The lack of any kind of early warning system alerting city residents of impending danger, in the middle of the night especially when there are no TVs, radios or computers on, leaves the whole city at risk.
Why did we destroy our old early warning system? It may be that it was called an air raid siren to warn us of an incoming nuclear missile as opposed to a disaster warning system. I am sure it was to save few dollars but at what cost?
Tornadoes happen around us and in July 2008 a funnel cloud was seen above the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre but only 10 of the 25 broadcast stations received any information of the tornado as its broadcast tower had already been destroyed by the storm.
A spokesperson for Alberta Municipal Affairs said they are upgrading the system to include satellite TV, radio, website alerts and apparently they have done this.
But there is nothing in this to warn us in the middle of the night. There is nothing like a siren (like the ones you hear in the background of any tornado live reports) warning of immediate impending danger and to take cover.
There are other disasters or situations like the ammonia leak from railroad cars that saw emergency personnel going door to door. You may not have enough time to do that. Another example could be natural gas leaks or overturned tanker.
I think sirens should be brought back and placed in schoolyards so there is no land cost involved and able to be operated by neighbourhood or the city in its entirety.
There is a system now in place that will dial homes directly on phone lines. I do not know how long this would take. It does not call any cell numbers and many apartments and homes are going that way. This kind of system usually goes out with the power at the start of any good storm. I still think some version of a mechanical system that are nearly indestructible is the answer.
Let us not forget the Edmonton tornado resulted in 27 killed and 253 injured, or the Pine Lake one in which 12 were killed and 100 injured. We are not immune to this and I think city council needs to step back from its total focus on downtown redevelopment and start looking after its citizens with some basic protective measures instead of another load of pavers to replace the asphalt and concrete that’s already there.
There are dozens of small twisters tearing up trees, barns, granaries, etc., all around Central Alberta each year and you can’t seem to get through a weather forecast all summer long without hearing the possibility of funnel clouds forming.
I think sirens should be an immediate priority as these storms seem to be getting worse every year.
C.G. Grote
Red Deer