Upcoming Events

Coastal Hazards and Risk Communication Forum

Friday, June 14, 2019, 1:00 pm to 3:45 pm, Delta Ocean Pointe Resort, Victoria, BC

The Coast and Ocean Risk Communication Community of Practice (CORC CoP), sponsored by MEOPAR Network invites you to an afternoon forum focused on communicating risks of coastal hazards. The Forum offers an opportunity to discuss with, and hear from, researchers and practitioners who engage in communicating about coastal and marine hazards and to connect with others interested in this area. The Forum is free to attend, but because space is limited, we ask that you register by June 13 to reserve your place.

CHRC Forum Program

CHRC Forum Discussion Summary

CHRC Forum Slide Presentations (in Program Highlights, below)


Who Should Attend?

People involved in study, research, or practice of coastal hazards planning or policy-making; coastal community resilience or preparedness; communicating coastal hazard or risk information (e.g., emergency managers, planners (sustainability, climate change, community resilience), communications specialists; policy-makers; decision-makers; students, or others) in addition to MEOPAR ASM / ATM participants.

Program Highlights

1:00-2:15 pm: Panel Session – Lost in Translation? Communicating Coastal Hazards – From Observations and Models to Risk Messages

Panelists will discuss the challenges of creating and maintaining the fidelity of messages, as they flow from observations and data, through message formation and changes in content and format, to end-users – the various publics, decision-makers, or emergency personnel who base their decisions and actions on them.

  • Thomas James. Research Scientist, Geological Survey of Canada-Pacific, Sidney BC. Focus: past and present-day sea-level change; sea-level projections; natural hazards, climate change. Slide Presentation.
  • Andrea Minano. PhD Candidate, Dept of Geography and Environment, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON Focus: Geographic Information Systems (GIS); data visualization and simulation for communication; flood risk; mapping. Slide Presentation.
  • Armel Castellan. Warning Preparedness Meteorologist, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), Victoria, BC. Focus: customized weather and climate information for emergency preparedness and response; climate and weather communication and interpretation
  • Ryan Reynolds. Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC. Focus: tsunami risk, warning, and evacuation; GIS; online tools for vulnerable households. Slide Presentation.

2:15-2:40 pm: Refreshment Break

2:40-3:40 pm: Presentations – Coastal Hazard and Risk Communication: Perspectives from Practitioners, Policy-Makers, and Researchers.

  • Laurie Pearce, Research Associate, Justice Institute of BC; Associate Faculty, Royal Roads University; Partner at Pearces 2 Consulting Corporation. Focus: Challenges when evacuating First Nations’ coastal communities. Slide Presentation. Videos (on CRHNet Website)
  • Matt Osler, Senior Project Engineer, City of Surrey. Focus: Surrey Coastal Flood Adaptation Strategy. Slide Presentation.
  • Peter Anderson, Director of the Telematics Research Lab and Associate Professor of Communication at Simon Fraser University. Focus: Improving end-to-end tsunami notification along Canada’s West Coast: Current challenges and new opportunities. Slide Presentation.
  • Joel Finnis, Associate Professor, Memorial University of Newfoundland. Focus: Marine forecast production and application in Newfoundland fisheries. Slide Presentation.

3:45-4:00 pm: MEOPAR ASM, Arbutus Ballroom (2nd Floor) Concluding Remarks, MEOPAR Scientific Director, Doug Wallace