Helping your community be ready for disasters

Every year, Saskatchewan residents experience a wide range of disasters. Emergencies range from the small and personal like house fires and flooded basements, to larger-scale disasters like the grassfires in Bigger and the plough wind near Meadow Lake that took down an entire campground.

The Canadian Red Cross has a long history of responding to disasters and works alongside all levels of government to help those affected. The Red Cross augments the capacity of local authorities to ensure impacted communities receive the help they need as effectively and efficiently as possible.
This support can include:

• help with community preparedness
• 72 hours of assistance to your citizens when affected by disasters like house fires
• cots, emergency food and/or shelter when needed during a larger disaster
• clean-up kits, psychosocial support and connection with resources following a disaster

Sandra MacArthur, a retired town administrator for Osler and current emergency management operations (EMO) coordinator, notes the benefits of serving a community in dual roles as both an administrator and Red Cross volunteer.

“Being an EMO coordinator I know how important it is to have people present immediately (who can help),” said MacArthur. “Part of our plan in our community is to contact the Red Cross in the first stages of any disaster.”
MacArthur explained that working as a volunteer allowed her to better understand the types of assistance municipalities can access from the Red Cross, which in turn helped her to better craft the preparedness plan for Osler. “Knowing that I don’t have to come up with 200 cots when we have to all go stay at the community hall because I can call the Red Cross and speak to them is a comfort for sure,” MacArthur said.

She also spoke to the support she received from her council which allowed MacArthur the flexibility to serve both her town and the Red Cross. “I told them (council) that I was a Red Cross volunteer and that I would like to have the ability to take time, when it was needed, to go out on Red Cross volunteer initiatives. My council, being really wonderful people, said ‘you know what, we care about everyone, not only our community and we would be more than happy to accommodate that whenever possible.’ So that was really helpful.”

On average, the Red Cross responds to a disaster every three hours, assisting 158 Canadians daily. This is possible because of its 12,000+ volunteers. Over 500 volunteers are located right here in Saskatchewan.
Red Cross volunteers give their time to ensure that no family must face disaster alone. They answer calls in the middle of the night helping families dealing with house fires. They work in mass shelters assisting people forced from their home because of wildfires. They register families affected by overland flooding, help reunite those separated by disaster and connect those affected with resources to help them recover.

“I found it really beneficial both for my community and the Red Cross that I have this background. When I’m facilitating a course for the Red Cross, I know what local governments do so I can help them prepare. When I’m talking to my community about what is needed to prepare for an emergency, I know what the Red Cross can offer. I would recommend anyone who is involved with a community or municipality to have at least someone on their staff to be Red Cross trained. I think it’s a great idea,” said MacArthur.

If you are interested in learning more about how the Red Cross can assist your community in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disasters please call 306-721-1600. Anyone interested in becoming a Red Cross volunteer can find out more at redcross.ca/volunteer.