Vancouver extreme weather prompts officials to monitor homes’ preparedness
Posted February 13, 2022 12:19 pm.
Last Updated February 13, 2022 12:22 pm.
Wildfires, sweltering heat and extensive flooding in British Columbia last year have underscored the importance of strengthening homes and other structures to withstand extreme weather conditions.
Over the last eight months, city building officials have worked to change local building codes to keep up with the changing weather conditions.
Saul Schwebbs a chief building official for Vancouver says for the most part structures in Vancouver are safe and prepared, but bizarre weather has caused them to change their perception of what safety means.
“The city’s very concerned about climate change and its effects. We’ve certainly implemented a number of policies to address these events. Obviously, a lot of work has been going on and this is something that has to be assessed on an ongoing basis.”
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Schwebbs says although earthquakes have been the greatest threat to building safety over the last years, with climate change, officials are now focusing on ways to make homes more environmentally friendly.
“A lot of energy has been spent encouraging electrification to slow climate change as much as we can by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. By electrifying houses, it also introduces the opportunity to cool them. By installing heat pumps, which is the preferred way now to heat a home you can also cool that home using a heat pump.”
Unlike the rest of the province, Vancouver has a building code of its own, meaning it can be changed without the need to be amended on a provincial level.
With below-freezing temperatures across Vancouver this winter, many homes and businesses experienced frozen and burst pipes, in some cases causing thousands of dollars worth in damage.
As for the extreme heat wave in the summer, without proper cooling systems in homes many people became victims to the historic heat.
Shwebbs says although newer homes are less impacted by extreme weather, it is important to keep updating codes to build better structures.
“Building by laws address the minimum level of performance that we expect from buildings. Our upgrade requirements, which would improve the level of safety, will boost their ability to withstand not only fires and earthquakes, but would also look at their ability to adapt to climate change as well.”
