The Village of Beiseker is preparing for the potential of future disasters by updating its emergency plan.
Councillor Karen Ursu said the updates come at a good time as other Alberta communities recover from last spring’s floods.
“With everything happening all over the province, we thought maybe we’d better get our plan updated,” she said.
Council, Village staff and emergency services will be reviewing the document, ensuring the village will have the structure and resources in place for effective emergency management. The current plan includes hazard-specific plans, a list of emergency contacts, and outlines roles and responsibilities of partners in the emergency management system.
Mayor Ray Courtman said some steps have already been taken, including designating the firehall as the village’s emergency management centre.
“We’re making arrangements for it to have alternate power,” Courtman said. “We’re going to provide alternate power to the community hall.”
Courtman said the plan is being looked at, reviewed and made more current than the older version.
“We need to have a formal plan in place that is updated, so we know what to do if there’s a major emergency,” he said. “Smaller emergencies around here get handled quickly and efficiently, and everybody helps out and the problem is solved, but we need to be prepared in case there’s a larger emergency.”
Councillor Warren Wise would like to see council re-establish the emergency management committee. At the council meeting on March 10, an interim committee consisting of Wise, Ursu and Mayor Ray Courtman was struck.
The next step, Wise said, would be to appoint a chief of emergency management.
“We’re supposed to have a person in charge should there be an emergency in the village who would coordinate all of the operations,” he said.
Beiseker may not have to deal with avalanches or landslides, but there are still lots of natural disasters Mother Nature could throw its way, such as tornados and other severe weather, according to the Alberta Emergency Management Agency (AEMA).
Beiseker and Irricana could also see a risk of overland flooding, said Randy Tiller, Field Operations team lead, at the Alberta Emergency Management Agency.
“We’re experiencing some of that in some communities with the rapid melt we’ve had,” he said.
The Alberta Emergency Management Agency looks at three types of hazards, Tiller said. There are natural ones, like flooding, and human induced non-intentional hazards, like accidents, and human-induced intentional hazards, which are deliberate incidents.
“We’re looking at 72-hour preparedness, because in some instances we’ve seen around the world, it takes a significant amount of time for responders to get around to everybody and to get essential services up and running,” he said. “As part of your own personal preparedness, be ready to look after yourself and family for 72 hours.”
Emergency plans shouldn’t be left for too long, Tiller said.
“We recommend updating the contact and resource lists annually, because they will change,” he said. “Each community does a hazard risk analysis, and we recommend that those be looked at annually, too.”
The updates are part of an ongoing process. If residents want to be part of the emergency management committee, they can contact Ursu at 403-862-3056.
