When first responders in Windsor plan for future emergencies, they first look to the past. One tool is a national database of major disasters to have hit our country since 1900. The list includes disasters that killed at least ten people, affected more than 100, are historically significant, or called for national or international help.
Phil Berthiaume, the emergency management co-ordinator for Essex County, said that’s where planners can find indications of the greatest risks facing the Windsor-Essex region.
“We are required to have emergency plans. But in generating those plans we must do a risk assessment of what are the threats to our region: earthquakes, forest fires, influenza pandemics, airplane accidents, transportation accidents. Anything that is out there, we look at,” said Phil Berthiaume, the emergency management coordinator for Essex County.
He said natural disasters such as tornadoes and thunderstorms are the biggest risk facing the area, along with traffic collisions due to the high numbers crossing the borders each day. Here, find the thirteen disasters recorded in the national database in the Windsor and Essex regions.
Take a look at some of the worst disasters to hit Windsor-Essex, according to the Canadian Disaster Database
Source: Canadian Disaster Database
