All-Hazards Risk Assessment

Approach

Your all-hazards risk and vulnerability assessment project requires a multidisciplinary team of specialists, who are knowledgeable of evolving hazards in our changing world, immersed in technical risk assessments, and experienced working with and listening to communities. Our team of scientists and engineers has experience conducting innovative and leading-edge risk assessments, has the technical background (and a long list of subject matter experts to consult), and we work with engagement specialists to conduct meaningful workshops. We have experience completing all-hazard risk assessments, including following the Province of British Columbia Hazard, Risk, and Vulnerability Assessments (HRVA). 

As a first step, we will identify the priority hazards relevant in your community, drawing on existing studies, historic events, and listening to community members. These hazards can range from natural hazards (e.g., heat waves, tsunamis, erosion, landslides, wildfires, floods, and more) to biological hazards (e.g., pandemic) to anthropogenic hazards (e.g., fuel tank explosion). We then assess spatial hazard extents, where applicable, and describe each hazard based on its characteristics and potential to shift under a changing climate. 

To get a fulsome picture of the things that are vulnerable to impacts, we collect data – to include input from those who live in your community, with a focus on building relationships and fostering dialogue to listen and learn. We characterize potential impacts through holistic indicators, including people, environment, culture, economy, and infrastructure. Our assessments identify vulnerabilities not just in terms of the built-environment (i.e., aging homes) but in the population as well (i.e., the elderly and marginalized groups). This forms the basis for an “all-of-society” approach to finding solutions. Combining hazard, exposure, and vulnerability assessments, we identify which hazards lead to the highest risk. 

Lastly, we will assess current resiliency measures in your community, recommend new risk reduction measures to address the risks identified in the assessment, and guide your community towards a resilient future. These recommendations are deeply informed by the conversations and input that we hear from your community along the way, to ensure they are well-situated to the local context. Our results are presented meaningfully to support decision makers with next steps in the all-hazards management process. Our reporting takes the form of concise and understandable summaries for decision makers, as well as detailed technical reports to document our methodologies and assumptions, and enable future experts to quickly pick up the thread.