City of Dawson chief administrative officer David Henderson said the latest flood season in the Yukon’s Klondike Valley saw a more coordinated emergency response than the previous year, but even better communications and preparation are key.
“Partly due to circumstances, we did not have as major flooding as the year before. So, our response was stronger and more organized, and the incident was less than the year before,” he said.
“Communication is always an issue that has to be focused on and it's an ongoing, evolving process.”
While communication among government agencies and the public got better during the 2024 flood season in the Klondike compared to previous years, there’s still room for improvement, according to an after-action review.
The Yukon government recently released the key findings of an after-action review for 2024 flooding in the Klondike Valley.
“Improvements can still be made to ensure inter-agency and public communication remains consistent, on time and meeting the needs of participating agencies and members of the public,” reads the release.
On April 25, the entire Klondike Valley went under an evacuation alert as a precaution in the face of ice-jam flooding. The evacuation alert applied everywhere between the confluence of the Yukon and Klondike rivers and Henderson Corner. It was later lifted.
Henderson noted the area experienced minor flooding in low-lying areas depending on localized conditions this year, compared to two significant events in 2023.
The after-action review was done between all agencies involved in monitoring and responding to the 2024 flooding, following the deactivation of the emergency control group.
Per the City of Dawson’s emergency response plan, an emergency control group comes together when a public safety concern is raised that warrants the attention of local government.
Who is involved will depend on the incident at hand.
In this case, the Yukon government, Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation, City of Dawson, RCMP, Search and Rescue, Yukon Energy Corporation, Klondike Valley Fire Department and others responded to some extent during the recent flood incident, per the territorial government release.
According to the findings, updating Dawson’s emergency response plan throughout last year benefited this year’s reaction. The plan will keep getting updated.
“Ongoing collaboration and communication are a priority for all agencies involved and will become part of an annual cycle to ensure emergency planning remains a practiced priority for all organizations,” reads the release.
Public education around preparing and responding to floods could be enhanced. That includes helping the public comprehend the different flood risk advisories and notices and advising private property owners on ways to mitigate risk ahead of flood season.
Faster deployment of resources could help, although the release notes resource deployment was effective in this case. Planning and mobilizing resources before incidents happen is essential.
The community could also benefit from coming up with a better plan to use and direct volunteers, if needed, during future incidents.
Being prepared for emergencies is critical, as noted in the release.
“Increased efforts to inform and educate residents is a high priority to ensure response and expectations are met during future events,” the release reads.
Henderson mentioned that Dawson City has had an emergency plan since 2013, but getting everyone up to date on the process, terminology and who does what, and doing tabletop exercises and running through scenarios with control groups, was more prominent this year.
Henderson noted a major difference in getting the message out to affected people using the 105.5 FM emergency broadcast channel and some mobile devices to target areas where the FM signal didn’t reach. He said it was effectively a “test case” and allows them to move towards a more permanent FM solution down the road.
“That was a significant advantage over the previous year,” he said.
— With files from Jim Elliot
Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com