DEFINITION OF A HAZARD
- A potential or existing condition that may cause harm to people or damage to property or the environment.
DEFINITION OF HAZARD ANALYSIS
- The systematic collection of past and present information relating to a natural and man made emergencies/disasters aimed at estimating the future likelihood of an emergency.
The reason for completing a community Hazard Analysis is:
- to determine what hazards may exist within a community, thereby creating awareness for emergency preparedness and planning;
- to fulfill the obligations of completing the recent criteria set out by the Manitoba Emergency Measures Organization.
Hazards that exist can be categorized into two types. They are:
NATURAL
- Straight line winds - large mass of air with speeds greater than 150 km/hr
- Tornadoes - twisters, funnel clouds, dust devils
- Flooding/heavy rains - causing overland flooding, flash floods or drastic rise in water levels
- Summer storms - lightning, hailstorms
- Winter storms - blizzards, ice storms, severe cold weather
- Drought - affecting water tables, crops and agriculture
- Forest/bush fires - caused by lightning and dry conditions
MAN-MADE
- Hazardous chemical/dangerous goods spills
- Transportation accidents - air, rail, highway
- Industrial accidents
- Utility failures - blackouts, power outages
- Fires caused by man
- Civil unrest/riots/terrorists
In 2004 a Hazard Analysis Report was completed for the Municipality of Taché that included the communities found in and around the areas of Wards 1 through 6.
The report was based on a two part scoring system:
- 1. Rankings of Community Disaster Probability Sheet
How would you rank an event within your community using a scale of 0 - 5
0 - not applicable to my community
1 - not probably
2 - low probability
3 - moderate probability
4 - high probability
5 - nearly certain
2. FEMA MODEL (federal Emergency Management Agency) Model
The FEMA MODEL uses four criteria:
- History
- Vulnerability
- Maximum Threat
- Probability
to rate and score the events.
| RESULTS | HAZARD | AVERAGE |
| 1 | Major Frost and Freeze | 4.2 |
| 2 | Freezing Ice Storm | 4.1 |
| 3 | Forest or Bush Fire | 4.0 |
| 4 | Blizzard or Massive Storm | 3.9 |
| 5 | River Flood | 3.8 |
| 6 | Major Hail Storm | 3.8 |
| 7 | Major Gas Main Break | 3.8 |
| 8 | Flash Flood | 3.7 |
| 9 | Electric Power Blackout | 3.6 |
| 10 | Chemical Contamination Spill | 3.0 |
REVIEW:
Manitoba Emergency Measures recommend the Analysis Report be reviewed on occasion.
In September of 2017 a review was completed with the results as follows:
| RESULTS | HAZARD | AVERAGE |
| 1 | River Flood | 3.4 |
| 2 | Massive Automobile Wreck | 3.4 |
| 3 | Freezing Ice Storm | 3.2 |
| 4 | Forest or Bush Fire | 3.0 |
| 5 | Blizzard/Massive Snow Storm | 3.0 |
| 6 | Drought | 2.8 |
| 7 | Major Frost & Freeze | 2.6 |
| 8 | Chemical Contamination/Spill | 2.6 |
| 9 | Major Hail Storm | 2.6 |
| 10 | Electric Power Blackout | 2.4 |
CONCLUSION:
Communities should also be aware that although some hazards rated lower than others, it does not mean that the lower rated hazard will not occur.
This report was meant to assist in identifying hazards that exist in the community so that the community can work towards emergency planning and preparedness.