Drumheller got a morale boost from the provincial government on Monday, June 24.
Late in the afternoon, the Honourable Richard Starke, MLA Vermilion-Lloydminster and Minister of Tourism, Parks, and Recreation, flew to Drumheller to tour the town’s emergency preparedness.
“I think what I’m particularly grateful for is the level of teamwork and preparedness shown by all the authorities here. There’s been a great deal of cooperation to minimize damage and destruction,” said Starke.
“I’d like to commend the Mayor and his team, who have been very effective in applying lessons from the past to minimize damage.”
The Honourable Richard Starke, MLA Vermillion-Lloydminster and Minister of Tourism, Parks, and Recreation (left) with Mayor Terry Yemen standing atop the new berm in Newcastle.
Drumheller was devastated in 2005, but since then, dykes and berms were constructed around town, which helped keep water out of some areas that were submerged eight years ago.
The post-flood measures taken here eight years ago, could be a model for other ravaged communities.
“Drumheller has perhaps shown us a very good way to apply lessons learned from the ‘05 event and apply them effectively in only eight short years. Hopefully we can apply those to other areas of the province as needed,” said Starke.
“For now, the first thing to do is make sure the needs of the people are looked after. The second thing is to sit down and ask what did we learn from this and what can we do to mitigate it the next time it happens.”
Starke explained that numbers are being finalized, but funding will be available to communities and persons in need.
“The exact number we require remains to be seen. The important thing is the Premier has indicated a willingness to meet the initial needs,” “The support that is needed to survive this disaster is going to be there from the province,” said Starke.
Upon arriving in town, Starke visited Town Hall and sat in on a meeting of the Emergency Operations Centre. Afterwards, he was taken to the shores of Newcastle, where a newly constructed berm was all that separated the river from the houses only a stone’s throw away.
From there, he was taken to the Newcastle Ball Diamonds. There, standing on a berm constructed in 2005, he witnessed how the river submerged the diamonds.
Starke then left with his team via helicopter from the Badlands Community Facility..
