MITIGATION OF THE IMPACT OF TORNADOES IN THE CANADIAN PRAIRIES

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1 12th Annual Canadian Risk and Hazards Network Symposium Coast Plaza Hotel, Calgary, Alberta MITIGATION OF THE IMPACT OF TORNADOES IN THE CANADIAN PRAIRIES BY: SAMANTHI W. DURAGE (PhD) PROFESSOR S.C. WIRASINGHE (PhD, PEng) PROFESSOR JANAKA RUWANPURA (PhD, PEng) DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING SCHULICH SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY CANADA

2 Disaster Mitigation in Canada In Canada, approximately 80% of disasters are due to extreme weather events such as tornadoes, hurricanes, hail storms etc (Hwacha, 2005). Canada is gradually shifting from the ways governments have historically approached disasters, through response and recovery methods, to mitigation strategies (Emergency Management Act c.15, 2007). Canada s National Disaster Mitigation Strategy (PSC, 2010) highlights the need to apply and promote scientific and engineering best practices in order to build a knowledge base for sustainable, cost-effective mitigation decisions that contribute to community resiliency. 2

Worldwide Occurrence of Tornadoes Source:(Goliger and Milford,1998) Source : Environment Canada Tornadoes occur on both hemispheres between the latitude

3 Worldwide Occurrence of Tornadoes Source:(Goliger and Milford,1998) Source : Environment Canada Tornadoes occur on both hemispheres between the latitude 20⁰ and 60⁰ but predominantly over the territory of the USA. The overall yearly average number of tornadoes for the past decade is 1,274 in USA (NOAA,2011). 3

of 43 tornadoes per year occur across the prairies provinces and

4 Tornadoes in Canada According to Environment Canada, which is the authority responsible for tornado detection and warning, an average of 43 tornadoes per year occur across the prairies provinces and about 17 occur across Ontario and Quebec. Source: (Grosvenor et al, 1998) 4

5 Mitigation of the Impact of Tornadoes Pre-disaster Stage Deaths and injuries could be minimized by taking appropriate actions at the pretouch down phase of a tornado. Picture Courtesy: Public Safety Canada 5

6 Research Objective To study, analyze, model, simulate and propose improvements to plans and systems to mitigate the impacts of tornadoes in the Canadian Prairies Statistical analysis of historical Canadian Prairie data on tornadoes Network modeling and simulation of the tornado detection, warning and communication (TDWC)network Stated preference analysis of how Calgary households and vehicle-drivers will take protective measures (or not) in response to tornado warnings Analysis of the total time consumption for warning, communication and initiation of protective measures Analysis of false warning and missed events in the Canadian Prairies Recommendations for the stakeholders involved in the TDWC process 6

7 Population(In Millions) No of tornadoes 1. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF THE TORNADO DATABASE 90 No of Tornadoes Reported Year( ) No of Tornadoes Reported Expon. (No of Tornadoes Reported) Linear (No of Tornadoes Reported) y = x R² = y = e x R² = Population vs. Time Population Linear (Population) Year ( ) y = x R² =

8 Model Development for the Tornado Time Trend Regression Model + Time Series Model 8

9 Tornado Time Trend This pattern shows a decreasing trend in the number of tornadoes observed in the last two decades. The downward trend may precede an upward trend in the number of tornadoes. It is noteworthy that, in the neighbouring US, a high variability can be observed in tornado occurrences in the same period (Brooks et al., 2014). This regional pattern may be a climate change signal in how tornadoes occur presently (Elsner et al., 2015). 9

10 2. EVALUATION OF THE WARNING COMMUNICATION AND RESPOSE SYSTEM Objective: To compare the total time consumption for warning, communication and initiation of protective measures with the warning lead time Warning issuance to the warning receipt point (Network Simulation) + Warning receipt point to the completion of protective measures (Tornado Survey) Curve fitting procedures required for this analysis used EasyFit software 10

11 Tornado Detection, Warning and Communication Network 11

12 Network Simulation Monte Carlo Simulation 12

13 Stated Preference Survey Nearly 500 Calgarians took part in the online survey and provided information on how they would respond to tornado warnings after receiving them. The respondents were asked to assume that they received a tornado warning; and, their intended responses when at home and driving were collected separately. Variable Response Categories Percentage Gender Male 66.0 Female 34.0 Age Below Between 30 and Above Dwelling Type Single Detached Dwelling 74.6 Other 25.4 Household Size One 12.8 Two 32.3 Three or More 54.9 Presence of School Yes 33.5 Aged Children Presence of People with Reduced Mobility No 66.5 Yes 6.2 No 91.7 Not Answered 2.1 Household Income Less than $50, $50,000 - $120, Above $120, Not Answered 13.8 Level of Education Up to High School 7.1 Training after High School 32.8 Profile Undergraduate of Survey Respondents Degree 38.5 Postgraduate Degree 19.0 Not Answered

14 Household Responses Warning Sources Please rate each likely source of warning to your household in case of a tornado (1-Least likely, 5-Most likely). Call from a trusted person Visible environmental cues Weather websites Protective Actions Household Level Ranking Average (1-6) Go to a safer area in the basement 1.47 Lie down in a bathtub 3.20 Mobile text alerts Television Go to a safer building within the neighbourhood 3.39 From neighbours Social media Emergency weather radio Local radio Drive away to avoid the threat 3.70 No action Other

15 Overall Time Consumption Warning issuance to the warning receipt point (From the network simulation) Warning receipt point to the completion of the protective action (From the tornado survey) 15

16 Overall Time Consumption There is around 25% chance that the protective actions can be completed by a household within 10 minutes from the warning issuance point. Increasing the time by 5 minutes gives more than 70% chance for a household to complete their protective actions. 16

17 3. PRAIRIE DATA ANALYSIS Tornadoes Forecasted (or Warned) Tornadoes Observed Yes (T) No (T ) Yes (W) p True Warning r False Warning No (W ) q Missed Event s Status Quo A true warning for a tornado is a clear communication to the public to move to safer places prior to an actual occurrence. A false warning can be considered to be a situation when the public is warned about a tornado and one actually does not occur. A missed event is a situation where a tornado touchdown occurred without an advance warning being issued. This status quo infers the correct detection of the situation that there is no tornado potential within a thunderstorm, thus, no warning is required. 17

Bulletin Probability of True Warning P(T/W) Probability of False Warning P(T /W) Probability of Missed

18 Analysis of Tornado Warnings in the Canadian Prairies Venn Diagram of tornado warning, occurrence records from 2003 to 2012 True Warning, False warning, Detection Probabilities given a Severe Weather Bulletin Probability of True Warning P(T/W) Probability of False Warning P(T /W) Probability of Missed Event P(T/W ) Probability of Detection P(W/T) Probability of False Detection P(W/T ) 12.6% 87.4% 10.7% 39.8% 35.4% 18

19 4. HOUSEHOLD DECISION TREE FOR A TORNADO Decision Event Disutility p Tornado U 2 =Property damage + Some impact on people Warning Respond Do not Respond 1-p p 1-p No Tornado Tornado No Tornado U 1 =Inconvenience+ Injuries during response phase U 3 =Property damage + Major impact on people U 0 =0 p =Probability of a tornado given that a warning has been issued The expected disutility of responding to a warning E (R) = p(u 2 ) + (1-p)(U 1 ) The expected disutility of not responding to a warning E (R ) = p(u 3 ) The household will choose to respond if E (R ) >E(R) 19

20 Household Decision Tree for a Tornado Inequality (U 3 -U 2 ) - the additional disutility or the consequences of not responding to a tornado warning U 1 - Negative consequences of responding to a false warning -When (U 3 -U 2 ) is higher even a low probability of a true warning p is sufficient to trigger taking protective actions. -When U 1 is higher, it is necessary to have a higher value for p to initiate response actions Case (i) (U 3 -U 2 )> U 1 ; >1 RHS of inequality < 0.5 Case (ii) (U 3 -U 2 )< U 1 ; <1 RHS of inequality > 0.5 (Since U 1 is small and U 3 -U 2 is high, it is unlikely that case (ii) will occur.) 20

21 5. WARNING DECISION TREE FOR A TORNADO Decision Warning Public Response Respond Do not Respond r 1-r p 2 1-p 2 p 2 Tornado No Tornado Tornado Disutility U 2 =Property damage + Some impact on people U 1 =Inconvenience+ Injuries during response phase U 3 =Property damage + Major impact on people 1-p 2 No Tornado U 0 =0 No Warning p 1 Tornado U 3 =Property damage + Major impact on people r = Probability of responding p 1 =Probability of a tornado given that no warning has been issued P(T/W ) p 2 =Probability of a tornado given that a warning has been given P(T/W) 1-p 1 No Tornado U 0 =0 21

22 Warning Decision Tree for a Tornado The expected disutility of giving a tornado warning E (W) = rp 2 (U 2 ) + r(1-p 2 )U 1 +(1-r )p 2 (U 3 ) The expected disutility of not giving a tornado warning is E(W )= P(T/W )(U 3 ) =p 1 (U 3 ) The forecaster should choose to issue a warning if E(W )> E (W) Fundamental inequality of decision making for tornado warnings r > { 1 - [ P(T/W ) / P(T/W) ] } / [ 1 - (U 2 /U 3 ) ] Case (i) P(T/W )>P(T/W) or (Missed event probability > True warning probability) ; RHS is always negative since U 2 <U 3 No matter what response probability is expected from the public, the forecaster should choose to issue a warning. Case (ii) P(T/W )< P(T/W) or (Missed event probability < True warning probability); RHS is positive The response probability has to be higher than a certain positive value to justify a warning. 22

23 6. RECOMMENDATIONS Partner SPC Recommendations -Check the sufficiency and efficiency of the technological and human capacity to detect tornadoes and take remedial measures -Implementation of a group of spotters to get ground-truth information -Develop interactions with the local emergency managers Promote the use of Weatheradio application as the primary warning source CEMA -Conduct annual information sessions and drills to improve the awareness and preparedness at the individual level, institution level and the community level -Develop interactions with the SPC, spotters and the public to get tornado information and activate the AEA -Promote various communication media including the Internet, social media and Smartphone applications that can reach a diverse population with different preferences AEMA -Strengthen the AEA system to verify tornado information at the local level 23

24 RECOMMENDATIONS (cont d) Partner Schools Recommendations -Practice tornado drills in the Springs season -Improve the awareness of parents regarding school protective measures ROC Media Police -Initiate the use of VMS for severe weather warnings including tornadoes -Educate drivers on how to respond to a tornado emergency -Study of traffic management technologies to assist in responding to a tornado warning -Educate the public by facilitating discussions about tornado preparedness and response in the Spring and Summer seasons -Be ready to respond once a tornado touchdown is reported Public -Improve awareness about environmental cues of tornadoes, weather alerts, warnings and protective actions -Develop a family preparedness plan in responding to a tornado 24

25 Publications Durage, S.W., Wirasinghe, S.C., Ruwanpura, J.Y. (2011). Comparison of the Canadian and U.S. Tornado Detection and Warning Systems, Natural Hazards, Vol. 66, No. 1, pp [Published] Durage, S.W., Kattan, L., Wirasinghe, S.C., and Ruwanpura, J.Y. (2014). Evacuation Behaviour of Households and Drivers during a Tornado, Natural Hazards, Vol. 71, No. 3, pp [Published] Durage, S.W., Wirasinghe, S.C., and Ruwanpura, J.Y. (2015). Decision analysis for tornado warning and evacuation. Natural Hazards Review. DOI /(ASCE)NH [Published ] Durage, S.W., Wiraisnghe, S.C., Ruwanpura, J.Y., Kattan, L and Mashall,S. (2015). Canadian Prairie Tornadoes - Preplanning for Warning Issuance & Initiation of Protective Measures, International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. [Accepted for publication] Durage, S.W., Wirasinghe, S.C., Ruwanpura, J.Y. (2014). Tornado Mitigation Network Analysis and Simulation. International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment. Manuscript ID IJDRBE [Under Review]. 25

26 Acknowledgements Calgary Emergency Management Agency (CEMA) Environment Canada - Prairie and Arctic storm prediction Centre Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Urban Alliance Storm Prediction Center USA Calgarians 26

Risk Based Planning and Mitigation of Natural Disasters through Network Modelling and Simulation

Risk Based Planning and Mitigation of Natural Disasters through Network Modelling and Simulation Professor Janaka Ruwanpura, PhD, P.ng, PQS, MRICS Vice-Provost International Professor of Civil ngineering/