Government of Alberta adopts 2013 flood recommendations

The government of Alberta said on Friday that it has accepted 15 recommendations and one in principle in relation to an independent review of the province’s response to the 2013 floods, the most widespread and costliest disaster in Alberta’s history.

The report, called Review and Analysis of the Government of Alberta’s Response to and Recovery from 2013 Floods, makes 16 recommendations to enhance and improve the province’s emergency response and recovery procedures. “Work on implementing these is underway,” Alberta Municipal Affairs said in a press release.

One recommendation, considered a priority, was the development and implementation of a Provincial Emergency Social Services framework. The release noted that Alberta Human Services is working with stakeholders to establish a framework, which provides a plan for the delivery of emergency social services to support both immediate and long-term supports in the event that provincial assistance is required by local authorities.

Another recommendation is that the province “maintain existing frameworks, structures and plans, and implement identified improvements.” Key frameworks, structures and plans that were in place prior to the flood or developed during recovery “proved to be effective and should be adjusted as required and fully embedded into the emergency management system,” the release said. The government added that a cross-ministry working group with the ministries of Human Services, Aboriginal Relations and Municipal Affairs, led by the Alberta Emergency Management Agency (AEMA), is developing an update to the provincial recovery strategy. [click image below to enlarge]

The report, prepared by MNP LLP in Toronto, also recommended the development of a new, state-of-the-art Provincial Operations Centre facility, which could either be a purpose-built facility or constructed in an existing government building. The new facility should include the “required physical and IT infrastructure and resilience, adequate size and layout to properly house all emergency management partners and incident management software to enable more effective situational awareness, information management, coordinating and tracking of activities and resources and reporting,” the release said. “Although there is clearly room to improve the operations centre, the current facility is functional and new incident management software is being used.”

Related: Alberta changes Disaster Recovery Program to deal with outstanding cases from 2013 flood

The government accepted in principle the recommendation for pre-qualified vendors and the creation of a standing offer/vendor of record list for contracted emergency management response and recovery services. Emergency management response and recovery services should include, but not be limited to: temporary accommodations, construction services, building damage assessment, food services, and transportation. The release said that AEMA has identified and prioritized the services necessary for emergency response and recovery and is developing a guide to the availability and cost structure for the services.

In preparing the report, MNP LLP interviewed dozens of stakeholders including the municipalities and organizations directly affected by the disaster. After every large disaster, a third-party review is conducted to ensure government finds out what worked well and where improvements can be made, the release noted.