The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Manitoba Emergency Measures Organization (EMO) issued its first emergency alert Friday using the joint emergency alert system in co-operation with the Broadcasters Association of Manitoba. In this instance, Manitobans received specific information about the threat of tornadoes in southern Manitoba. The emergency alert system is not normally used for severe weather events because the responsibility for issuing weather alerts rests with Environment Canada. In this case, tornado touchdowns had been confirmed in the Brandon area and Environment Canada was able to provide EMO with enough lead time to allow for an emergency tornado alert to the rest of southern Manitoba. The emergency alert system is activated by EMO when there is a potential threat to Manitobans from emergencies such as flooding, forest fires, grass fires, dangerous goods accidents and other serious crises. The emergency alert system involves the following procedures: - EMO will issue specific information to the appropriate broadcast outlet(s) in areas affected by an emergency. - The information will then be broadcast on radio or written out as a modified version that will "crawl" along the bottom of television screens. The alert system is an addition to the public information already provided through news releases and news conferences regarding topics such as public health alerts and EMO responses.
