Extreme weather plan being developed for HRM
Posted Jan 8, 2016 05:09:43 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
HALIFAX – Councillor Waye Mason says he will be meeting with shelters and service providers on Friday to discuss final details on a proposed city-wide extreme weather plan.
The District 7 councillor says he’s been meeting with shelters periodically for the last year-and-a-half to develop proper protocol for dealing with dangerous weather such as cold snaps, heavy snowfall and even hurricanes.
Mason says they’ve been very successful setting up a cohesive plan and have received donations and resources from numerous sources.
“We’ve had a fair amount of success getting it set up,” Mason said.
“We’ve got a little bit of money from private donations, we’ve got Delta Hotel and the Marriot donating hotel rooms for staff to stay in overnight, we’ve got some cell phones set up as a hotline that Telus donated. It’s almost ready to go, and we’re just working out the last details.”
He says the proposed plan will cover many bases, including shelter hours, how to identify what qualifies as extreme weather, and opening a warming space when shelters are closed.
Public health defines extreme winter weather as events where temperatures reach -15 C, wind chill reaches -21 C, or if snow fall surpasses 25 centimeters.
