e-newsletter of the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction Volume 10, Issue 6 November/December 2016 ICLR releases new book: Cities adapt to extreme heat Local governments are taking Fredericton, NB action now to address the Sherbrooke, QC Inside this issue increasing risk to Canadians from Ottawa, ON extreme heat events that will only Montreal, QC become more common and severe Kingston, ON ICLR releases new 5 in the years ahead as a result of a Toronto, ON book cont... warming. Cities adapt to extreme Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie, QC Dufferin county offers 2 heat: Celebrating local leadership Oxford County, ON rebates for hurricane profiles 20 of the many successful Sudbury, ON straps local projects underway or already Melita, MB Are personal insurers 3/5 completed in communities across Peel Region, ON asking all the right the country that are adapting to Windsor, ON questions better address the risks associated Surrey, BC ICLR to host 4 with extreme heat. City of North Vancouver, BC workshop on Great The 20 communities Cascadia megathrust earthquakes profiled in the book include: Seven experts from the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR) Winnipeg, MB and Health Canada authored the Hamilton, ON report, which contains mini case Gatineau, QC studies that showcase successful Leduc, AB local actions that can and should be Vancouver, BC used by communities across the Middlesex-London, ON country to confront the ► ICLR Board of Directors Barbara Bellissimo (Chair) Desjardins Robert Andersen Western Charmaine Dean Western Joseph El-Sayegh SCOR Louis Gagnon Intact Andy Hrymak Western Paul Kovacs ICLR Sean Murphy Lloyd’s Canada Johnathan Turner Swiss Re Philipp Wassenberg Munich Re Canada Dufferin County offers rebates to property owners, builders 2 who install hurricane straps Developers and property owners in Ontario’s Dufferin County are eligible for rebates if they install hurricane straps in their buildings, a county official says. Hurricane straps, which are metal bands that wrap around trusses and connect to walls, “can largely eliminate the risk of roof failures from an EF2 tornado,” Western University engineering professor Greg Kopp stated earlier. The Enhanced Fujita scale, which has six ratings, has been used by Environment Canada since 2013 to measure the strength of tornadoes. EF0 tornadoes have wind speeds of 90 to 130 kilometres per hour while an EF 5 would have wind speeds of more than 315 km/h. After a tornado touched “I can’t make (hurricane straps) through southern Ontario May 31, down in the community of Angus mandatory so I thought I would 1985, according to an ICLR (adjacent to Canadian Forces do a rebate program,” he said. paper – A Tornado Scenario for Base Borden) in 2014, Kopp was “The Ontario Building Barrie, Ontario – published in quoted in media reports Code, for whatever reason, has 2002. At least 16 factories were discussing hurricane straps. That not made hurricane straps “heavily damaged or destroyed,” caught the attention of Mike mandatory,” Giles added. “It is according to the paper written by Giles, chief building official and not an expensive thing to do.” David Etkin, Soren Brun, director of facilities and property Dufferin County includes Solomon Chrom and Pooja for Dufferin County. the community of Shelburne, Dogra. Giles suggested to about 80 kilometres northwest of West of Barrie, the Canadian Underwriter that he Toronto International Airport. community of Angus had about met Kopp and got a tour of the “We have the highest 100 homes damaged June 17, wind research facilities in elevation in southern Ontario and 2014, as a result of a tornado. A London, Ontario. we are sitting between Lake week later, nearby Tottenham Kopp is also research Ontario and Georgian Bay and to was hit by another tornado. director of the Boundary Layer the west of Lake Simcoe,” Giles Elsewhere in the Wind Tunnel. Research from that said of the county. Dufferin province, other notable tornadoes facility is used by the Institute for County is situated southwest of hit the Woodstock area in 1979, Catastrophic Loss Reduction Barrie, which was badly damaged Vaughan in 2009, Leamington in (ICLR), founded by Paul Kovacs, by a tornado in 1985. 2010 and Goderich in 2011. president and chief executive “I personally was The fact that hurricane officer of Property and Casualty involved in the 1985 tornado that straps are not mandated by the Insurance Compensation Corp. went through Grand Valley and Building Code “is kind of a pet ICLR, which is affiliated with Barrie,” Giles said. “I heard a peeve of mine,” Giles suggested. Western University, partnered friend of mine lost a few shingles. CT with Dufferin County to offer the So a buddy of mine and I, we $4.50 rebate. headed out to go help him. He Thank you to Canadian ICLR is kicking in $1.50 lost shingles all right. He lost his Underwriter for permission to per hurricane clip while the whole house. So that was reprint this article. county is contributing the other something else.” $3 per clip, Giles said in an A total of 12 people died interview. as a result of a system of at least seven tornadoes that moved Are personal property insurers asking all the right 3 questions? By Glenn McGillivray, Managing Director, ICLR When an insurance representative makes the decision to bind a new homeowner’s policy, does he/she have all the information needed in order to get a full picture of the risk before it is taken onto the company’s balance sheet? Said another way, when a rep works with a potential new insured to fill out an u/w questionnaire are all the right questions being asked? At ICLR, we find that a combination of lab results, post- loss forensic investigations and practical evidence indicates that essentially all homes have risk factors/features that can either cause or worsen a loss. It drains connected to the sanitary 1, 2, 3, 4)? appears that many of these sewer system? - Does the roof covering have features are not being considered - Does the house have an underlayment, if known? by insurers in their underwriting operable sump pump system and - How is the house sided questionnaires and, thus, are not how often does it turn on (give (aluminum, vinyl, brick, factored in when the risk is being ranges)? fibreboard, cement board)? priced and the bind/not bind - Does the system include a back - What type of windows does the decision is being taken. -up pump? house have (single, double or And while it is true that - Does the system have a back- triple tempered glass)? some of our findings are state-of- up power source? the-science and not yet widely known, there are other more well- Wind (for all homes) Wildfire (for homes in the established – even obvious – Wildland/Urban Interface) factors that are not being - How many stories is the house? considered when insurance reps - What type of roof does the - What is the roof covered with bind homeowners’ risks. house have (flat, gable-end, hip, (asphalt, clay, metal, slate, wood Some of the risk factors/ complex)? shakes, other)? features of homes that commonly - How steep is the roof? - How is the house sided (wood, fail to make it onto underwriting - How is the house sided (vinyl or aluminum, vinyl, brick, fibreboard, questionnaires include: other)? cement board)? - Does the house have an - What type of windows does the Basement flooding/sewer attached garage and is the house have (single, double or backup (for all homes) garage door single or double triple tempered glass)? width? - Does the home have a wooden - Does the house have a reverse- - Is the garage door pressure (or otherwise flammable) porch, slope driveway? rated or reinforced, if known? deck, balcony, car port etc. - Does the house have sunken - Does the house have double attached to it? external basement stairs or other front entry doors? - Does the home have a wooden below-grade openings? (or otherwise flammable) - Does the house have a below- Hail (for homes in high-risk hail outbuilding (eg. shed, workshop, grade walkout? zones) detached garage) close to it or a - Does the house have window wooden fence close or attached wells and window well covers? - What is the roof covered with to it? - Have the house’s downspouts (asphalt, clay, metal, slate, wood - Are there trees or shrubs been disconnected from the shakes, other) and how old is it? located within 3m of the house? foundation drains? - If asphalt, what impact ► - Are the house’s foundation resistance level, if known (Level Friday Forum workshop series 4 ICLR to hold workshop on Great Cascadia megathrust earthquakes The Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR) will be hosting a webinar on “Great Cascadia megathrust earthquakes” on Thursday, Jan. 26 from 10 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. EST. The workshop, titled “Great Cascadia megathrust earthquakes: Past, present, and future,” will focus on megathrust earthquakes and the tsunamis caused by them and the threats posed to communities along much of the west coast of North America. However, “without an instrumentally recorded great honorary or guest professor for Cascadia earthquake, our several other scientific knowledge of these events that institutions. He is co-editor-in- guides risk mitigation is based on chief for the Tectonophysics geological observations, geodetic journal and was or still is on the monitoring, geophysical editorial boards of several other modelling, and global scientific journals. In addition comparison,” noted information Wang is a fellow of the American from ICLR. Geophysical Union and was In this webinar, Kelin formerly the secretary of the Wang, a senior research scientist Canadian Geophysical Union with the Geological Survey of (CGU). In 2015, he was awarded Canada, will review the state of the J.