A recognition ceremony took place yesterday at Steinbach’s City Hall to mark the City becoming a StormReady pilot community.
As part of a pilot project initiated by the province of Manitoba, Steinbach is the first community in Canada to meet the requirements of the U.S. Weather Services StormReady program.
In attendance were Mayor Chris Goertzen, Denis Vassart (Emergency Planning Coordinator for the City), Don Brennan (Executive Director of Manitoba Emergency Measures Organization) and Anne-Marie Palfreeman (Environment Canada), along with fifteen Storm Spotter volunteers.
To become StormReady a program meant to better prepare communities in case of severe weather the City of Steinbach worked closely with the Manitoba Emergency Measures Organization (MBEMO). The program, based on one that has been used in the United States since 1999, has over 1500 counties / communities certified in the U.S.
We congratulate civic emergency officials and the people of Steinbach for making their community the first in Canada to meet the requirements of the StormReady initiative, said Steve Ashton, Manitobas Minister responsible for the Emergency Measures Organization. Preparedness begins with the individual and their community, and Steinbach has demonstrated this concept by becoming a StormReady community.
The citizens of Steinbach can take pride in the fact that they are part of a community that has taken the lead in finding another way to protect each other, said Don Brennan, MBEMO.
As a city, we can be proud of the fact that we are the first community to embark on this unique safety program in Canada, said Mayor Goertzen. The safety of our citizens is of utmost importance and being the leader in Canada for severe weather safety can be an assurance to our citizens of the proactive nature of our Emergency Operations Team and City staff.
Several individuals and groups played a key role in helping Steinbach become StormReady. The most instrumental in getting the project going include Manitoba EMO Steinbachs Emergency Operations Team, Mayor Goertzen and Council, City of Steinbach staff, Rest Haven staff, and the storm spotter volunteers who willingly gave of their own time.
I believe that having a StormReady plan in place will greatly enhance the City of Steinbachs Emergency Preparedness and help us mitigate the severity of severe weather, said Vassart. We cannot control the weather, but we can help our community be better prepared by providing information on what to do during a severe weather event. Becoming a StormReady pilot community is another step in that preparedness.
Steinbach met the StormReady programs requirements at a cost of about $3000. This included the purchase of weather radios for the city’s public buildings and storm spotter team members, as well as a weather station installed at the Emergency Operations Centre (Steinbach Fire Hall).
Next steps for Steinbachs StormReady team include working towards an early warning siren system for the city, additional public education for residents, and additional in-house training on issues including weather forecasting, cloud formations, and other criteria that will make team members better able to assess the severity of storms as they approach.
The need for a siren system has been presented to City Council for their consideration and the StormReady team is working with an outside company to prepare a cost analysis and locations where the sirens would give the best coverage in Steinbach. These sirens would be used not only for tornado warnings, but also for other emergency situations where the citizens of Steinbach need to be alerted of danger.
