Work is underway on a regional Hazard, Risk, and Vulnerability Analysis (HRVA) that will include climate impacts and risk analysis for each of the First Nations and seven partnering municipalities in the East Kootenay.

The project is being led by the Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) through its East Kootenay Emergency Management Program.

“The HRVA will incorporate the information with regional rural data to help us understand which hazards are most likely to affect our region, how serious their impacts could be, and which areas may be most at risk,” said RDEK Protective Services Manager Christina Carbrey.

“It represents a regional, collaborative approach to emergency management and reflects a shared goal of allowing communities and residents to make risk- based choices to address vulnerabilities; mitigate hazards; and prepare for, respond to, and recover from various hazards.”

Once complete, the HRVA will identify and analyze current and future hazards, risks, and vulnerabilities across the region, incorporating climate change projections. It will be a resource for coordinated planning and preparedness while tailoring individual assessments for each participating local government and First Nation.

As community and local knowledge is an important part of this process, a public survey has been launched to help gather information on hazard impacts, community vulnerabilities, existing measures that help reduce risk, and additional actions that may be needed.

The survey is open until October 25. It, along with more information on the project, can be found onhttps://engage.rdek.bc.ca/hrva.

“Information provided in the survey will help inform emergency planning, resilience efforts, and future risk reduction measures, so we encourage people to take a few minutes to complete the survey,” added Carbrey.

Anyone without access to a computer can reach out to the Communications Department at the RDEK to request a hard copy or to complete the survey by phone.

RDEK

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