Science is proving that climate change is affecting the frequency, duration, and intensity of many climate-related hazards and disasters occurring around the world, including Ottawa. In Canada, 2023 was the warmest summer in 76 years, dating back to the start of national record-keeping in 1948. Canadians in cities, including Ottawa, suffered with some of the worst air quality on Earth. Ottawa experienced five tornadoes, including an EF1 storm on July 13, that struck Barrhaven. In April, Ottawa had nine hours of continuous freezing rain. Many were still without power after two days. There were numerous vehicle accidents; sidewalks were coated with treacherous ice and Ottawa’s light-rail transit went down leaving dozens of commuters waiting hours to be evacuated. These events, at times, overwhelmed the city’s emergency services. The city is now requesting their communities act in a larger support role to such events. Blackburn Hamlet has been chosen as one of the first communities for this new concept.
Additional Resources
- Emergency Preparedness
On February 26, 2024, the BCA Hall was full with folks discussing EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS planning. This has been ongoing since the recent citywide power outages in 2022-23, which left some homes in Blackburn without power for 12 days (thankfully not in dead of winter, but this could happen). While more work is being done by - EMERGENCY PREPAREDENESS PLANNING
Published in The BANAR, August 2023 Don Kelly, BCA Safety In June, Brad Hampson and Don Kelly (on behalf of the BCA) met with the City of Ottawa’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) regarding the development of an emergency preparedness plan for Blackburn Hamlet. In consideration of recent weather events the OEM has recognized that - Keeping Ottawa Connected
The recent Ottawa Hydro presentation to the Blackburn Hamlet Community regarding their work to improve the resiliency of the electrical grid as well as remind community members to be prepared for unexpected outages – especially after major storms – is now live on our Youtube Channel. For more information, visit the new Emergency Preparedness resources - Emergency Response
Good morning everyone! I have truly appreciated seeing the community support during this crisis and I thank everyone who has been able to help their neighbours make it through this. For most of us, the worst is over, but not for everyone. Some people still have no power, many of us have limited or no
Emergency Preparendess News Archive