Emergency Management Organization
R.M. Victoria Beach

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Introduction

The purpose of this website is to educate both permanent and summer residents of Victoria Beach on the Municipal Emergency Plan.   It is our hope that through public information such as this website, residents will become familiar with our municipal emergency team, familiar with our emergency plan and be inspired to start developing an emergency plan for their own family. The original Municipal Emergency Plan was reprinted in 2000 and again in 2004, since then amendments to The Emergency Measures Act have required all municipalities in Manitoba to meet certain standards.  Consequently the RM of Victoria Beach emergency plan has been redeveloped and updated regularly.  Each year the plan is presented to council and passed.

Although there are provincial standards set by the Manitoba Emergency Measures Organization, each municipality tailors its plan to meet the specific needs of the area it represents as well as any hazard risks 

Process

The Emergency Plan is designed to meet the different phases of an emergency: Prevention, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery.

Prevention:  The initial step of emergency planning is to identify any risks within the municipality and address them.  A hazard analysis was conducted on the RM of Victoria Beach, and the results found that the 3 most probable emergencies we will face are:

1. Forest or Brush Fire
2. Electrical Power Blackout
3. Blizzard or Massive Snowstorm

Taking these results into consideration, the Emergency Plan is designed to meet the need of the community if any of these 3 emergencies occur, however the plan is also designed to be adapted to other less probable, but possible emergencies should they occur. A ‘pandemic’ section has recently been developed and added to the municipal emergency plan as well.

Preparedness:  Once you have identified the hazard risks in a municipality, and done all you can to prevent them, you must start preparing for them should they occur.  The RM of Victoria Beach has formed not only an Emergency Plan but also an Emergency Management Team to carry out the emergency plan in an emergency situation.

Response:  This phase of emergency planning involves community participation.  An emergency by its very nature requires an immediate response from various agencies acting on behalf of the RM of Victoria Beach. Although this plan does not apply to the day to day situations that Fire, Ambulance and Police face, they will play a considerable part in a large scale emergency.  Depending on the scale of an emergency, additional volunteers and agencies may be called in to assist.  A list of community volunteers and available resources has been compiled, once this list has been exhausted, the RM of Victoria Beach will look outside the community for assistance.  Currently the RM of Victoria Beach has a number of Memorandums of Understandings with neighboring municipalities, school divisions, and community agencies such as Red Cross and Salvation Army.  These organizations and agencies have agreed to assist the RM of Victoria Beach with various resources including shelter and lodging, food and clothing, and transportation.  The Manitoba Emergency Management Organization also provides assistance to communities during emergency situations.

Recovery: This phase also includes community participation, and assistance.  The recovery from an emergency depends largely on the emergency itself, and the amount of damage the municipality suffered.  The municipal emergency plan and response team will assist in returning normality to the community following a disaster.

Aim
The aim of the RM of Victoria Beach Emergency Plan is to prevent or limit:

The Community in an Emergency