For those without smartphones, a battery-powered radio remains the top way of keeping on top of emergencies, says Wellington County communications manager Andrea Ravensdale.
Last week, Wellington County’s community emergency management coordinator Linda Dickson expressed concern with comments made by Puslinch councillors – during a Jan. 8 meeting and included in the Jan. 17 Advertiser – about communications during the Dec. 22 ice storm that knocked out power and closed numerous roads because of fallen trees and limbs.
Dickson stressed there was a constant flow of information to the media, twitter accounts and the county’s own BBM communications to keep lower tier municipalities apprised of what was happening.
Ravensdale added, “We actually started communications on behalf of the county and all the municipalities days before storm actually hit to make residents aware of the potential power outages.” She added the county then handled communications up until Christmas Eve, at which point communications were handed over to local municipalities for updates on warming centres and other items residents would need to know.
“We were calling local radio stations, sending out media releases, [updating] the twitter account, updating the county website twice daily,” said Ravensdale.
She acknowledged the focus was on electronic, but, “I personally felt that having a battery-operated radio in your house and/or going to one’s car to listen for hourly updates was a good idea.”
She added it is a good idea for people to have a battery-operated radio as part of their 72-hour emergency kit.
“Other than that, radio was the main source of communication for those who were without power … if they didn’t have a smartphone.”
Ravensdale agreed there were challenges, “but we were working through the night on the Saturday and Sunday to Christmas Eve trying to get the message out.”
She added the message did get out on various radio stations within Wellington County and those which serve local listeners.
As to other means of communication, Ravensdale noted local municipalities will be gathering for a debriefing session.
“But, I’m not sure we could have done anything else. We couldn’t be out knocking on people’s doors,” said Ravensdale, adding, “We are open to suggestions.”
Those ideas will be discussed with Ravensdale’s communication counterparts in the municipalities – to find out what worked for them.
“A lot of them were doing exactly what we were doing.” She added the emergency twitter feed (@wellingtncounty) worked really well.
Responding to one suggestion made by the public that updates be provided to larger trailer parks such as Maple Leaf Acres by phone so staff there could relay messages, Ravensdale agreed it would be a good idea on a local scale. She added the county was mostly involved in widespread communications to the mass media.
Ravensdale noted there has also been discussion of putting messages up on municipal community signs, although there are limitations because of the number of characters available on the screen.
“Those are things we will look into.”
Ravensdale added “The most important thing for residents is to have a battery-operated radio in their 72-hour emergency kit or to go to their car every hour to listen to News updates – that was how the information was getting out.”
