SEVERE WEATHER PLAN FOR MAMEC MEMBERS - Enbridge grant will enhance communities’ emergency readiness

 

November 2 , 2020 – Just over one year ago, a Thanksgiving weekend ice storm struck southern Manitoba, felling trees, knocking out power and earning a place on Environment Canada’s list of worst weather events of 2019. It was also notable as the longest power failure in Manitoba’s history -- some areas of the province were without service for 18 days. In August of this year, a tornado struck 16 kilometres south of Virden, killing a young couple from Melita, seriously injuring a third person and leaving a swath of destruction in its path. “Weather events such as these impact the lives and safety of all Manitobans and they seem to be increasing in frequency and severity,” says Don Emes, President of the Manitoba Association of Municipal Emergency Coordinators (MAMEC). “It’s become apparent to our organization that communities need to have access to a severe weather plan that tells them what to do, how to manage the event, and how to recover from these events.”

 

Such a plan has now been developed and is available to MAMEC members in Manitoba thanks to a generous Enbridge Safe Community First Responder Program grant. This follows a similar Enbridge contribution to MAMEC in May of this year, which led to development of a Pandemic Response Plan.

 

“This initiative arose from discussions within Enbridge about how we could support communities in the wake of tragedies like the tornado near Virden,” says Ryan Champney, Director Prairie Region Operations. “We wanted to find a way to equip municipalities to be better prepared to respond to future severe weather events and this plan is a powerful tool toward achieving that objective.”

 

“Our organization is small, with a limited budget,” says Emes. “We are able to offer needed documents like the COVID-19 plan and this severe weather emergency plan because of Enbridge,” says Emes.

 

The plan was developed by Napier Emergency Consulting and takes the form of a template that can be customized by a community according to their needs and geographic location. It contains information on preparedness, a communication protocol to residents and vulnerable populations when an event happens, checklists to work from to ensure an emergency program is activated, and tips on what to do to return the community to safety.

 

”The plan can be used to address events like tornadoes, ice storms, winter storms and summer heat waves,” says Emes. “It will greatly enhance the level of preparedness and bolster the emergency management toolbox for MAMEC  member communities.”

 

About MAMEC

MAMEC is a new association that brings together municipal emergency coordinators from communities across Manitoba. Our objectives are to share training, education, and best practices of being a Municipal Emergency Coordinator, and to build strength, community and succession planning.

 

About Enbridge Inc.

Enbridge Inc. is a leading North American energy infrastructure company. We safely and reliably deliver the energy people need and want to fuel quality of life. Our core businesses include Liquids Pipelines, which transports approximately 25 percent of the crude oil produced in North America; Gas Transmission and Midstream, which transports approximately 20 percent of the natural gas consumed in the U.S.; Gas Distribution and Storage, which serves approximately 3.8 million retail customers in Ontario and Quebec; and Renewable Power Generation, which generates approximately 1,750 MW of net renewable power in North America and Europe. The Company’s common shares trade on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under the symbol ENB. For more information, visit www.enbridge.com.