(OTTAWA) Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said emergency weather alerts broadcast over the mobile network should be improved to ensure they reach the right people at the right time.
Posted at 5:27 p.m.
Mr. Guilbeault says the main difficulty is to ensure that the warnings are sent when people need to be careful, without them being ignored.
He says such conversations could become part of the discussion between governments on adaptation to climate change, as severe and extreme weather events are now more common in all parts of the country.
Environment Canada first issued a cell phone alert Saturday for a thunderstorm. The storm is now known to have been a derecho, meaning a long-lasting, fast-moving widespread windstorm. The storm moved across Ontario with wind speeds in excess of 130 km/h.
There have been complaints that the warnings were not delivered soon enough or that others did not get the message at all.
At least 10 people were killed, most from falling trees, as severe weather moved from Sarnia, Ont., to Quebec in about six hours on Saturday.
Other people got stuck in their cars in Ottawa when power lines fell around them. At Canada’s Wonderland amusement park north of Toronto, people were trapped on roller coasters for nearly half an hour after the power went out.