Should Richmond's Hazard & Risk Analysis Be Public? | My Delegation to Richmond City Council

Mayor and Council,

I'd like to begin with two simple questions.

If a major earthquake struck Richmond tonight...

...would you know what our community's greatest risks are?

Would your family know how to prepare for them?

I suspect most residents would answer no.

Not because they don't care but because they haven't been told.

Every few years, the City invests significant time, cost, and expertise identifying Richmond's greatest hazards through its Hazard, Risk and Vulnerability Analysis - AKA our HRVA.

It identifies the emergencies most likely to affect our city.

It helps guide emergency planning.

It influences priorities.

It shapes decisions.

Yet the people most affected by those risks—the residents of Richmond—have never seen it.

That seems backwards.

We often say emergency preparedness is everyone's responsibility. I agree.

And responsibility without information isn't preparedness.

If we expect residents to prepare their families, protect their businesses and help their neighbours during disasters, shouldn't we first tell them what they're preparing for?

Other municipalities—including Vancouver—already publish public versions of their Hazard, Risk and Vulnerability Analysis.

Not classified information.

Not operational secrets.

Simply an honest explanation of the hazards facing their communities.

Why?

Because informed citizens make resilient communities.

Today I'm asking Richmond to do the same.

Not because the City has failed.

Richmond has some done some very proactive work on dike protection.

This is about taking the next step.

Moving from preparing for the community...

...to preparing with the community.

Emergency preparedness isn't just the responsibility of Emergency Programs.

It belongs to every resident...

every business...

every school...

every seniors' home...

every neighbourhood.

The more people understand the risks...

the stronger Richmond becomes.

As we approach another election, every candidate will talk about public safety.

This is an opportunity to demonstrate it.

Transparency isn't simply good governance.

In emergency management...

it can save lives.

So today I'm respectfully asking Council to direct staff to prepare a public version of Richmond's Hazard, Risk and Vulnerability Analysis and incorporate it into the City's emergency preparedness information and education.

Because an informed community...

is a prepared community.

And a prepared community...

is a resilient community.

I'd like to leave Council with one question.

If we expect residents to prepare for Richmond's biggest hazards, what reason is there not to tell them what those hazards are?"

Thank you.

Jerome Dickey