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Beyond Your Primary Regional Focus

Everybody talks about your #1 risk and knows that it will happen, although nobody can say exactly when. In BC it is earthquakes, with the threat of the ‘big one’ occupying conversations at coffee breaks and during emergency planning meetings. In other regions it could be ice storms or hurricanes. How much of your emergency plan should focus on your #1 risk?

By Guy Robertson

Guy Robertson is a senior planner at TMC and an instructor at the Justice Institute of BC and Langara College. He has written five books and numerous articles on corporate security and disaster planning, and offered workshops and lectures at conferences across North America and in the UK.

Tunnel Vision

Your #1 risk is what emergency managers call a primary regional focus (PRF), which is a risk that prevails in your region and inspires people to focus on it to the exclusion of other risks. For example, BC is a seismic zone in which little earthquakes occur frequently. seismologists warn BC residents that a big (or “mega-thrust”) earthquake could happen at any time. This is true, but there are many other risks that deserve equal and in some cases even more attention.

After all, how many BC residents have been injured or killed in earthquakes since 1950? Almost none. How much damage have earthquakes done to BC properties? Very little.

Compare the Risks

But how much damage has occurred owing to floods, wildfires, and severe weather? How many BC residents have died from Covid-19, or during annual influenza outbreaks? How much money have businesses lost owing to data loss even if “all of their data has been backed up”?

When you compare the likelihood and the impact of the risks that you face, it becomes clear that there are a number of risks that can cause major harm to

Your Current DRP

It's a serious mistake to write your disaster plan through a PRF lens. Examine your disaster recovery plan. Is it more of an Earthquake Plan? Does your Fire Plan use more than two-thirds of its pages addressing earthquake safety measures? If so, you, your associates, and your company are not protected from most of the risks that threaten them.

While an earthquake plan can be essential to prepare people and facilities for the effects of severe ground motion, it will not necessarily be useful if your office floods, if a wildfire destroys your building, or a pandemic leads to record levels of absenteeism. An “earthquake plan”

Your Ideal DRP

You need a comprehensive plan, one that covers all of the risks that could harm people and assets. That plan will begin with a thorough risk assessment and analysis (RAA), which will identify the risks that are more likely to result in emergencies and disasters. A good RAA will form the foundation for an effective disaster plan that includes all of the measures and procedures you need to protect yourself and to stay in business. These would include instructions for assessing damage, deciding on whether staff need to move to alternate quarters or go home, what and how to communicate with staff and customers, what procedures to follow during the disruption, etc.

Avoid concentrating on your PRF alone. Give people a disaster plan that’s worth talking about.

If you’d like to explore these ideas further or comment on this article, contact me at .

This article was published in the January 2023 edition of The TMC Advisor
- ISSN 2369-663X Volume:10 Issue:1

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