Aging infrastructure key link to disasters

“While Canada does a great job responding to natural disasters and rebuilding afterward, we have a lot to do when it comes to preventing disaster,” says George Anderson, president of the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC). Anderson, who recently gave an address at a seminar hosted by the IBC’s sister organization, the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR), warned that Canada’s aging infrastructure and growing urban population are major factors contributing to the increase in natural disasters.

The number of natural disasters worldwide has tripled over the past 10 years, he notes, which from a Canadian perspective, has resulted in the annual cost of such events to taxpayers and insurers doubling every five to 10 years. Notably, Canada’s three most expensive natural disasters – the Saguenay and Manitoba floods, and the Quebec/Ontario ice storm – all occurred within the last four years. “More than 16 million Canadians live in towns and cities where aging infrastructure was not necessarily built to sustain growth, and many already operate beyond capacity.”

In line with the ICLR’s proposed national “disaster reduction plan”, Anderson urged all governments to make disaster preparedness a cornerstone of their public works policies. As part of its plan, the ICLR has asked the federal and provincial governments to assign $750 million toward disaster prevention over five years. “This expense should be considered an investment, a very good investment…right now governments in Canada spend about $500 million a year to respond to and rebuild after a disaster. Noah didn’t wait for the flood to build the ark, let’s not wait for more disasters before we are compelled to act.”

And, although the final number crunching has not been completed, storm damage and insured losses arising from two major wind storms which struck Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick toward the end of last year are expected to run into the millions of dollars. The IBC notes that, “high winds, driving rains and storm and tidal surges have destroyed wharves and buildings, causing power outages and extensive damage to roads and shorelines along the Northumberland Strait. Unofficial estimates indicate millions of dollars in damage.”