Posted on 02/08/2016, 1:00 pm, by the City of Steinbach

The City of Steinbach Storm Ready Team is seeking volunteers to act as weather spotters in times of severe weather, such as a tornado or severe thunder storm.

StormReady

The City of Steinbach StormReady Team is looking for volunteers.

Spotters must be residents of Steinbach or live within a 10 km radius of Steinbach. Each team consists of four members and is “on call” for one week per month during the months of May thru September. When needed, they will be notified by weather radio, text, telephone, or cell phone and asked to watch the sky for signs of severe weather developing. The Spotters will then contact the Emergency Operations Team, Local Radio outlets and Environment Canada if severe weather is imminent.

Should a tornado touch down in Steinbach, spotters may be asked to do a preliminary damage evaluation of their designated area and report this info to the Emergency Operations Centre Team so they can formulate a plan of action and keep the general public informed.

Spotters will be provided with training both in-house and by Environment Canada as well as guidelines on how to report a sighting and action checklists.

The Steinbach Emergency Operations Centre Team is a volunteer organization that works to prepare the city for any major emergency or disaster. They are currently looking for volunteers to fill a variety of roles on the team. No experience is necessary, just a willingness to help when the need arises. The time commitment is approximately four afternoon meetings per year, with possible training opportunities. Joining this team means you get to work with outstanding people and to serve your community during an emergency.

We invite you to come out and join one of these two teams to make Steinbach a safer place to live and raise a family. If you are interested in volunteering, contact Denis Vassart, Emergency Planning Coordinator at 204-392-5996 or email dvassart@steinbach.ca.