By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — It’s been almost 40 years since the “storm of the century” wrought its destruction on Davidson and area.

The cyclone of June 3, 1976 tore through the district over the course of a couple of hours, causing severe damage to homes, farms and businesses, injuring more than a dozen and killing one.

A subsequent report in The Davidson Leader accurately noted that “residents in the area will long remember this most devastating and destructive storm.”

Decades later, the cyclone stands as by far the greatest disaster within living memory. But would the town and its citizens be prepared if another storm struck the district?

Community development co-ordinator Donna Bessey said last week that the provincial government requires the town to have an emergency plan in place — a “living document” that is continuously updated.

“You never know until a disaster hits,” she added. “That’s when you see where the gaps are.”

May 3 to 9 is Emergency Preparedness Week across Canada, an annual event that highlights the need for families — as well as governments at all levels — to be prepared in the event of an emergency or disaster.

The Emergency Planning Act, which took effect in Saskatchewan in 1989 and has been updated numerous times since then, requires that municipalities establish a local emergency measures organization (EMO) and committee, with a co-ordinator who serves as chairperson of the committee.

The committee is then tasked with establishing a municipal emergency plan that allows for the provision of necessary services and sets out the procedure for response in case of an emergency.

Trish Schilling has served as the town’s EMO co-ordinator since November 2010, taking over from Cathy Bonneau.

She oversees that plan, making sure it is ready to go into effect, should the town be struck by a major snowstorm, tornado, flood or other natural disaster.

The plan would also come into effect in the event of a chemical spill on a nearby railroad or highway, or some other form of contamination.

Schilling explained her role as being the “go-between” for emergency services in case of disaster in Davidson and the surrounding area, including the rural municipalities of Arm River and Willner.

In the last five years, the plan has come into effect only twice. In March 2013, and again in February 2014, severe winter weather forced the closure of Highway 11.

In both cases, between 150 and 175 drivers and passengers were diverted off the highway and spent the night in space provided at the town hall, at New Life Pentecostal Assembly, or with billeting households.

Talking to the Leader last year, Schilling said the process was smoother the second time around, as more advance notice was given, allowing additional preparation time.

She completed her basic emergency course and has received additional online training since then. The EMO committee also includes two deputy co-ordinators, Mary Ann Chomyshen and Flo Shaw.

Schilling acknowledged that the job description is somewhat “vague,” but added that part of her role involves public awareness, as well as maintaining the emergency plan.

“When I first started, the actual plan had not been updated in several years,” she said, explaining that it includes contact information as well as regulations and details on obtaining emergency supplies.

Bessey said that Schilling had done an excellent job keeping the plan current, adding that she fills an essential role as “one person with the working knowledge of how things are supposed to unravel and take place.”

“Heaven forbid we have a major disaster and we didn’t have someone like that,” she said. “Everybody would be standing there and saying, ‘What do we do?’”

Following the cyclone of 1976, Mayor Noble (Ted) Old issued a request that all able persons haul any fallen trees to the nuisance grounds, or to the area near the water treatment plant, as it would take the town staff several weeks to complete the work themselves.

Power went out around 11:45 p.m. the night of the storm and was restored at noon the following day in town, with extra crews being brought in to restore service and equipment. Rural residents were without power for longer periods, and many phones remained out of service even a week after the storm.

In accordance with provincial recommendations, the town was declared a disaster area — but not until June 8, five days after the storm struck. This gives some indication of how much emergency response measures have changed in the decades since.

The Leader reported at the end of June 1976 that much of the debris had been cleaned up, but estimated that thousands of man-hours were still required to build new bins, barns and other buildings across the district.