Disaster strikes? How volunteers are training in Woodstock to help

Disaster is coming to Woodstock, Ont., on Saturday — but there's nothing to fear, it's all been carefully planned. 

For the possibility of tornadoes, snow storms and floods, volunteers from across the province are simulating a disaster this weekend to hone their emergency response skills. 

On Saturday, Woodstock's Southside Park will transform into a disaster zone for the day.

"Everything has to be timed almost to the second to make sure that things go off without a hitch," said Trevor McLellan, an emergency disaster services specialist with The Salvation Army and organizer of the exercise. 

From Hurricane Fiona to the derecho storm in May, The Salvation Army's emergency disaster services team responds to extreme weather events across the province and beyond. They're teaming up with the London Search and Rescue and Woodstock Sea Cadets for Saturday's simulated disaster response training.

"We're fortunate in southwestern Ontario that we don't have a lot of large scale disasters," he said. "We need to practice them because we don't get the regular sort-of day-to-day practice of doing this stuff, so we manufacture disaster."

With extreme weather becoming more frequent, they expect disasters to happen more often, said McLellan. He spent eight months planning the for the weekend training. 

LISTEN | The Salvation Army's Trevor McLellan tells London Morning host Rebecca Zandbergen about disaster response training:

Volunteers have "no idea what they're getting themselves into," he said. While McLellan wouldn't disclose what the disaster would be, he said it will be based on a historical Woodstock event from 1979. 

"It's a weather emergency and they're going to have to figure out how to deal with the situations that come up over the course of the day," he said. 

Food and emotional support are top priority in emergencies for The Salvation Army. People often think of first responders and search and rescues in disasters, he said, but "people still need to be fed."

The Salvation Army responds with canteen trucks and volunteers to cook food and serve it to people, along with emotion support. 

"It's everybody's worst day when a tornado or hurricane or a flood comes through and people need someone to talk to," he said. Trained volunteers offer emotional and spiritual support, something that paramedics and police officers don't have time to do during a large disaster, he said.

To simulate the training, they've done casting and have a group of volunteers role playing for the day.