Access to local products, services and supports critical to emergency preparedness in Alberta
Press Release
Emergency Management Logistics Canada (EMLCanada) is pleased to announce that, effective immediately, the EMLPlatform will be free of charge to all Alberta municipalities, First Nations and Metis communities, local businesses, and the community sector (i.e. churches, non-profit agencies, voluntary organizations, etc.) across the province.
In disaster situations, it is critical for local emergency management organizations to have immediate access to current, relevant, and available products, services, supports, and amenities.
The EMLPlatform is a directory-based, online platform specifically designed to support emergency management. Businesses and community sector organizations can build and maintain current contact information and highlight the products, services, supports, and amenities they have available for disaster response and recovery efforts.
Traditionally, emergency management organizations have manually created contact lists that are inevitably outdated when needed most. The EMLPlatform was designed and built by Alberta-based Emergency Management Logistics Canada (EMLCanada) to facilitate resource identification and sharing using a network and community development approach.
According to Scott Cameron, co-founder of EMLCanada, the platform is “a better way” for local communities to find and access products, services and supports that may be needed to address disaster response and recovery efforts. “Businesses and community agencies aren’t necessarily connected into their local emergency management organizations in a meaningful way, so they miss out on opportunities to provide critical products, services and supports. This can result in delays and potential loss of time, infrastructure, and even lives.” On the EMLPlatform, businesses and organizations build and maintain their own information – the system monitors updates and provides reminders to ensure that information is always current.
Free access to the EML Platform is possible due in part to the financial contribution of the Canadian Red Cross. Canadian Red Cross is supporting local communities to enhance preparedness by helping to improve access to resources, products, and services across the province.