Emergency Preparedness for People with Disabilities in Canada’s North Presented by Marnie Peters The Global Alliance on Accessible Technology and Environments (GAATES)
Northern Challenges Extreme conditions: extreme cold, 3-5 day blizzards, flooding, forest fires, supply chain disruptions Winter – 24 hours of darkness
Northern Challenges Lack of roads, infrastructure and many fly-in only communities Prone to power outages Fragile communication system – prone to disruption and outages
Northern Challenges Diverse populations Inuit & First Nations languages Southern solutions aren’t applicable or transferable to the north
Effective Communications Development of formal and informal communications strategies Use of appropriate languages and formats
Effective Communications Working with EMOs to adopt best practices on the use of social media, SMS texting alerts, etc.
Effective Communications Implementing accessible LED emergency alerting signage boards in remote communities
Effective Personal Planning Development of a Handbook on Emergency Planning and Preparation
Effective Personal Planning Emergency Preparedness checklist and one page reference checklist Workshops on development of Kits
Effective EMO Response Disability Awareness Training of First Responders Involvement with Emergency practice scenarios and exercises
Effective EMO Response Tips and Tricks for First Responders
No Friend Left Behind Emergency Planning and Preparedness Guide for Students Curriculum resources on disability for teachers
QUESTIONS GAATES website: Twitter: _OnThinIce