Living in the mostly pastoral Municipality of Meaford near beautiful Georgian Bay we like to think we are immune from natural and man-made disasters occurring in many parts of the world, seemingly more frequently.
Generally the closest we come to floods, drought, fires, tsunamis, earthquakes, tornadoes and volcanic eruptions is witnessing these events on television.
However, in recent memory severe weather has hit this area, and although there was no wide spread destruction, the lives of some people were directly affected.
In October 1954, Canada’s most famous hurricane, Hurricane Hazel pounded southern Ontario with high winds and torrential rains. Toronto was the hardest hit area with over 11 inches of rain and 30 people in one neighbourhood alone killed.
Francis Richardson, a young Meaford boy at the time, recalls seeing the Big Head River filling the harbour and flooding onto Bayfield Street. He also remembers listening to the news of the disaster in Toronto where dozens of homes were washed into Lake Ontario.
On May 31, 1985 thirteen separate tornadoes touched down in southern Ontario, leaving 12 people dead, hundreds injured and untold property damage. One of these tornadoes, the most powerful and devastating ever recorded in Canada, tore through Barrie leaving a path of death and destruction.
In April 1996, the worst tornado outbreak in southern Ontario in a decade, left a 40km long path of destruction southeast of Owen Sound, from Williamsford, past Walters’ Falls to just south of Meaford. Barns and out buildings were destroyed, homes damaged and woodlots decimated.
About five years ago a tremor north of Owen Sound brought some people in Meaford out of their homes and into the street to see what the shaking was all about – more of a novelty event than a news-maker.
In August 2009 a tornado touched down in The Town of the Blue Mountains, destroying buildings and ripping apart orchards. Luckily no one was injured.
Man-made disasters have also taken their toll in southern Ontario. In 1979 the Mississauga train derailment of cars carrying explosive and poisonous chemicals resulted in what was then the largest peacetime evacuation in North America. The light from the initial propane blast could be seen from southern Georgian Bay and 200,000 people were evacuated leaving Mississauga a ghost town for several days. The consensus was the disaster was handled well by the emergency response teams and many cities later modified their own emergency plans after Mississauga.
In February 1990 the Hagersville tire fire burned for 17 days when 14 million tires went up in smoke forcing the evacuation of 4,000 people.
In 2000 Canada’s worst-ever outbreak of E. Coli contamination killed 7 people, caused illness in over 2,000 adults and children, and left lasting physical and emotional scars on our neighbours in Walkerton. If there is anything good to come out of such a tragedy it is that steps have been taken to prevent a repeat of such an event.
The SARS outbreak in 2003, although not reaching epidemic levels resulted in 43 deaths and 500 cases of the illness, changed the protocol at our local hospitals and was a chilling reminder that we can be exposed to diseases from around the world.
Good-news stories that often come out of tragedies and disasters demonstrate how neighbours come together to support and help each other, how relief efforts are organized in other parts of the country or even farther afield and how communities rally to rebuild.
Our part of the Province was spared the ice storm in January 1998 which paralyzed parts of eastern Ontario and Quebec and affected more people than any other weather event in Canadian history but two people from our area Mike and Marg Atkins were directly involved. Once the severity of the crisis became apparent they headed east with a trailer-load of donated generators which were distributed to dairy farmers who were desperately trying to care for their herds with no electricity to run the milking machines, coolers and feeding systems.
The Atkins describe the scene as eerie as they drove through miles of countryside in complete darkness, except for a rare light or candle in a window and the headlights reflecting off the ice which covered everything five to eight inches thick. They witnessed people sharing their homes with those trying to stay warm and offering meals to neighbours and strangers who came to help. They also sensed many people were traumatized by this storm which changed the landscape of their communities.
In 2002 the people of Grey County again rallied, this time to help Prairie farmers who were suffering from a prolonged drought and lacked sufficient feed for their livestock. The Hay West relief effort resulted in tons of hay being donated, trucked to Barrie, loaded in box cars and shipped west.
On the international scene, recently Canadians through our Federal Government pledged millions of dollars more to aid people rebuilding lives and communities which were devastated by the Chernobyl nuclear accident 25 years ago.
So, the question was recently put to Francis Richardson, as Mayor of our community, “Are we adequately prepared to deal with a disaster?”
The short answer was “Yes”, and then he opened the three inch thick, loose-leaf binder on the table in front him labelled ‘Emergency Plan’, and began to explain.
The Government of Ontario requires that all communities have an Emergency Management Plan, a Committee that studies, reviews and updates the plan regularly and a Community Emergency Coordinator who in many places, including the Municipality of Meaford, is the Fire Chief. One of the jobs of the Committee is to identify and assess risks in their area and rate them from ‘low risk’ to ‘high risk’.
For example, in the Meaford area tornadoes and floods have been rated as high risk whereas a nuclear accident is considered a low risk (we are not in an earthquake zone, tsunamis are not a concern and there have been no serious nuclear accidents in Canada).
The Mayor says other scenarios have been discussed and planned for, including a spill of hazardous material being transported through the Municipality or a plane crash. He points out we are directly beneath one of the main flight paths to Toronto and the possibility of a jet making an emergency landing, with the potential for hundreds of casualties does exist.
The Emergency Plan also calls for emergency services personnel, municipal staff and others who may respond to a disaster to receive training from experts in assessing risks and managing crisis. Since disasters often occur on a wide scale, responses have to be co-ordinated with neighbouring communities, the Armed Forces and the other levels of government.
Mayor Richardson says that individuals also have a responsibility to have a plan and be prepared for emergencies. The recommendation is that families have adequate supplies to be self-sufficient for at least 72 hours. Several years ago a booklet distributed to all households entitled “Personal Emergency Preparedness in Grey County,” which outlines in detail how to plan and lists supplies to have on hand should be read or explained to all family members.
Although major emergencies are relatively infrequent, we can always use a reminder that despite our advances in science and technology, we are no match for Mother Nature and are at her mercy whenever she releases her forces.
We should be prepared for the unexpected.
