreme weather.

Communication
As extreme weather events increase it becomes increasingly important to provide information to keep residents appraised of the situations.

Possible Action Plan Elements:

  1. Support development and use of alerts and situation updates using communication systems such as facebook pages or other alert systems. Determine how to communicate with residents that don’t use digital platforms.

Community Health and Support
Extreme weather events can be very disruptive and damaging. Consequentially they are inherently very stressful. Community support will be essential in successfully navigating these events.

Possible Action Plan Elements:

  1. Psychological support – establish systems and resources to support community members emotional and psychological wellbeing in times of high stress.
  2. Logistical support – in times of extreme weather it will be hard to get additional equipment, supplies etc. to communities due to demand in multiple areas. It is important that the community know the resources available within. Create a ‘data base’ of skills, equipment and supplies that are resident in the community and that could be called upon by residents to assist in repairs and other mitigation.

Additional Notes:

  1. Sea level rise in the next few years will likely increase the risk to docks and marine infrastructure, but this is difficult to address at a community level. (see recent research on the collapse of the Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica)
  1. The disruption of supply chains and especially disruption of food availability will likely increase, but this is a macro level problem rather than one the community can address – other than supporting / encouraging local food production.