When it comes to Emergency Management, the Town of Parry Sound has several hazard plans in place for all kinds of events.
That’s according to Dave Thompson, Director of Development and Protective Services, who says the town’s primary method of communication relies on social media and traditional media to get messages out to the public when that’s required.
In addition, Thompson says there are also systems the town can utilize for access to phone numbers to get messages out.
As for what residents should expect to see in case of an emergency, he says it is very dependent on what type of emergency there may be.
“When we’re looking at weather related emergencies, for example something like a tornado, then the Ontario Ready notification system is utilized for alerting the public of dangers that are coming from a higher level of government. That could be weather and of course we notice that most with AMBER Alerts, but weather-related emergencies are one of the key things that happen,” he says.
Thompson says the province runs and manages the system which the town does have access to, adding they can target specific areas geographically to send notifications out to the public through radio, television as well as cell phones.
Depending upon the emergency, he says town staff would leverage local resources and access to media to get information out there.
“The main thing for the public to remember is to follow the directions that are provided. If a message is coming out providing direction, and that could be anything from shelter in place, to evacuate and evacuation routes they need, follow the directions that are provided and that’s going to provide everyone with the best opportunity of a successful resolution to any incident,” he says.
Thompson says the Alert system also takes over airwaves and broadcasts on radio channels, something he says is managed through the province.
“They’re the ones who have access to it and work with the regulators and the mobile phone providers as well as the media to access that. They practice it regularly. We’ve all been notified of that and we’ve also all received Amber Alerts and things of that nature through our phones and on the television when something like that happens,” he says.
As a result, Thompson says town staff know what to expect and practice regularly.