Perth County has released a new guide on what to do during significant weather events in the winter.
Rick Fraser, Perth County’s Community Emergency Management Coordinator, says the new Winter Severe Weather Guide was inspired by the wild storm last year at Christmas time, with a need for important information to be consolidated in one easy to find place.
"This information existed across multiple platforms, but it was hard for people to find everything they really needed or at least be pointed in the right direction in a single solitary place," Fraser explained. "So we really wanted to develop something that people could really use, in hand, and that could, one, tell them what a significant weather event is, what it means to them, to the county and the municipalities. Also, what they can expect when these types of events are declared, as well as locations they can find information both locally and at a county level."
Fraser says the guide has lots of important information.
"Tips like knowing where to find information from your municipality and the county level. So knowing the right places and websites and social media places to go to. Links to things like Municipal 511, which is also very good at highlighting closures, road blockages, etc.," said Fraser. "Also little things like, Environment Canada gives us these alerts and warnings and statements all the time. But what do they really mean? It's one thing for people to get an alert or warning but what is the difference? What do they need to know about the difference between what is a warning versus a statement versus an alert?"
The guide also contains information on how and when municipal governments declare significant weather events.
"Most importantly a for a severe weather event, the municipalities and/or counties, under legislation, can declare a significant weather event. What does that mean? What does it mean to the services the county and municipalities provide, and what does that mean to the community members that are affected by the significant weather event? Then of course, we've also outlined the process," Fraser added.
Fraser notes they did that because in 2022, even though they eventually declared the significant event over, people didn't realize that that still meant a lot of work for staff to ensure that roads could be properly plowed and opened back up. It didn't mean everything was back to normal when the event was declared over, it meant now things can start to be fixed and brought back to normal service levels slowly.
The Perth County Winter Severe Weather Guide is available on the Perth County website, as well as in paper form for free at these locations:
Perth County Courthouse: 1 Huron Street, Stratford (entrance now via St. Andrew Street)
Municipality of North Perth: 330 Wallace Avenue North, Listowel
Township of Perth South: 3191 Road 122, St. Pauls
Township of Perth East: 25 Mill Street East, Milverton
Municipality of West Perth: 160 Wellington Street, Mitchell
Stratford-Perth Archives: 4273 Line 34, Stratford
