Topics: Alberta, Emergencies and Disasters in Canada
Allison Brown |
May 28, 2021
“Given we couldn’t meet in person, this was the next best thing!” says Sara Walsh, a Disaster Risk Reduction Manager in Alberta. With communications currently limited to electronic means, Canadian Red Cross knew Emergency Preparedness Week 2021 needed to adapt. Enter Hazardscape, an Alberta-based disaster and emergency management firm, that invited members to utilize a virtual environment to engage partners and the public in an online Emergency Preparedness Week. Participants created an avatar and entered the virtual space, where they could explore presentations, videos, and online content.
Canadian Red Cross established a virtual office, where participants could interact and view information on three virtual walls. A Red Cross volunteer used one wall to show Be Ready emergency preparedness presentations and information about registering as a volunteer. The other two walls displayed Be Ready and flood preparedness videos.
“We kept it staffed throughout the day, and as people entered, we talked about Canadian Red Cross and our volunteer opportunities,” says Walsh. “It was a bit of an adjustment working in a virtual world, but soon it began to feel like we really were in a real conference centre or office together.”
The virtual hub proved to be a chance for Red Cross staff currently separated by COVID-19 safety protocols to interact in positive ways, and “presents a whole new avenue for reaching people and interacting with the public,” says Walsh. She notes the virtual hub “…opened my eyes to looking at alternative ways of reaching people and how important it is for emergency preparedness,” and “the value of seeing what’s possible in these spaces.”
Disaster Risk Reduction is moving to more broad messaging, incorporating how people can reduce the risk to their home and property. During virtual Emergency Preparedness Week, videos showed easy, concrete actions homeowners can take.
“Usually, during Emergency Preparedness Week, we are in the community delivering emergency preparedness workshops,” says Vishva Ragunathan, an Emergency Management Coordinator in Alberta.” We hope the virtual EP (Emergency Preparedness) Week event … helped us to reach Canadians to inform them in an engaging manner on how to be better prepared during emergencies and disasters.”
Other future topics that could be presented virtually include home wildfire protection and earthquake damage mitigation. “We also had the opportunity to network with other emergency management organizations and practitioners participating in the hub,” says Ragunathan. Virtual spaces could also be used to amplify the messages of others like provincial and national fire risk reduction partners.
The successful adaptation of Emergency Preparedness Week events to a virtual environment has a lot of future potential. “I wouldn’t hesitate to participate,” says Walsh, “It’s a good way forward.”