Toronto hit hard by record ice storm

It’s unlikely the storm could be directly linked to changes in weather patterns caused by global warming. But the social crisis it has prompted does portend the kind of scenario for which populations and emergency planners will need to prepare as the frequency and intensity of weather events increase and as ocean levels rise. So how is Toronto faring?

According to Toronto Star columnist Joe Fiorito, the city’s administration had no emergency meeting and coordination center with an emergency power supply ready to go. It had to scramble to hold its first meeting.

Fiorito writes, “If this is the best they can do in a midlevel crisis, what happens when things get worse? And around here, things always get worse.”