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As Hurricane Dorian wreaked havoc across Nova Scotia
knocking out power, downing trees and flooding roads,
Hope Landing experienced a power loss and subsequent
flooding. Water seeped into the facility disabling the
electrical control panel. To make matters worse, all the
alternate sites identified in the business continuity plans
were similarly impacted or inaccessible. Telecommunications
services were severely degraded, so it was difficult to
contact anyone quickly for help. Time was also running out
for temperature controlled medications in the facility.
It was the perfect storm for Hope Landing.

A Visible Champion
Shelly Stevens is the Local Incident Commander for Hope
Landing. Through intermittent text messaging, Shelly was
able to contact BCMO and provide a situational report. The
immediate priority was to safely relocate the residents and
then protect medications from deterioration. As per the Figure 9: The author developing the action plan for Hope
Landing. Note “change is not a good thing” has been
business continuity plan, next of kin for each ward must scribed on the whiteboard to serve as a reminder.
be notified as soon as possible (that was a difficult task Source: personal photograph.
given the telecommunication outage). An estimate was also
needed to determine how quickly the facility could become Figure 9 : L’auteur aédilé le plan d’action pour Hope
Landing. Notez que « le changement n’est pas une bonne
operational again. chose » a été inscrit sur le tableau blanc pour servir de
rappel.
Source: photographie personnelle.
BCMO in partnership with the PCC, the Emergency
Coordinator from Municipality of Lunenburg, provincial Risk
Management, provincial Building Services and Nova Scotia Power, developed an action plan to repair and restore Hope
Landing; but the plan was hindered by several challenges.
It was difficult for repair crews to restore power lines
until the winds had subsided and felled trees cleared. The
damaged electrical panel required a qualified electrician and
parts, both resources not immediately found in the vicinity
and difficult to acquire on a hurricane havocked weekend.
The facility did not have a portable generator and even if a
generator was found, hauling it onsite was difficult through
the flooded roads. Early estimates for recovery suggested
a few days, given all the other ongoing disruptions from
the storm, hence the displaced residents would have to be
relocated for an extended period. The local hotels were
at full capacity or unable to accept the residents due to
liability concerns.

Most importantly, for their mental health – the wards
required specialized supervision and a safe environment
for their daily activities. Shelly noted during the planning
session, “change is not a good thing, the mental health of
the displaced residents is top priority, we cannot disrupt
routines of the wards in care. It is vital an alternate site be
established that can support the continuity of established
regimens”.

With a list of challenges that was growing exponentially
and business continuity options shrinking at the same
rate, and time running out by the hour, BCMO was able to
leverage relationships and secure a hotel willing to accept
the displaced residents. The wards and support staff were
moved to the alternate site, efforts focused on quickly

36 Return to TOC True North RESILIENCE magazine - Spring 2023