Surveys - Helping Coastal Communities Prepare

General

We conduct surveys from time to time. These help us understand the events around us and their effects on the community. Feel free to contribute to these if you like. We will publish results (after ensuring that personally identifiable information–if any– removed).

Current Survey

Our current survey will remain open until 01 August 2024. We will then compile the results and post them online.

Coastal Events and Readiness

Your Relation to the Coast

This is intended to identify your relationship with the coast and coastal region.

Do you live on a coastline? (Select all that apply).

My primary residence or dwelling place is on the coast (property where the ocean contacts the shore).

My primary residence or dwelling place is in a coastal region (property within 10 km (straight line) from the coastline.

I have a cottage or secondary residence (permanent structure) on the coast.

I have a cottage or secondary non-permanent residence (like a trailer) on the coast.

I have a cottage or secondary residence (permanent structure) not on the coast but in a coastal region (within 10 km of the coastline).

I often vacation at a location and rent space (such as for a recurring vacation).

Other:

Clear selection

How long have you resided on the coast or in a coastal region (10 km from the coastline)? (Select the one that best applies)

Less than one (1) year.

One (1) year to four (4) years.

Four (4) years to seven (7) years.

Seven (7) years to ten (10) years.

Over ten (10) years.

Clear selection

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Events and Impacts

This section will look at what you have experienced on the coast (either on the coastline or in a coastal region) since you

Have you experienced any of the following events when you were either living or at the coast (coastline or coastal region)? (Select all that apply)

Hurricane (sustained winds of over 119 km/h)

Severe wind / rain storm (similar to hurricane but sustained winds under 119 km/h)

Significant winds (gusts over 100 km/h)

Significant rainfall (over 60 mm total or 10 mm/h sustained for over 1 hour)

Significant snowfall (30 cm or more than lasted more than 24 hours on the ground)

Coastal erosion due to storm surge or drainage (resulting in a loss or shrinking of property)

Flooding due to storm surge (rising ocean)

Flooding due to overland water (including rising levels in waterways draining into the ocean).

Other:

Clear selection

What was the gravest impact suffered as a result of any one or more of the above? (Select the response that best applies)

Complete loss of property.

Damage to structure that required 3rd party assistance (insurance / contractors)

Damage to structure that was managed by yourself (i.e., you didn’t need someone to come help).

Replacement of appliances or equipment as a result of the event (including power surges, flooding, etc).

Clean up that took several days to complete.

Minor clean up (under one day)

Clear selection

Did insurance cover costs? (select the response that best applies)

Insurance covered the cost and assisted in paying for reasonable improvements to prevent similar future losses.

Insurance covered replacement costs only.

Insurance covered replacement costs did not pay for equal equipment, only enough to replace the capacity.

Insurance only covered some of the costs and refused others.

Insurance did not cover costs.

I did not have insurance for the impacts.

Clear selection

How long did it take for things to be resolved in terms of repairs and replacements? (Select the response that best applies).

Less than one week.

One week to one month

One month to three months

Three months to six months.

Six months to nine months.

Nine months to One year.

More than one year.

Clear selection

Personal Impacts (Select all that apply) with respect to how you feel or manage the impacts from the past events.

No significant impacts.

I have always been somewhat concerned about these kinds of things but the events did not make me feel more uncomfortable / less at ease.

I have a new discomfort with respect to this kind of event.

I have always had a concern about these kinds of events but after the event my level of concern rose.

I am now (new feeling) anxious about these kinds of events.

Other:

Clear selection

What aspect of the event concerned you most?

I was surprised by the event and felt unprepared.

I felt I hadn’t done enough to prepare for the event.

I felt I couldn’t respond to the event and manage what was going on around me.

I felt that the recovery from the event was beyond my ability to handle.

I felt that there were no supports during the event in my area.

I felt that there was a lack of attention paid in helping me or my area recover from the event.

Other:

Clear selection

Have you suffered any of the following direct impacts as a result of an event?

Power failure over 24 hours.

Power failure under 24 hours

Power surges or "brown outs" that resulted in damage.

Flooding inside the home

Flooding of the property

Damage caused by wind

Loss of property caused by wind (blown away)

Loss of landline communications (phone)

Loss of wireless or cellular communications.

Disruption of 911 services.

Loss of ability to travel (blocked or flooded roads, etc.)

Loss of fuel supply

Other:

Clear selection

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How are things adjusting?

This looks at what kinds of changes you would prefer to see as a result of past experiences.

What kinds of things are you doing differently (with respect to preparedness) as a result of the past events? (check all that apply)

Learning more about emergency management and preparedness as a concept.

Taking steps to understand what kinds of events can impact me in my region.

Taking longer-term steps to reduce the potential impacts (such as grading property, retaining walls for floods, etc.).

Gathering equipment, supplies, or tools that I may need to be prepared in case of future events.

Following guidance with respect to response (such as those published by Nova Scotia’s Emergency Managemnent Office or Public Safety Canada)

Taking steps that will help me recover from events.

Not really doing anything differently.

Clear selection

What kinds of things should your regional (municipal, etc.) government be doing to support you?

Increased education and training.

Promoting volunteerism or other forms of community service.

Pre-positioning supplies that may be needed to respond to events.

Bolstering first responders in the community so that they can better respond or aid in recovery.

Improving local infrastructure in terms (like improving road width, improving drainage, etc.)

Helping identify certain stores or services that can be counted on to remain open in a disaster and supporting them.

Other:

Clear selection

What kinds of things do you think your province should be doing to improve the preparedness of areas? (select all that apply)

Improving regulations intended to reduce the exposure of populations to impacts (coastal regulations, drainage).

Improving regulations to require construction or other work to take into account events that may not be manageable if building to minimum standards.

Improving the road network to improve both escaping from an area or allowing for resources to enter an area.

Promoting programs that may help stores or services that may be needed during an event remain open to the public as part of a recovery plan.

Promoting educational programs outside of schools.

Including basic preparedness skills as part of secondary-level education or adult learning programs.

Offering provincial tax incentives for volunteers that are part of formal response and recovery efforts.

Other:

Clear selection

What should the federal government be doing to support your preparedness better? (Select all that apply)

Streamlining how quickly they can bring resources to work on the issue (such as military, coast guard, etc.).

Looking for innovative ways that federal organizations can contribute on the ground when responding to events.

Allowing for fedral resources (such as military engineers) to assist in efforts to build or construct infrastructure that woudl reduce the impacts of events.

Promoting participation in volunteer organization through the use of tax incentives./

Building publicly available resources through portals that can be used to make informed decisions.

Putting in place federal programs that would assist stores or services remain open during or after an event to aid in recovery.

Other:

Clear selection

Where do you focus your attention on when looking at these kinds of events? (Select the most important aspect)

Understanding the event and how they can affect me

Taking longer term steps that reduce my exposure to events (such as property grading, etc.)

Taking steps to be ready for events in the short term (go bags, tools, etc.).

Being able to manage things during an event.

Being able to get back to normal after an event.

Understanding events that will be happening around me when events occur or just afterwards.

Other:

Clear selection

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Preferences regarding building your own capacity

This second looks at what ways you might prefer when learning about emergency preparedness.

What would your preferred method be in order to learn more about different aspects of Emergency Management or Emergency Preparedness? (Select the preferred method)

Online websites and articles.

Podcases or webinars.

Podcasts or online events with live people.

Periodic meetings of people interested in learning more

Formal courses (education institutions) or certification programs.

Other:

Clear selection

Given your current workload and day, how much time are you considering learning about this field?

Over two hours per day.

Under two hours per day

Under two hours per week.,

Under two hours per month.

Not really considering investing any time in it.

Clear selection

If community events or similar kinds of things were arranged, how would you consider supporting it (if at all)?

I would support a modest increase in taxes to help governments pay for it.

I would have no issue with tax dollars being used for it as long as no new taxes.

I would consider a modest registration fee as long as it was up front and what could be expected from it was clear.

I would be willing to throw a couple of bucks into the pot at an event on a donation basis.

Not willing to support it.

Might consider supporting it if I was in a position to do so.

Clear selection

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Follow on communications

If you feel inclined and want to keep in touch on certain issues, you can provide your email below. We do not distribute it to third parties. We will be making the results of this survey public on or about 01 August 2024.

Please provide an email address that you would like to use to remain in touch.

Clear selection

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