During

Throughout the response phase, local authorities are responsible for:

Effective Communication

Maintain open and clear communication channels with all relevant partners. This includes provincial partners, federal agencies, and non-government organizations.

Understanding the 24/7 Duty Officer Program

Manitoba EMO has a duty officer (DO) program with dedicated staff who provide a single point of contact to support 24/7 emergency response capabilities.

The DO works as the first point of contact for partners to reach out to and can facilitate the following activities:

• Provide situational updates, reports, and notifications to all stakeholders, partners, clients, and central government.
• Coordinate the emergency response of provincial government by chairing teleconferences and operating the Manitoba Emergency Coordination Centre (MECC).
• Point of contact for issuing emergency alerts.
• Point of contact for Requests for Assistance (RFAs) between the province and federal government.
• Point of contact for emergency social services.

Supporting Your Community

Local authorities are responsible for providing support to their community by communicating timely and accurate information about the emergency or disaster, deploying response resources including police, fire, medical personnel, etc. to the incident site, and by providing any other support resources such as food, water, or shelter.

Evacuating If Necessary

Local authorities are responsible for organizing and supervising evacuation of their community from dangerous or potentially dangerous areas. This includes their reception and care in safe areas, as well as temporary accommodations.

The decision to evacuate is based on factors such as:

• Risk/vulnerability: An analysis showing a clearly identified or expected risk that may be present, which could indicate a need to evacuate. This may be informed by expert opinion (e.g., meteorologists, building inspectors, etc.).
• Clearance times: It could take hours or even days to evacuate people from the affected area and away from danger.
• Legal authority to evacuate: The local authority can declare a State of Local Emergency to invoke emergency powers stated within The Manitoba Emergency Measures Act.

To respond effectively to an emergency or disaster the local authority may have to evacuate their population away from the hazard. For evacuations to be effective, they must be properly facilitated.

Types of Evacuation

• Self-evacuation:
  people decide to evacuate based on their own circumstances, their own interpretation of the risk posed by a particular hazard, and their own comfort level with their ability to cope with current and emerging circumstances.
• Voluntary evacuation:
  government authorities recommend an evacuation to lessen the overall risk posed by a hazard during an event. The emergency does not present enough risk to require a mandatory evacuation order using emergency powers.
• Mandatory evacuation:
  using powers granted by The Emergency Measures Act under a State of Emergency or State of Local Emergency, government authorities direct and require people to leave affected areas for their own safety or for other specific reasons linked to the overarching response effort. Mandatory evacuations could also occur using powers in other legislation.

Under a mandatory evacuation, the government authority that orders the evacuation should provide adequate care for any persons, livestock or property required to be evacuated.

Deployment of Resources

Local authorities should conduct rapid assessments to identify the immediate needs of affected areas. If additional resources are needed, the local authority should reach out to the appropriate partners such as neighbouring authorities or Manitoba EMO.

Declaring a State of Local Emergency (SoLE): ­­

A declaration of State of Local Emergency (SoLE) can be declared through three methods: council resolution, quorum resolution, or by the mayor/reeve in exceptional circumstances. The purpose of a declaration of a SoLE is to give the local authority specific powers under The Emergency Measures Act that will assist the local authority in responding quickly to an emergency or disaster. These temporary powers include, but are not limited to:

• Controlling, permitting, or prohibiting travel to, or from, any area, or on any road, street, or highway.
• Causing the evacuation of persons. This is communicated through a mandatory evacuation order.
• Authorizing the entry into any building, or upon any land without warrant.
• Expending such sums as are necessary to pay expenses caused by the emergency or disaster.

The SoLE should be communicated in writing to Manitoba EMO as soon as possible. It is the responsibility of the local authority to communicate the details of the SoLE to the residents within the local authority.

• For further information about roles and responsibilities of each position, we encourage you to take our Basics of Emergency Management course.

Resources:

• Find our SoLE process guide here.
• Download a fillable PDF of the SoLE Declaration Notification.
• View an example of a SoLE here.

Understanding The Manitoba Emergency Coordination Centre (MECC)

The Manitoba Emergency Coordination Centre (MECC) is the focal point of emergency and disaster coordination efforts for the government of Manitoba. The MECC guides the structures and processes that are activated to respond to an emergency. Depending on the scope of an event, local authorities may participate in scheduled meetings with Manitoba EMO to gain situational awareness and share any pertinent information. Local authorities are responsible for collaborating with and following the advice and response measures issued by the MECC.