|
Maybe Halifax Isn't As Prepared As EMO Would Have Us Believe |
|
|
|
Written by D.L. McCracken
|
|
Tuesday, 20 June 2006 |
In the aftermath of the June 3rd arrest of seventeen 'home-grown' terrorists in Toronto, at least one daily newspaper in Halifax had quoted a spokesperson for the municipal Emergency Measures Organization as stating that Halifax is prepared for a terrorist attack. Indeed the headline read, "City Prepared for Terrorism."
Feeling secure in the assumption that visiting the EMO web page would present in detail the organization's terrorist attack preparation plans, this reporter immediately set off to read and learn. The first bit of info that caused the first stirrings of unease was the fact that the web page didn't appear to have been updated in quite a long time. With the exception of a pdf version of the EMO business plan, most of the information appeared to be at least two years old. The copyright and contact information was dated 2004 as was the EMO annual report.
Nowhere could one locate any mention of a readiness plan in the event of a terrorist attack. There was historical information on past flooding in the province, Hurricane Juan and White Juan information, and a checklist for the individual preparing to evacuate in the event of a weather-related emergency. The checklist provided information on what should be taken with the evacuee and this warning:
"Follow the routes specified by the officials. Do not take shortcuts. A shortcut could take you to a restricted, closed or dangerous area."
But nowhere could one find a list of potential or pre-planned evacuation routes and gathering centres. This lack of information took this reporter back to the night of Hurricane Juan. Just before the power went out, CTV's Steve Murphy was informing us that our area was under a mandatory evacuation order. We didn't catch where we were supposed to go before the power went off. So we stayed where we were wondering if we were breaking any laws by not leaving immediately.
Since this reporter could find no indication that EMO had a terrorist attack preparedness plan in place, I contacted EMO headquarters via email. A week and half later I have received no response. So I decided to search for any information which would satisfy my growing concerns about the validity of the headline above which assured the citizens of the Halifax Regional Municipality that we are prepared for a terrorist attack.
First stop Google using the search term, 'halifax municipality emergency measures'. The number one result on page one of the search directed me to a webpage verbosely titled, 'Halifax Regional Municipality By-Law Number E-100 Respecting of A Prompt and Coordinated Response To An Emergency'. Dated 1996. A world before September 11, 2001.
The second result on the first page took me to an HRM Winter Storm Information update dated February 2006 with an update that HRM offices would remain closed. No mention of a terrorist attack preparedness plan there.
The third result on that page took me to another pdf format page titled "Public Alerting in the Halifax Regional Municipality". But again the page was dated 1996.
On that same first page of search results was a Wikipedia entry for the Cape Breton Regional Municipality and a CBC presentation of the Halifax Explosion.
In other words, nothing that would even begin to ease my mounting concerns that maybe Halifax wasn't as prepared as they would have us believe.
At that point I made the decision to take a quick virtual trip to the very city where this story began - the great city of Toronto. Surely a metropolis of this size and global importance would have in place at least the beginnings of a working plan to deal with a large-scale terrorist attack. Turns out that they have even more.
On my way to Toronto however I made a last minute decision for a quick stop-over in Ottawa just to take a peek at federal levels of emergency planning and imagine my excitement to stumble upon a great list on a Government of Canada website that provided an extensive database of links to various agencies at the federal and provincial levels which addressed emergency preparedness. My excitment quickly fizzled however upon clicking a Province of Nova Scotia link titled, "Counter Terrorism Fact Sheet" which provided a detailed point-by-point instructional sheet on what to do if one suspects they have come in contact with anthrax. Dated 2002.
So, amply equipped now with information on how to survive a suspected Canada Post-delivered envelope filled with anthrax along with a thorough knowledge of the history of Cape Breton and the Halifax Explosion, I arrived in Toronto. Two keystrokes later I hit paydirt.
The city of Toronto provides for public viewing emergency measures planning that would put our own to shame. Countless pages of useful, pertinent facts and information applicable to every type of emergency possible including not only provisions for a terrorist attack but plans and preparation for chemical/biological/nuclear terrorism and infectious disease preparedness. In particular, the city of Toronto takes the possibility of an avian flu pandemic very seriously.
Nothing is left to chance in Toronto's emergency planning. They even have a department that would be assigned to animal protection in the event of animal casualties and forced abandonment because of a mass evacuation.
Areas of further interest to me that are included and detailed in Toronto's emergency planning operations include:
-Evacuation processes and procedures
-Mass Care/Casualty needs to victims - shelter, food, emergency first aid
-Systems to provide bulk distribution of emergency disaster relief supplies to victims and response personnel
-Donation management - a system in place to coordinate food, supplies and monetary donations to the area from outside sources
-Volunteer management - a system in place that will display a list of volunteers with their areas of expertise and up-to-date contact info in case of emergency
-Mass Fatalities - proper and effective coroner services and temporary morgue facilities.
The city of Toronto have managed to impress this reporter. That city would have every right to brag to any given newspaper that Toronto is prepared for not only terrorism but every possible emergency one can imagine.
So now I have to ask - why was it so quick and easy to locate a detailed emergency measures plan in the city of Toronto but in my own city and province any information that I did come across was either outdated or did not apply?
Are we in Nova Scotia as prepared for a terroist attack or another major catastrophe as EMO says we are? Doesn't look like it. To those readers who have made it this far, ask yourself this question: if somewhere within the vast Halifax Regional Municipality, an unknown terrorist faction activated a dirty bomb, would you know what to do and where to go?
If one reader answered this question in the negative, this city is not prepared for terrorism. Contrary to what EMO spokesperson John O'Brien told the Daily News, we are not ready.
I challenge the Halifax Regional Municipality and the Nova Scotia Emergency Measures Organization to prove me wrong. Please.
|
