Emergency alert delays in West Hants during the Nova Scotia floods

Amid a torrential downpour in Nova Scotia two weeks ago, volunteers at the Brooklyn Fire Department geared up and hit the road to respond to multiple calls and rescues.

It was as early as 1:12 a.m. on July 22 that deputy fire chief Brett Tetanish told fire dispatch an emergency alert was needed, according to radio communication archives posted on Broadcastify.com and reviewed by CTV News. The first alert didn’t arrive until 3:06 a.m. and when it did, the mayor of West Hants says dozens of people didn’t receive it.

“We need an emergency alert put out for West Hants area. For people to shelter in place at this time,” said Tetanish to Valley Communications at around 1:12 a.m. “We need people to stay off the roads. We have major flooding and damage to infrastructure.”

He asked fire dispatch to have RCMP to contact him, or to have dispatch get RCMP to put out the alert. He also asked to activate West Hants EMO, for Nova Scotia Power to knock out electricity and called in help from other fire departments and JRCC.

“We have multiple homes with people trapped. Heavy currents. Roads are washing away in Ellershouse area,” Tetanish said.

Between the initial request for alert, and when the alert came out, the deputy chief repeatedly asked RCMP to issue an alert. At approximately 2:07 a.m., firefighters were told an alert was being worked on.

By the time the first alert arrived at 3:06 a.m., roads and bridges had already washed away. There had been multiple rescues and cars had been swept off the road. The search for two missing children who were swept away by floodwaters had also begun.

The initial alert told people to shelter in place unless it was unsafe and to call 911 if they needed to be rescued. This initial message was very similar to what Tetanish had asked for at around 1:12 a.m.

Less than 40 minutes later, residents received another alert. The alert said the area dam was at risk of breaching and ordered an evacuation for the St. Croix River system area. It also told people to head to the Brooklyn Civic Centre, but at the time many routes to the evacuation centre were unpassable. Another alert said Windsor’s Civic Centre was available.

BEHIND THE SCENES TO GET AN ALERT OUT

As Tetanish and his team rescued people on the ground, Jason Cochrane, chief of the Brooklyn Fire Department, was at his job listening to the radio. He directly called West Hants’ emergency coordinator to ask for an alert and help to knock out power. According to Broadcastify.com, he had been in touch with West Hants EMO before 1:56 a.m.

CTV News spoke with Abraham Zebian, mayor of West Hants, about what was going on behind the scenes.

“I believe the first official request was around 1:45 – 1:50 (a.m.),” Zebian said.

“Between that first official request from the fire departments to our EMO, I believe there was a 36-minute timeline.”

Zebian said EMO representatives were in areas with no cell service, so reaching them to communicate was incredibly difficult.

“One of our EMO personnel was trying, literally, to go by foot, to go to the command centre, and they were stopped immediately, and the fire department had to get to them to take them,” said Zebian.

The mayor said local EMO did not have the ability to put the alert out and their request went to Nova Scotia EMO. In West Hants, the mayor describes what they were dealing with as a little-to-no dependable system, with poor cell service and no internet.

Zebian believes the challenges the West Hants EMO faced highlight the need for better cell service, and adds that even after the alert went out he heard from dozens of people who never received them. Others got them the next day.

“There is a gap and telecommunication companies, the big telecoms, they have a responsibility as well. And governments have a responsibility to hold them accountable,” Zebian said.

Brooklyn's deputy fire chief added there was next to no cell service in the areas involved.

“Nobody knows the water is rising outside,” Tetanish said. “My tool to use was that emergency alert system, but if they don’t have cell service, they’re not going to get that. The cell service has to be improved across rural Nova Scotia.”

WHO CAN PUT AN ALERT OUT?

Nova Scotia’s Emergency Management Office said non-policing alerts, such as wildfires or floods, are sent out by Nova Scotia EMO at the request and direction of the municipal emergency management body.

“The content and timing of those alerts would be determined by the municipality,” said Heather Fairbairn, a communications advisor with the province.

Cpl. Chris Marshall with Nova Scotia RCMP said police do not have access to the emergency alert systems if it’s not a police-led incident.

“When it comes to natural disasters, they’re not police-led incidents,” Marshall said.

SHOULD POLICE BE ABLE TO ISSUE NATURAL DISASTER ALERTS?

Mayor Abraham Zebian believes RCMP should be able to issue alerts as well.

“RCMP, everybody should be able to issue an alert when it’s needed,” Zebian said. “If one can’t, the other can. I definitely believe the province has a lot of work to do on that system.”

“As simple as an authorization, every second counts,” he added.

On Wednesday, CTV News asked Premier Tim Houston if he believed police should be able to issue an alert during a fire or flood, or what should be done with emergency alerts.

The premier acknowledged there’s been a lot of discussion about emergency alerts in Nova Scotia since the Mass Casualty Commission and said his government will work with the recommendations from the MCC about the best way to do alerts and discuss it with ministers and departments.

“The emergency alerts are incredibly important, incredibly valuable, so we have to get that right, but I think there’s guidance in the Mass Casualty Commission,” Houston said.

TELECOMS RESPOND

Katie Hatfield, a spokesperson with Bell Aliant, said throughout the flood, the wireless network in the West Hants region was fully operational.

“And successfully processed all 12 emergency public alert messages and all 911 calls from July 21-24,” she said.

Hatfield said some customers in sparsely populated areas may have experienced difficulties receiving the alert messages due to their distance from a cell tower and customers must have 4G or 5G enacted to be alerted.

Bell’s network is the largest in Nova Scotia, covering 76 per cent of the geography.

“We look forward to working with the government to expand our wireless network to more rural communities where private investment alone would be a challenge,” Hatfield said.

Disclaimer: CTV News is a division of Bell Media, which is part of Bell Canada Enterprises.

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