SIMULATION TESTS LOCAL DISASTER RESPONSE

By Natalie Musseau, The Gulf News

June 19, 2006
 

What would you do if another storm surge hit Port aux Basques in the middle of winter and part of town had to be evacuated? What if high winds from the storm overturned a fuel tanker on the highway that exploded and took out Big Pond Bridge?

 

That was part of a situation given to some 50 participants in a disaster simulation exercise on Wednesday and Thursday. It was a worst-case scenario, but one that actually could happen in the future.

 

Representatives from many groups took part, including the town, hospital, the College of the North Atlantic, Service Canada, Emergency Measures Organization, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Coast Guard, Marine Atlantic and more.

 

The simulation took over three conference rooms at St. Christopher’s Hotel. One room served as a town disaster centre, one as a holding room for resource people who were being called on as needed, and the other as an observers’ room.

 

Activities in the town room were shown on a large television monitor in the observers’ room. Telephone lines connected the resource room to the town room. Cell phones buzzed and people moved back and forth as they worked through what had to be done to protect life and property during the simulated emergency.

 

Participants responded to the unfolding emergency as the simulation organizers brought forward new pieces of information every few minutes.

 

Steve Mackenzie, owner of Mackenzie’s Ambulance, said communication was the biggest factor in the simulation. He said making sure that everyone knew what was happening in a timely manner and keeping the lines of communication open was a challenge.

 

Paul Clay is president of Seacom International, the company that designed the simulation. Mr. Clay said the exercise is not meant to be a critique of the town or any of the emergency responders, but an opportunity for learning, sharing ideas and training. He said it’s also an opportunity for each participant to learn what support and resources are available.

 

People who end up working together during emergencies or disasters know each other only as a voice on the other end of the telephone, said Mr. Clay. Simulations like the one held last week, gave them an opportunity to meet and talk about the system in place.

 

Port aux Basques Mayor Brian Button said participants were able to see the response from all sides, which led to a better understanding for many.

 

He said there were many things going on at one time, much like it would be during a true emergency.

 

Mr. MacKenzie said the exercise was worthwhile and got people thinking about how things would work in a real emergency situation — like local emergency responders have faced in real life.

 

In 2000, a storm surge damaged houses and property in the Channel area. Mr. MacKenzie added that severe winter storms have also played havoc with getting people to medical attention, especially from coastal communities.

 

However, he said, local responders find ways to adapt to the situations as they arise.

 

Mayor Button said he learned more from going through the simulation than he ever would of by only reading the town’s disaster plan. He said looking back on the exercise, there are some things that were done well and others that the town will likely look at changing.

 

Dr. Richard Taor, chief of staff/medical director at LeGrow Health Centre, said the hospital has its own disaster plan, but he soon realized during the simulation that they are missing linkages with the outside organizations.

 

Before the simulation, he said, there wasn’t a good understanding of the outside organizations, who are involved and what they can offer to the hospital. Dr. Taor said updates to the hospital’s disaster plan will be undertaken given what was learned.

 

The simulation was paid for by Health Canada and Natural Resources Canada under the Climate Impact and Adaptation Program.

 

It’s known that climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of storms, said Jacinthe Seguin, a manager with Health Canada. She said these types of simulations are intended to help ensure that residents are well prepared for what may come.

 

Ms. Seguin said the simulations also help the federal government see where there might be weaknesses in the current disaster response system that can be addressed.

 

A similar storm surge simulation was done in New Brunswick a few weeks ago and a heat wave simulation was done in Ontario last summer.