Since the start of 2015, the Town of High River’s emergency management department has been busy preparing for this year’s flood season through a number of training and exercise sessions as well as public education events.
“Emergency management is an ongoing cycle,” said Carly Benson, interim director of emergency management. “It’s something we’re constantly preparing for so everything we do…is preparing for flood season as well as any other emergencies that might arise in our community.”
This year, Benson said the department has focused on employee care training which helps staff mentally prepare to return to the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) in an emergency event.
In February, the town participated in a province-wide emergency exercise called EMX-15 where town staff underwent training during a mock ice storm.
As part of the same exercise, a disaster training session was held at the Legacy Regional Fieldhouse in Aldersyde in partnership with the MD of Foothills to test evacuation processes and familiarize staff with operating a joint reception centre.
“Council approved the sandbag policy in March which made it a lot clearer and easier for us to complete some of the preparations for flood season,” Benson said. “It’s a very clear direction that we won’t be distributing sandbags to residents in the event of high water. We were able to create 500 sandbags that have been pre-deployed to protect some of our critical infrastructure.”
At the end of March, a meeting was held with stakeholders involved in the town’s flood preparedness plan, which was updated based on changes in infrastructure, departments and personnel, she added.
In an effort to further educate the public about emergency preparedness, the town held an information session earlier this year to encourage residents to be ready for this year’s flood season.
“What we have heard resoundingly is that people are ready,” Benson said. “They feel well-prepared; they have emergency kits; they’re signed up for High River ALERT; and they know how to get the critical information that they would need.”
In response to issues encountered regarding the municipal website during the 2013 flood, the town recently launched the HRready.ca website which contains the necessary information residents may need in an emergency situation.
“This is a separate website that’s very simple,” Benson said. “It’s really quick access to information on what roads are closed, what warnings are in effect and where people can go to be safe.”
During the first week of May, the town held multiple events for Emergency Preparedness Week, including the Emergency Preparedness Expo; an outdoor sirens and High River ALERT test; as well as a luncheon for businesses on the importance of an emergency plan.
Also held in May, the town met with external agencies to talk about flood preparedness and educate partners on the meaning of flow rates, Benson said.
To prepare for this year’s flood season, all damaged, large sandbags that are part of the town’s temporary diking measures have been inspected and replaced, Benson said.
The operations department has created a 12-hour shift schedule that can be quickly referenced in a high water event, she said, adding all of their equipment has been inspected as well.
“We have mapped all of the dike outfalls which is an important component of making sure that those get closed off if we do have a high water event,” Benson said. “We have contractors on standby ready to deploy those large sandbags and the pumps.”
This year, Alberta Environment has committed to providing more field observers who will take field measurements of flow rates. Those measurements are considered more accurate than electronic measurements, Benson said.
View the original content and more from this author here: http://ift.tt/1dIssRK
from critical infrastructure alliance http://ift.tt/1ffdMuv
via IFTTT
No comments:
Post a Comment