Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 242016 lake Stewards newsletter | 13 Floods and Emergency Response/ Communications The Ontario government’s responsibility in flood management also rests with the MNRF, which (through the SWMC) maintains the provincial flood forecasting and warning system to alert their District Offices and, where available, Conservation Authorities (CAs) of meteorological events that could result in a flood hazard. About half of FOCA’s 500+ member associations are located outside of municipalities served by CA’s. In terms of managing in a changing water regime, it will be important to have transparent and adaptive water quantity planning, and to ensure there are effective communications surrounding unfortunate—but increasingly likely—weather extremes, especially related to flooding. By way of example, in April 2016 the Ontario Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency Management announced an update to the Provincial Nuclear Emergency Response Plan; this in light of new information about the scope, scale and likelihood of such an event, and to have an updated plan in place. Undertaking a review of flood communications to ensure they meet local needs seems logical. This should include an objective and ongoing review of whether existing communications effectively reach rural, remote and seasonal residents affected by natural or other disasters, including flood events. Example of recent social media communications 2016-04-19, 11:50 AM • Ontario Warnings (@OntarioWarnings) Editor’s note: this message was sent out on Twitter on April 19; however, the Muskoka area was on flood warning already by March 31, or earlier. Image courtesy MNRF