Manitoba premier promises examination of mobile alert system after killer Alonsa tornado
Brian Pallister says community deserves answers and promises response in the next few days
Reports of spotty cellphone service and not enough early warnings about a killer tornado will be examined by the province, Premier Brian Pallister promises.
Forcing telecommunications companies to provide broader coverage based on population, however, is "a tricky issue," Pallister told reporters Monday.
Pallister responded Tuesday to questions about the lack of warning to residents around Alonsa when a EF-4 rated tornado ripped through the area, killing one man and leaving widespread damage in its wake.
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Many Alonsa-area residents received little warning of the massive incoming tornado Friday night despite a cellphone alert system for extreme weather and Environment Canada bulletins before it touched down.
Alert Ready is a national warning system that sends out emergency notifications from government agencies via broadcast and cellphone alerts.
"There was mobile service available there two or three months ago, I understand from some of the folks I talked to yesterday. There was better service, improved service, and then it wasn't there, so I'm interested to know the background as to how that happened," Pallister said.
During a test of the Alert Ready system this spring, many mobile users didn't get the message on their devices.
When pressed on whether his government would introduce regulations to force telecommunications companies to increase service, Pallister was noncommittal and used the region hit by the tornado as an example.
"To set up year-round services requires tower construction — it's a massive investment, right? And apart from the local people, you are doing it for a seasonal influx … so it's a tough analysis. And I don't want to make commitments that we can't fulfil, of course. All of us are concerned about safety," Pallister said.
'Make sure all Manitobans are safe'
The Association of Manitoba Municipalities has been lobbying for improvements for more than a decade, president Chris Goertzen said.
"We've been advocating for some time to have government sit down with the telecommunications companies and work with them to improve service for all Manitobans," Goertzen told CBC News.
The association recognizes the market does dictate somewhat where companies set up their towers and provide service, but disasters such as the one last Friday put more focus on the need, he said.
"We want to see the government sit down and make sure all Manitobans are safe when these tragic situations occur," Goertzen said.
Pallister said he has raised concerns about spotty coverage with Bell president George Copeland and that effort will continue.
A Bell MTS spokesperson who responded to a Monday request for comment referred to a statement made by the company earlier on the weekend and declined further comment.
"We recently upgraded the wireless sites in some parts of the region with the latest LTE wireless technology (known as LTE Advanced). While service has been greatly enhanced overall, some pockets where coverage was already limited may have seen reduced coverage. We continue to look at possible solutions to enhance service in these areas," Bell-MTS spokesperson Michelle Gazze said in an email on Sunday.
The alerts only work with LTE technology, so cellphones using older technology in the Alonsa area wouldn't have received them anyway, she also said.
Pallister said cleanup efforts have started in the Alonsa region, but it was too early to say what resources would be needed to complete the work, including whether a call for help would be made to the military.