WHITEWATER REGION — Last night, the Protective Services Committee recommend Council of the Township of Whitewater Region approve participation in the University of Waterloo’s study titled, “How disaster feels: the cascading effects of time and experience on perceptions of risk, response and recovery to flooding in Whitewater Region Township”.
Robert Tremblay, Chief Administrative Office for the Township, was approached by Jennifer Spinney, Ph.D., about this study. This project is supported by the Department of Geography & Environmental Management at the University of Waterloo and is financially sponsored by the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction’s (ICLR) Quick Response Program.
According to information provided by the project team to the Township, “the study will explore shifts in residents’ and public stakeholders’ experiences with flooding, and how these experiences have, over time, contributed to different perceptions and responses to risk, as well as perceived and actual abilities to rebuild after flooding.”
“The purposes of this study are to develop a broader understanding of perceptions of individual and stakeholder risk relative to flood risk officially identified and warned for by expert groups; analyze the extent to which experience shapes individuals’ and communities’ capacity to respond and recover following catastrophic events, and; evaluate the influence of prior flood experience on current risk perception and decision-making behaviours.” They stated participation in this study will be beneficial to the Township in terms of learning from the flooding event for future emergency management planning, response and recovery.
Dr. Spinney conducts environmental research on behalf of Spinney Consulting Services and is a research associate on the Northern Tornadoes Project in the faculty of social science’s department of anthropology at Western University in London, Ont. and a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado. Dr. Brent Doberstein is an associate professor/faculty member at the University of Waterloo, which is a public research university in Waterloo, Ont.
Thank you Whitewater Region News! Our goal is to understand local experiences of flooding- preparation, impact, response as well as the process of individual and community recovery. Please email [email protected] if you are willing to share your flood story. Most sincerely, Jennifer
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