P.E.I. municipalities train for emergencies as peak hurricane season approaches

As the peak of hurricane season approaches in Atlantic Canada, municipal government workers and volunteers across Prince Edward Island are taking emergency preparedness training courses.

P.E.I.'s Emergency Measures Organization (EMO) is training municipalities and other local groups on how to deal with various emergencies. In March, the organization launched online training courses as it could not hold in-person training due to COVID-19 restrictions.

"We needed to look at alternate ways to provide training to municipalities so they could maintain, kind of, their skill sets and be capable to activate their emergency plans," said Tanya Mullally, provincial emergency management co-ordinator.

Mullally said the online training videos make emergency preparedness information more accessible to local groups who no longer need to wait for in-person training dates.

In July, EMO launched its basic emergency management course in an online format, Mullally said. P.E.I. municipalities are required under the 2017 Municipal Government Act to have emergency plans in place to handle emergency situations like hurricanes.

Hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30 every year in Atlantic Canada, with the peak level of activity happening from late August to early September. On Tuesday morning, Mullally said there were signs of a developing tropical storm in the lower Atlantic Ocean. But if it reaches the Maritimes, effects won't be felt for another seven to 10 days.

Positive response to courses

Mullally said the online training videos have gotten a very positive response from municipalities and other agencies. About 100 workers and volunteers from P.E.I. municipalities have signed up for EMO's professional development training series, Mullally said.

In a regular year, Mullally said EMO would take about 40 government workers through basic emergency training. But just in the past month, EMO's online basic emergency course already had 40 people sign up.

"As more activity starts to happen within hurricane development, I would assume that people are going to start saying, 'oh, can I get access to this?'" Mullally said.

Besides its online courses, EMO has also made some developments to its emergency operations centre in Charlottetown, Mullally said. It now has the capability to do live stream broadcasts, which the organization did not have during post-tropical storm Dorian in 2019. EMO did use its live stream during post-tropical storm Teddy last year.

Mullally said the EMO team checks for hurricanes and severe weather every day, and makes sure the operations centre is always ready for emergencies.

'Encourage people to be prepared'

Towns like Kensington have been preparing for emergencies over the past few years. Mayor Rowan Caseley said the town already has an emergency plan in place and is hoping to get a revision done by the end of the year.

In the winter of 2015, Caseley said there was a major fire just outside Kensington that led to residents being displaced from their homes. This event signalled to Caseley the importance of emergency planning.

"You never really know until you have an emergency how poor your planning is, and you can put the best laid plans in place and hope that when you have an emergency, you've got everything covered," he said.

Casely said his town and government is ready if a hurricane hits this year.

"We'll usually use social media to let people know to make sure it is going to be high winds and remove the stuff off your decks and try not to have things flying around," said Caseley.

"We just try to encourage people to be prepared."

Mullally said she's impressed by how municipalities have taken action to train their staff for emergencies.

"They've shown to us during [post-tropical storm] Dorian, even during [post-tropical storm] Teddy, how they are quick to stand up and support their residents," she said.

For individual Islanders, Mullally said it's important to have a 72-hour emergency preparedness kit at home for extreme weather events or other emergencies. Islanders can visit the government's web page for emergency preparedness for tips on how to prepare for such events.

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