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2006 saw significant flooding in southern Manitoba, especially in the Red River Valley.
The Red River crested at the same level of the 1996 flood, and the flood mitigation work in
the last decade demonstrated in very clear terms the value of these investments. Damages from
a flood of this size are unavoidable, but impacts on infrastructure and property and the need
to evacuate were greatly lessened as a result of flood protection measures. In response to
these damages, the provincial government has established a Disaster Financial Assistance (DFA)
program to provide recovery assistance from flooding. You can apply for DFA through your municipal
office, by downloading the application form off our website, or you can now apply on-line on
our website. We recognize that there were flood impacts outside the Red River Valley, and
we're working with municipalities in these areas to assess their impacts and to determine
if the geographic area of the DFA program should be expanded.
Municipal governments are our most important partners in emergency management, and the experience
and professionalism of these partners was again demonstrated during this flood season. From planning
through response and now into recovery, I’d like to express my appreciation to the staff and volunteers
at the municipal level who played such an important part in helping limit the flood impacts on their
community. The experience and planning of these professionals made the 2006 flood one of the
best-managed in recent years.
The challenge for emergency managers to seek continuous improvement grows as the complexity
of the public safety environment grows. The starting point is a cooperative, inclusive, and
coordinated approach to emergency management, including a system that ensures the effective
coordination of partners in government, the private sector, and not-for-profit agencies.
Manitoba’s emergency management team has shown its ability to work co-operatively on many
occasions, and that critical ability is something we see as a matter of continuous improvement.
As we review the lessons learned from these major disasters, Manitoba EMO will continue working
to facilitate a strong emergency management capacity as part of our province’s safety and stability.
C.R. (Chuck) Sanderson
Executive Director
Manitoba EMO
June 2006
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