This document will guide you through facilitating a response drill for floods. It presents a disaster scenario, discussion topics, and steps for completing the documentation and conducting a debrief.
For a quick walkthrough or rapid scenario planning discussion (15-minute discussions over coffee or during a regularly scheduled meeting), focus on steps 1 through 3. To conduct a tabletop or functional exercise, complete all the tasks below. The preliminary set-up for a drill is outlined in the document titled “How to Conduct a Drill” in the Ready Rating Resource Centre.
Flood | The National Weather Service (NWS) issues flood and flash flood alerts |
Additional sources of information for the scenario | Canada: Flooding Information and Support – Canadian Red Cross |
Resources you may wish to consider or use during the drill | Local radio stations, fire department, emergency response team, safety & fire wardens, emergency notification system, storm equipment, and emergency action plan. |
# | Tasks |
1 | The facilitator provides introductions, presents drill objectives, and sets the ground rules. |
2 | The facilitator introduces the scenario. Provide the time and location. Describe immediate impacts on people, operations, or services, as well as the availability and engagement of resources.
SAMPLE SCENARIO You have had light, but persistent rain for the last 3 days so the ground is saturated and low-lying areas have standing water. At 5:00 a.m., Environment Canada/National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration issued an alert stating that thunderstorms with heavy rainfall and damaging winds are headed your way. Within 3 hours, low-lying areas have flooded, and strong winds have downed power lines throughout the area. Local media is reporting road closures, washed out bridges, and widespread power outages. If the rain continues, local water treatment facilities will be at risk. |
3 | Discuss available resources and immediate actions.
Consider the following:
If you are conducting a functional exercise, some or all the response actions should be simulated. |
4 | Document key discussions, actions, and decision points.
These should be compared to what is in existing plans. Where necessary, after-action items should be assigned to revise plans. |
5 | Conduct a debrief. Discuss the following:
Are there any gaps, changes, and/or additions that need to be made to your plan(s)? For any action items, ensure that you document responsibility and deadlines. |
6 | Document the drill/exercise and lessons learned. The following forms can be used for this documentation:
For any action items, ensure that you document responsibility and deadlines. |