CAF Domestic Disaster Relief Ops 2008 - 2017 [Merged]

[SkyHeff]

I live on the west end of London, and it's been fine here all day, but I could see the storm just to the west where it has been sitting. It's 8pm local and it's just starting to snow here and the radar shows the streamers heading our way.

I have friends in the reserves here that were called out to help with the situation on the 402 and haven't heard from them since.

 

[The Bread Guy]

CF's official word on the subject:

The Government of Canada was pleased to respond to a request for federal assistance from the Province of Ontario, to assist stranded motorists on the snow-covered Western portion of Highway 402, in South Western Ontario.

As part of the federal assistance, two CH-146 Search and Rescue Griffon helicopters evacuated motorists to warming stations established in the vicinity. The helicopters moved overnight and as soon as weather permitted began providing assistance to those in distress. A CH-130 Hercules aircraft provided aerial support and weather assessment throughout. Three other Griffon helicopters were standing by to assist. Other provincial efforts permitted the evacuation of approximately 150 motorists.

“The swift and impressive response by the Canadian Forces to the needs of those stranded in the Sarnia area by last night's violent snow storm makes Canadians proud,” said the Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence. “Canadians can rest assured that Canadian Forces and our Government are ready to help them in times of distress.”

Air operations and ground efforts are ongoing and will continue as long as required to ensure the safety of all affected people. Provincial authorities have made significant progress in clearing Highway 402 to access the affected area and facilitate further evacuations.

"The Government of Canada is closely monitoring the situation in South Western Ontario, and stands ready to help the Province of Ontario in any way we can," said the Honourable Vic Toews, Minister for Public Safety.  "As always, our Government stands ready to assist Canadians during emergencies, and has been working closely with the Province of Ontario and the Canadian Forces to ensure we have a robust and coordinated response in support of this emergency situation."

The Canadian Forces (CF) is working closely with its provincial partners to determine what other unique military capabilities may be needed to further assist the motorists. Ground assets, such as snowmobiles and tracked vehicles are being prepared and will be pre-positioned in the event their use is requested. Assessments are currently being conducted to determine future tasks on a priority basis.

"Our raison d’être is the safety and security of Canada and of all Canadians. As part of Canada Command, Joint Task Force Central was given the mandate to lead the CF ground effort and is standing ready to assist as required. We will continue to work with our Federal and Provincial partners to ensure the affected motorists receive all the assistance they need", said Lieutenant-General Walter Semianiw, Commander of Canada Command ....

 

[acooper]

We had a vendor meeting today with folks from Toronto, and they said the drive was bad but not horrible from Toronto to London. London to Essex on the 401 was not fun at all, and they were a good 15-20 minutes late. The 401 East of Hwy 77 (Leamington) has been closed off and on since Sunday evening, but I think was open most of today.

I just hope by Friday the roads are half decent from Ottawa down to Windsor. Haven't seen DH since Thanksgiving! I also hope that they get those motorists unstranded soon. I think I"ll have DH get together an emergency kit for the jeep while he's here. For the rest of the week, I'll always be in town or close enough to homes/traffic to be ok. But who knows what the new year will bring!

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Reports say that all stranded motorists have been rescued and relocated. Only one minor injury. Now comes the clearing and recovery operation.

 

[Bin-Rat]

Here's a quick update on Military Help For Sarnia and Area

Full story Click here London Free Press

Soldiers on all-terrain carriers and snowmobiles are spreading throughout Middlesex and Lambton counties Wednesday to search for those stranded by snowstorms.

Four BV-206s — two-part articulated and tracked vehicles — have been deployed out of the Canadian Forces Land Advanced Warfare Centre in Trenton.

They will be working four of 12 sectors in snowbound areas west of London with Canadian Rangers on snowmobiles.

“The Rangers have experience working in harsh winter conditions,” said Capt. Scott Costen of 31 Canadian Brigade Group in London.

OPP continue to lead this next stage of aid to stranded travellers and snowbound rural residents, he said.

Besides making sure all motorists have been brought to safety, the military will help bring supplies, such as medicine, to rural residents storm-stayed, Costen said.

Military personnel are staying in London but the base of operations is Wrightmans Corners north of Strathroy.

 

[brihard]

I live on the west end of London, and it's been fine here all day, but I could see the storm just to the west where it has been sitting. It's 8pm local and it's just starting to snow here and the radar shows the streamers heading our way.

I have friends in the reserves here that were called out to help with the situation on the 402 and haven't heard from them since.

A buddy of mine from the Tor Scot R reported the same, that he was on class C all of a sudden due to a callout.

 

[gun runner]

All of our members who are helping out down there, be safe, and show us proud to the nation! Ubique.

 

[Nfld Sapper]

What most people don't realize that OP LAMA is still an ongoing, but we are slowly closing it down....

This weekend marked one of the final chapters to this:

Soldiers return to Igor-struck Trouty
CBC News Posted: May 2, 2011 10:52 AM NT Last Updated: May 2, 2011 10:52 AM NT

Soldiers returned to Trouty to remove an emergency bridge erected after Hurricane Igor last fall. (CBC )

Rick Nolan said residents of Trouty welcomed soldiers back, months after they set up an emergency bridge in the community. CBC

The Canadian military has returned to a small village on Newfoundland's Bonavista Peninsula with soldiers replacing a temporary bridge erected in the wake of Hurricane Igor.

Trouty, a community of just a few dozen households, was upended in September when Igor blew apart an old bridge and wiped out the only road. The village was one of the communities where the Canadian Forces were dispatched in the wake of the storm.

Soldiers put up an emergency bridge for the winter, and on Saturday began removing it.

Maj. Rick Nolan said people in Trouty were grateful for the military's help.

"One woman came by and said it's great to see her little green ants back at work. She lives up on the hill and looking down at us, like little green ants working," Nolan said in an interview.

A dirt road with a culvert now reconnects Trouty to the rest of the peninsula's road network, and plans are afoot for a permanent bridge.

Resident Sylvia Hiscock said people in the town have much appreciated the aid.

"I guess it's sad to see them leaving, but we're happy that they came and helped us out at the time of the storm," she told CBC News. "We're gradually getting back to normal now."

The Newfoundland and Labrador government has budgeted $121 million for Igor-related repairs to bridges, roads, culverts and other infrastructure. Of that money, $56 million is budgeted to be spent this year and next.

 

[57Chevy]

                                        Shared with provisions of The Copyright Act

Armed forces to help flood victims in Montérégie
By Michelle Lalonde, Montreal GazetteMay 4, 2011
http://www.montrealgazette.com/Armed+forces+help+flood+victims+Mont%c3%a9r%c3%a9gie/4728161/story.html#ixzz1LQb7bRkF

Canadian armed forces troops will be deployed to some of worst-hit areas of the Montérégie by Thursday morning to help exhausted residents cope with record flooding along the Richelieu River and the shores of Lake Champlain.

“People here are sick of it; they are exasperated and exhausted,” said Gilles Dolbec, mayor of St. Jean sur Richelieu.

“In some parts of town the water is three feet deep and people have to wear thigh boots to get through there, like you wear when you go fishing,” he said.

Residents have been lugging sandbags and moving possessions out of the water’s way for the past 10 days. Some have been staying up at night to ensure sump pumps keep working.

Water levels in Lake Champlain and the Richelieu River have never been this high, said Eric Doneys, a spokesperson for Quebec’s public safety department in the region.

“The river is already about a metre higher than normal and we expect it to rise another 15 to 20 centimetres by Friday, although that is very difficult to say because the river is spreading sideways,” he said, adding the last time water levels in Lake Champlain approached anything near this level was in 1869.

Volunteers from the Quebec division of the Canadian Red Cross are staffing respite centres in five hard-hit municipalities: St. Jean, Iberville, St. Blaise sur Richelieu, Ste. Anne de Sabrevois and St. Paul de l’Île aux Noix.

Several towns along the river have declared states of emergency, and police and firefighters are touring the region to assess whether more homes should be evacuated. To date, more than 1,500 homes and cottages have been affected by flooding, 750 in St. Jean sur Richelieu alone.

Most residents who have been forced to leave their flooded homes have taken shelter with friends and family, but the Red Cross did have to find accommodation for 129 families in hotels and inns, said Red Cross spokesperson Geneviève Déry.

So far, the respite centres are not set up for overnight stays, but the Red Cross is ready for mass evacuations, Déry said, with hundreds of cots, blankets and personal hygiene kits stored at a warehouse in St. Jean.

St. Jean resident Diane Boloten was worried about a power failure Wednesday, as she and many of her neighbours were using electric pumps to keep the water in their homes from rising higher.

“Everything is running off electricity, so I hear the system is stressed. I have a generator in my garage, but I can’t get into the garage because of the water, which is knee-high outside my garage doors,” said Boloten, who has been coping with water in her house since April 23.

Public Safety Minister Robert Dutil has requested help for the region from the Canadian Armed Forces, and that request was accepted Wednesday, confirmed Dutil’s press attaché, Mathieu St-Pierre.

He said priorities were being set for the troops at a coordinating meeting Wednesday afternoon in Quebec City, and the relief effort in the Montérégie will be coordinated by Quebec’s Junior Public Safety Minister Guy Laroche.

Water levels are expect to rise until Friday, then plateau during the weekend and should begin to subside slowly starting Monday, according to Eric Doney of Quebec’s public safety department

Photo:
Flooding along the Richelieu River hasn't been seen like this in more than 100 years. A St. Jean sur Richelieu resident surveys the scene Wednesday.

Photograph by: Dave Sidaway

 

[Nfld Sapper]

News Room
Government Of Canada Annoucement On Flood Relief Efforts In Quebec

MA - 11.037 - May 5, 2011

OTTAWA – Media are invited to attend an update by the Honourable Christian Paradis, Minister of Natural Resources Canada, on behalf of the Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, on the Government of Canada’s decision to send the Canadian Forces to provide assistance to the residents of Quebec.

When: Thursday, May 5, 2011, at 1 p.m. (EST)
Where: Conference Room D, National Defence Headquarters, 101 Colonel By Drive

-30-

Notes to editor / news director:
Media are asked to arrive at 12:15 p.m. Entrance will be through the Nicholas Street security gate.


Media may join the news conference by telephone at the following number: 1-877-974-0450 for all calls from within North America or 416-644-3418 for calls from outside North America.

Imagery of the Canadian Forces assisting with flood relief efforts, will be available after the news conference: http://www.combatcamera.forces.gc.ca/common/combatcamera/home-eng.asp

 

[Nfld Sapper]

News Room
Government Of Canada And The Canadian Forces Assist Those Affected By Flooding In The Province Of Quebec
NR11.037 - May 5, 2011

OTTAWA – The Government of Canada has asked the Canadian Forces to position military personnel and equipment in the Montérégie area of Quebec in response to a formal request from the Province of Quebec for assistance.

"This Government stands ready to help Canadians facing crises, and we are moving quickly to assist the people of the Montérégie region," said the Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence. "Our men and women in uniform, many of whom live and work in the area, will help the Montérégie region through this emergency."

Canada Command's Joint Task Force East, headquartered in Montreal, will be coordinating the Canadian Forces assistance effort, which may include protection of municipal infrastructure, private residences and essential access roads. The advance party of the Immediate Response Unit from Le 2e Bataillon Royal 22ième Régiment has already begun its move from Valcartier to St-Hyacinthe to position itself for assistance.

“The families of Quebec can count on our Government to answer the call during this challenging time,” said Minister Paradis, Minister of Natural Resources and Minister for Quebec. “The efficiency and professionalism of our Canadian Forces will help ensure that every possible will be done to help those in need as a result of the flooding.”

"Our men and women of the Canadian Forces are ready to join the Quebec provincial and municipal authorities to assist residents affected by the floods," said Lieutenant-General Walter Semianiw, Commander of Canada Command. "Canadians can rest assured that, with little or no warning, the Canadian Forces are always ready to help Canadians in distress anywhere in Canada."

The Canadian Forces are working closely with their federal partners and Quebec to determine what assets support will best assist the affected population.

 

[57Chevy]

                                              Shared with provisions of The Copyright Act

Military aids weary Que. flood victims
Premier Jean Charest says flooding 'unprecedented'
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2011/05/05/quebec-record-flooding-army.html?ref=rss
CBC News  May 5, 2011

Residents along Quebec's Richelieu River honked their car horns and waved in delight as Canadian soldiers arrived Thursday to help flood victims in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, south of Montreal.

Soldiers were deployed to the flooded region a day after Quebec Premier Jean Charest asked the Canadian Forces for help.
About 500 soldiers have been sent to the area from CFB Valcartier. Another 100 reservists from the Montreal area were dispatched to the flood zone to support local emergency officials already on the ground.

"Basically, we'll be filling out sandbags, distributing whether food or water, protecting any infrastructure, or if requested, evacuating people," said 2nd Lt. Julien Beauchamp-Laliberté.

At least 3,000 homes and businesses have been flooded in the Richelieu Valley, and 1,000 people had left their homes by Thursday morning in the worst flooding in the region in 150 years.

The area's Royal Military College is among the buildings cleared.

Premier says flooding 'exceptional'

Charest flew to the waterlogged region Thursday afternoon to survey the damage, and said he'd never seen such flooding.

"These floods are the most important that we've seen in Quebec since the disaster of the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean in the 1990s," the premier told reporters, referring to the flash flood in 1996 that washed out the Saguenay after torrential rains.

"It's not the same thing of course, and we're fortunate there has not been a loss of life, but it's the most important floods we've seen in Quebec in the last 50 years."

Quebec will compensate people and municipalities for some of the damage. But he warned that the government couldn't pay for everything.

"Programs will never manage to compensate people for everything they have lost," Charest said.

"It hurts me to say this today. But it's not true that we can compensate everything. It's impossible."

He said the waters were continuing to rise and that it would take time just to stop the flooding, let alone rebuild. "Yes, we get floods in Quebec in the spring, but this is exceptional, and it doesn't seem to be stopping," Charest said before his visit.

"We hope the waters will subside as quickly as possible and we'll be able to start the reconstruction process."

Flood threat spreads

The Richelieu's water level rose to 1.2 metres above normal Wednesday, and Environment Canada is predicting rain for the area until Saturday.

The number of municipalities affected by the breached banks of the Richelieu jumped from 10 to 17 Thursday, due to high water levels in two tributaries to the north.

Six emergency shelters have been set up for people seeking refuge.

Septic tanks have also overflowed in several municipalities, prompting town officials to install portable toilets for residents.

Flood watches are in effect for other areas of the province.

Water levels are rising rapidly north of Quebec City, in the Beauce, and in the Lower St. Lawrence region.

Heavy rainfall warnings are in effect for all of those regions, with between 10 and 25 milimetres expected to fall by the end of Thursday.

Winter snowmelt, heavy rain

Environment Canada explained that this year's heavier-than-usual winter snowfall — and not just this week's continual downpour — is responsible for the floods.

It said the snow in the U.S. Adirondacks melted into Lake Champlain and, with this week's rain, a startling volume of water poured across the border into the Richelieu River.

"This is a really unique phenomenon," said René Héroux, an Environment Canada meteorologist.

"To understand how we wound up with a phenomenon of this magnitude, you need to go back to last winter."

Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued a statement to say the federal government is ready to help those affected by the flooding.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the Richelieu Valley during the devastating floods that have hit the region this month," Harper said.

Photos at link

 

[soldierblogger]

CTV is reporting a developing story that the Army is being sent to Manitoba to help flood effort as of 08 1927EST MAY 11. This is a developing story and no further information is available at this time.

Anyone else having any further information, specifically which unit?

 

[ModlrMike]

My guess would be 2VP as Brandon has declared a state of emergency today.

 

[PuckChaser]

I'll go! But I belong to JTFC so all we get is Op Cadence 

 

[REDinstaller]

I'm up to go. Veteran of the Flood of the Century.

 

[GAP]

A chunk of Shilo troops are presently in Wainwright....

 

[REDinstaller]

there is presently a Bty and Coy here in WX.

 

[CSS Supply Tech]

Wainwright being Wainwright, I would have to assume there's always a large group of PPCLI there....Shilo just finished a 1 week ex involving reservists from 38, 39 & 41 cbg's, plus support from 1 ASG & 1 CMBG.

I would think there would be a large portion of  troops available, should be a busy few weeks for OP WO's.....

 

[57Chevy]

                                  Shared with provisions of The Copyright Act

Soldiers at work on flood-mitigation efforts along Assiniboine
Winnipeg Free Press/Bartley Kives and Larry Kusch/05/9/2011
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/breakingnews/Soldiers-at-work-on-fllod-mitigation-efforts-along-Assiniboine-121514264.html

WINNIPEG - Emergency Measures Minister Steve Ashton told the legislature this afternoon that the increased projected flows along the Assiniboine present "a serious challenge for the Portage Diversion and the upper Assiniboine River."

"Rapid upgrades to both the diversion channel and the river dikes downstream of Portage will be required to help manage these record flows," he said.

Ashton said the military will be used to help reinforce and monitor dikes from Portage la Prairie to Headingley. Members of the Canadian Armed Forces will be arriving in stages today and tomorrow.

"Even with the planned upgrades to dikes and the diversion channel, we will be facing water beyond the capacity of the system. And we’re finalizing options to maintain this increased water in a controlled way."

Ashton also said that for administrative purposes, the government is declaring "a localized provincial state of emergency" for the city and RM of Portage la Prairie and for the RMs of Woodlands, Rosser, St. Francois Xavier, Headingley, Cartier, Macdonald and Grey.

"This is not related in any way to the presence of the military in the area. Rather this is for provincial and municipal flood-fighting efforts."

Approximately 150 soldiers have started working on flood-mitigation efforts along the Assiniboine River and another 350 will join them over the next few days.

One hundred soldiers, most of them from CFB Shilo, are helping to raise a dike along the Assiniboine near Poplar Point, east of Portage la Prairie, while another 30 to 50 are working in Brandon, said Lieutenant Colonel Shane Schreiber of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.

Another 350 soldiers will be deployed over the next three days, he said. A further 300 are standing by in Edmonton, bringing the total potential deployment to 800, Schreiber said.

Soldiers will use trucks and boats to transfer sandbags and other supplies into difficult-to-reach areas along the Assiniboine, Schreiber said.

Soldiers are trained to work in difficult conditions - mud and rain - that may be dangerous for civilian volunteers, he said. The boats are light zodiacs, he added.

Premier Greg Selinger said the main concern is protecting rural areas along the Assiniboine River. He would not speculate about the prospects of the Assiniboine spilling its banks and flooding into the La Salle River.

The province is, however, considering controlled cuts in the dike to prevent wider spills, said Anne Burns, CAO of the Rural Municipality of Cartier.

About 40 properties are threatened in Cartier alone, she said.

Photo:
Workers at the Kapyong Barracks in Winnipeg prepare more than 600,000 sandbags, which will be sent west to help fight the flood on the Assiniboine River.