Members of the Altona and Rhineland local emergency response control groups (LERCG) attended the Disaster Management Conference in Winnipeg last week.
The three-day event drew about 500 attendees from across the province and featured a packed schedule of international speakers, networking opportunities, and breakout sessions to equip communities on how to handle some of the worst scenarios.
“There were lots of really good sessions,” said Altona and Rhineland municipal emergency coordinator (MEC) Perry Batchelor, who was joined at the event by Altona Mayor Harv Schroeder, Rhineland Reeve Don Wiebe, assistant MEC Barry Friesen, public information officer Marie Kehler, and Fire Chief Greg Zimmerman.
“We took in all the keynote speakers,” Batchelor shared. “We spread out during the breakout sessions so that we could maximize our presence at the conference and gather as much collective information as we could.”
The conference began with a presentation by Dauphin Mayor David Bosiak on dealing with community grief following the tragic bus crash that resulted in the death of a group of local seniors.
“It was very impactful and thought provoking,” Batchelor said. “If something like that were to happen in our community, it would be devastating. It was a good session to sit through. He indicated how they worked with the city of Humboldt, after their bus crash. There were similarities and differences, with lots of lessons learned.”
Another session dealt with high stress communications, during events such as fires, floods, tornados, derailments, and evacuations.
“You can imagine in the aftermath of a tornado, for example, how everybody’s anxiety is going to be up, so how do you communicate with people effectively when they’re so preoccupied with everything else?” Batchelor noted.
“Some interesting data came out of that, on how to keep your messaging to a maximum of three points. Think about COVID, and how we talked about washing your hands, maintaining your distance, and wearing a mask. They found over the years the human brain can only handle three points during high stress. The analogy they used was how they came up with 911. We all remember those numbers.”
Day three featured a session on keeping critical technology safe.
“It had to do with cybercriminals and hackers, and learning some basic practices on how to keep yourself from becoming their next victim. We’re seeing these incidents more and more in our own communities.”
The speaker discussed methods to create a protective layer that would take hackers centuries to break.
“In the end, caution is still your best defense. If you don’t know the sender, don’t accept the email. It can affect your systems very quickly if you do.”
Other sessions included topics such as new information on the nature of tornados, safe methods to handle hazardous materials at a scene, harnessing risk perception, psychological first aid for reception centre staff, and wildfire management.
“Along with all the helpful information, the conference also provided great networking opportunities to determine best practices and learn how to improve what we’re doing,” Batchelor said.
“I’m glad my team and I attended,” he said. “As a former chief of police and as a council member, I always appreciate the outstanding, relevant and engaging content. It’s good to bring members of your LERCG to these events. These are your decision makers at any emergency event.”
While information is power, Batchelor says it won’t help you if you don’t have a way to be informed.
“Communications are vital in any event. We have Alert Ready Manitoba, so you’ll get alerts from the province. Anyone on the LT network will receive those, but you won’t get local information. I really want to emphasize the importance of signing up for our local alert systems.”
Anyone in Altona and Rhineland can sign up to receive notifications through Altona and Rhineland’s alert app, CONNECT. Altona currently has 1,800 subscribers and Rhineland has 100.
“We really need to get those numbers up. It is instant information, on everything from tornados to water main breaks, from local content providers with constant updates. In the case of a boil water advisory, for example, being unaware and drinking the water could be dangerous. With our local alert systems, you’ll be notified immediately on your phone or through an email.”
Another detail Batchelor highlights is that during an emergency, the first 72 hours are on you.
“The municipal equipment and resources are going to be overwhelmed. If Altona or Rhineland are ground zero and your power is out, the municipality isn’t going to be dealing with individuals. We’re dealing with an impact area. So, for the first 72 hours, are you prepared? Do you have heat? Do you have extra food and water? Do you have fuel for your generator, or batteries for your radio? You need to make sure you’re okay for 72 hours. Hopefully, after that time, we’ll have power back on and running. But don’t count on it.”
“A lot of people think it’s not going to happen to me, but we are having more and more frequent power outages, and more and more high winds. You can call, but the LERCG will be working on much bigger problems. The more you can do to alleviate some of the stress on resources, the better off we all are.”
