2017 CRH Net Symposium

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "2017 CRH Net Symposium"

Dorothy Floyd
5 years ago
Views:

Wildfire Evacuations: A Focus on the Muslim Community Aaida A. Mamuji, Ph.D.

1 2017 CRH Net Symposium Halifax, Nova Scotia Wednesday October 25, 2017 Understanding Issues Faced by Residents of Fort McMurray during the 2016 Wildfire Evacuations: A Focus on the Muslim Community Aaida A. Mamuji, Ph.D. and Jack L. Rozdilsky, Ph.D. Disaster and Emergency Management Program York University, Toronto

2 Agenda Understanding Issues Faced by Residents of Fort McMurray during the 2016 Wildfire Evacuations: A Focus on the Muslim Community 1. Background and Context 2. Research and Findings 3. Conclusions

3 Agenda Understanding Issues Faced by Residents of Fort McMurray during the 2016 Wildfire Evacuations: A Focus on the Muslim Community 1. Background and Context 2. Research and Findings 3. Conclusions

4 Section 1 Background and Context 1. May 2016 Fort McMurray Wildfire Evacuation 2. Diversity in Fort McMurray

5 May 2016 Fort McMurray Wildfire Evacuation Very Significant Mass Evacuation in Canadian History The largest evacuation of a single municipality in Alberta s history The third largest evacuation in Canada s history Other significant historical mass evacuations: Mississauga, Ontario November 1979 Train derailment and toxic release (215,000+ evacuated) Calgary, Alberta June 2013 Flooding (100,000+ evacuated)

6 May 2016 Fort McMurray Wildfire Evacuation Disaster Facts First spotted on the afternoon of May 1 High winds drove the fire into Fort McMurray on May 3 Fire impacts over the course of the next five weeks: Zero casualties from fire The wildfire impacted 589,000 hectares of land 1,958 structures were lost or damaged Economic impacts are estimated at $8.9 billion Source: May 2016 Wood Buffalo Wildfire Post-Incident Assessment Final Report Prepared by KPMG

7 May 2016 Fort McMurray Wildfire Evacuation Fort McMurray Evacuation Facts 88,000 persons evacuated on May 3 and May 4 Full scale evacuation began with the notification mandatory evacuation for specific neighborhoods on May 3 at 1:55 pm Initially, there were some mixed messages concerning the urgency of evacuation By May 4, nearly all of Fort McMurray was evacuated Source: May 2016 Wood Buffalo Wildfire Post-Incident Assessment Final Report Prepared by KPMG

8 May 2016 Fort McMurray Evacuation Leaving Fort McMurray Photo Source: Canadian Press viahttp://

Primarily South Source: http://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.

9 May 2016 Fort McMurray Evacuation Fort McMurray Evacuation Circumstances Isolated Northern Community One Highway, Primarily South Source:

10 May 2016 Fort McMurray Evacuation Fort McMurray Evacuation Circumstances View From Field Photo Source: Dr. Jack L. Rozdilsky

11 May 2016 Fort McMurray Wildfire Evacuation A Successful Evacuation The evacuation is deemed to have been successful Recent wildfire events in Portugal and California show that Canada did comparatively well Canada is in a position to improve its disaster response capabilities even further Source: May 2016 Wood Buffalo Wildfire Post-Incident Assessment Final Report Prepared by KPMG

12 May 2016 Wood Buffalo Wildfire Comparison to Other Recent Fires May 2016: Wood Buffalo Wildfire Auto mass evacuations & erratic fire behavior No lives lost, but devastating community impacts June 2017: Portugal Fire with auto mass evacuation in proximity to fire Tragic results October 2017: United States Fire with fast moving and erratic behavior Tragic results

13 May 2016 Wood Buffalo Wildfire Comparison to Another Fire with Mass Auto Evacuations June 2017 Central Portugal Wildfire, Pedrógão Grande community; 62 killed Many victims killed as they fled in cars Source:

14 May 2016 Wood Buffalo Wildfire Comparison to Another Fast Moving Fire October 2017 California USA Napa Valley Wildfires; 41 killed 217,000 acres burned and more than 5,700 structures destroyed Source:

15 Section 1 Background and Context 1. May 2016 Fort McMurray Wildfire Evacuation 2. Diversity in Fort McMurray

Diversity in Fort McMurray Whole of Community Evacuation Fort McMurray is arguably more diverse, per capita, than Toronto More than 80 languages are spoken in Fort McMurray Approximately 34

16 Diversity in Fort McMurray Whole of Community Evacuation Fort McMurray is arguably more diverse, per capita, than Toronto More than 80 languages are spoken in Fort McMurray Approximately 34 places of worship, including churches, mosques and synagogues Evacuated Neighbourhoods

17 Diversity in Fort McMurray Whole of Community Evacuation Disaster social science research indicates that visible minority populations can face additional challenges during evacuations Works completed and in progress as related to aspects of First Nations evacuation experiences (see works of McGee, Pearce, Murphy and others) Little research exists in Canada concerning evacuation experiences of other visible minority groups

18 Muslim Community in Fort McMurray Whole of Community Muslims are the majority visible minority group in Fort McMurray Non-official immigrant languages spoken suggest a sizeable Muslim community Muslims make up approximately 10% of the community For comparison purposes, Muslims make up 3% of Canadian communities Muslim families have been in Fort McMurray for ~30 years people attend Friday prayers each week Roughly Muslims attend Eid prayers twice a year Size of the community evidenced by expansion of facilities to serve Muslims in Fort McMurray Source: The Globe and Mail, Fort McMurray s Muslim community plans an ambitious, multicultural mosque. February

19 Muslim Community in Fort McMurray Existing Islamic Centre has been outgrown Existing Markuz-Ul-Islam Mosque Photo Source: Dr. Jack L. Rozdilsky

20 Muslim Community in Fort McMurray New Larger Islamic Centre Opening Soon New Islamic Centre under construction Photo Source: Dr. Jack L. Rozdilsky

21 Muslim Community in Fort McMurray Whole of Community Taking a whole community approach to considering the fire evacuations For the Muslim community this work attempts to: Understand community complexity Recognize community capabilities and needs Photo Source: Dr. Jack L. Rozdilsky

22 Agenda Understanding Issues Faced by Residents of Fort McMurray during the 2016 Wildfire Evacuations: A Focus on the Muslim Community 1. Background and Context 2. Research and Findings 3. Conclusions

23 Section 2 Research and Findings 1. Research Project Overview 2. Research Findings

24 Research Project Overview Understanding Issues Faced by Residents of Fort McMurray during the 2016 Wildfire Evacuations: A Focus on the Muslim Community Purpose of Research: Collecting and documenting the lived experiences of Fort McMurray s Muslim Community during the May 2016 fire evacuations Research Question: What were the challenges faced and the situations supporting wildfire evacuation for members of the Fort McMurray Muslim community?

25 Research Project Overview Understanding Issues Faced by Residents of Fort McMurray during the 2016 Wildfire Evacuations: A Focus on the Muslim Community Research Method: Qualitative research Field and telephone interviews with members of the Muslim community (n=11) Informal interviews (n=6) Public officials and non-government agencies Focus Groups (2) With Mosque leaders (10 board members) Community members (35-40 participants)

26 Research Project Overview Understanding Issues Faced by Residents of Fort McMurray during the 2016 Wildfire Evacuations: A Focus on the Muslim Community Interviews held on location at Fort McMurray Photo Source: Dr. Jack Rozdilsky

27 Research Project Overview Understanding Issues Faced by Residents of Fort McMurray during the 2016 Wildfire Evacuations: A Focus on the Muslim Community Focus groups held during the one-year anniversary of the fire and the evacuations Photo Source: Dr. Jack Rozdilsky

28 Research Project Overview Understanding Issues Faced by Residents of Fort McMurray during the 2016 Wildfire Evacuations: A Focus on the Muslim Community Field observations to gain context for understanding evacuation factors Photo Source: Dr. Jack Rozdilsky

29 Section 2 Research and Findings 1. Research Project Overview 2. Research Findings

30 Research Findings Understanding Issues Faced by Residents of Fort McMurray during the 2016 Wildfire Evacuations: A Focus on the Muslim Community Three distinct phases: Prior to Evacuation During Evacuation Return to Fort McMurray

31 Research Findings: Prior to Evacuation Understanding Issues Faced by Residents of Fort McMurray during the 2016 Wildfire Evacuations: A Focus on the Muslim Community Lack of emergency preparedness and public awareness No safety training beyond what is offered at schools and at work [During wildfire seasons] we would see the [During smoke, wildfire but we seasons] never really we would thought see the that smoke, it would but we never get really to that thought extent that it would we would get to have that to extent that we would evacuate. have to We evacuate. didn t really We didn t prepare really for prepare that. for that. FMM Resident of 8 years FMM Resident of 8 years Tight-knit community with strong relationships in FMM and across Canada

32 Research Findings: During Evacuation Understanding Issues Faced by Residents of Fort McMurray during the 2016 Wildfire Evacuations: A Focus on the Muslim Community Community overwhelmingly appreciative of all emergency services provided during evacuation Hesitation to discuss accommodations specific to Muslims I can t think of any needs or anything that Muslims needed other than similar places to stay - just like everyone else People are people and all people are Canadians so there s no difference We do not want to seem nitpicky. We don t want to look bad

33 Research Findings: During Evacuation Understanding Issues Faced by Residents of Fort McMurray during the 2016 Wildfire Evacuations: A Focus on the Muslim Community Accommodations specific to Muslim FMM residents: Privacy & Segregation Clothing Food Spiritual Accommodations

34 Research Findings: During Evacuation Privacy & Segregation Members and Volunteers from Al Rashid Mosque started receiving text and phone calls from Fort McMurray residents, saying that they were not comfortable staying in such a large open facility [Expo Centre in Edmonton] and wanted to sleep at Al Rashid until they sort things out. Extracted from Al-Rashid Mosque After-Action Report, April 2016 Sleeping quarters (family unit/gender segregation) Gender-segregated or single-occupancy washrooms Private spaces for breastfeeding Pets

35 Research Findings: During Evacuation Clothing They gave us pyjamas and t-shirts. Mom wouldn t wear that. The boys, it was fine for. But for me - I don t know. I guess it would be okay as an undershirt sort of thing, but it wasn t really something that I would wear. I think that was one of the hardest things we had to deal with, is the amount of clothes. I think mom had three suits [Shalwar Kameez], so three pairs of clothes, so she was just washing, rotating and wearing those suits. Hijab friendly clothing (long-sleeved, baggy, trousers) Culture specific (reach out to religious institutions)

36 Research Findings: During Evacuation Food They tried to do whatever they could, but I think it was just harder for us because everyone else had lots of variety of stuff to eat. Every meal it would be a different thing, they wouldn t have the same thing two days in a row. But for us it was pretty much the same thing every day. Every meal would be the same thing and that s what we got tired of. They tried, yeah, but I think it was just harder for us. Halal-food options (including vegetarian and fish) Flexibility on food serving times (Ramadan) Cooking facilities - Family of 5 at University of Calgary residence - Returned to FMM on June 4, 2016

37 Research Findings: During Evacuation Spiritual Accommodations When we were going through that, there were a lot of emotions, but then there was nothing like counselling for Muslims, especially for my mother and my wife. They were going through a [very] tough time. Islamic counseling Prayer space Ablution facilities

38 Research Findings: Return to Fort McMurray Understanding Issues Faced by Residents of Fort McMurray during the 2016 Wildfire Evacuations: A Focus on the Muslim Community Limited exposure to new public education campaigns upon return Primary household preparedness changes: full tank of gas and preparing an easily accessible bag with important belongings Mosque has recruited additional volunteers to FMM s local Emergency Services department, including females Recommendations from within the Muslim community: Appointing an Internal Safety Officer Developing an emergency evacuation plan Assigning a dedicated team to newcomer families Maintaining an internal registry of Muslims in FMM with updated contact information and any special needs

39 Agenda Understanding Issues Faced by Residents of Fort McMurray during the 2016 Wildfire Evacuations: A Focus on the Muslim Community 1. Background and Context 2. Research and Findings 3. Conclusions

40 Conclusions Future Implications Understanding Issues Faced by Residents of Fort McMurray during the 2016 Wildfire Evacuations: A Focus on the Muslim Community Able to identify needs/experiences prior, during, and after the evacuation for the Muslim community There is a trend toward increasing diversity in Canadian cities Deep analysis into specific communities can bring about new insight internally and for emergency managers In order to have a whole community approach it is important to conduct similar analyses for other groups

41 Questions or Comments? Understanding Issues Faced by Residents of Fort McMurray during the 2016 Wildfire Evacuations: A Focus on the Muslim Community Photo Source: Dr. Jack Rozdilsky

42 Diversity Indicators Religious Affiliations in Fort McMurray Area National Household Survey Profile 2011 Fort McMurray--Cold Lake, Alberta Source: Statistics Canada Religion Number Rank Order Percentage Christian Muslim Hindu Aboriginal Other religions Sikh Buddhist Jewish 68, % 3, % 1, % % <1% <1% <1% <1% No Affiliation 25,885 n/a 25% Totals 101,530 n/a 100% Sourcehttp://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=FED2013&Code1=48023 &Data=Count&SearchText=Fort%20McMurray&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&A1=Religion&B1=All&Custom=&TABID=1:

Diversity Indicators Languages Spoken in Fort McMurray Area 2011 Immigrants by non-official languages spoken most often at home URDU Wood Buffalo Specialized Municipality Alberta Province Source:

43 Diversity Indicators Languages Spoken in Fort McMurray Area 2011 Immigrants by non-official languages spoken most often at home URDU Wood Buffalo Specialized Municipality Alberta Province Source: Statistics Canada Count Percent Rank % 1 13, % 9 Where Urdu is Spoken Source: Source:

Non-Religious Demographics and the Canadian Census Speech delivered at the Centre For Inquiry Ontario April 29, 2011

Non-Religious Demographics and the Canadian Census Speech delivered at the Centre For Inquiry Ontario April 29, 2011 Contact: Greg Oliver President Canadian Secular Alliance president@secularalliance.ca