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Dealing with Disaster

February 2010

I offer my condolences to those affected by the catastrophic earthquake that occurred in Haiti on January 12. Thus far the disaster has claimed over 170,000 lives, and will leave a devastating affect both on the country and around the globe.

I hope that the country will be able to recover from the tragedy as quickly as possible. Sadly, reconstruction will cost billions of dollars and take years to accomplish. But it’s not just about dollars and cents. It’s about the people in need, those who lost their lives - including Canadians - and the friends and family mourning for those departed. While Engineers Canada has made a donation to the Canadian Red Cross to support the relief efforts, it’s the work being done on the ground in Haiti that will be felt directly by those suffering from the catastrophe.

This is where engineers come in. The engineering profession can provide tangible support and expertise in response to natural disasters, and we have the required skills to establish engineering projects that facilitate national reconstruction. But is Canada’s engineering profession doing enough? Are we, and will we be, ready when another disaster strikes? How can we help as a profession?

I believe that, as engineers, we are in a position to affect concrete positive change when disaster strikes. We are recognized for our expertise in public infrastructure, and as a profession we have the strength and unity to respond to catastrophic situations. As the Engineers Without Borders campaign says: Engineers Serve the World.

As such, members of Canada’s engineering profession are currently contacting various relief organizations across the country to see how they can provide support to the relief efforts. For instance, while RedR Canada is limited in what it can do as an organization, it has been working with larger organizations to identify engineering volunteers for deployment to Haiti to provide relief and recovery operations.

The profession is also studying issues surrounding natural disaster risks and adaptation. While the earthquake in Haiti was not a result of climate change, there is evidence - with an increasing occurrence of extreme/intense weather patterns - that shows the world will be faced with more climate change-related disasters in the future. Engineers Canada has been looking into this issue through its involvement in, and chairmanship of, the World Federation of Engineering Organizations’ Committee on Engineering and the Environment. The Committee enables the World Federation and the global engineering profession to address the UN Millennium Development Goals, and its mission statement includes gathering information and providing recommendations on the adaptation of physical infrastructure to climate change and natural disaster risks.

I am proud of the efforts being made by the engineering profession to help those suffering in Haiti. I see the need for us to look further into how we can mobilize in response of future natural disasters, and my thoughts are with everyone affected by the events in Haiti.