NIVERVILLE, Man. — People affected by the natural gas rupture in southeast Manitoba are turning to social media to make sure everyone is safe and cared for.
A Facebook group for Niverville residents has more than 3,300 members. Many of the posts over the past few days centre around natural gas updates and offers of space heaters or a warm place to stay.
“We had extra room and the kids love having company … We thought it would be fun,” said Lauren Wiebe, who opened up her home after natural gas to Niverville was cut Saturday.
Wiebe posted the offer of space on Facebook. She also made cookies and soup for people who wanted a warm meal.
“It was pretty cold in the house this morning, so now they can play somewhere where it’s warm until the house warms up again,” said Carolien Rodrigo, who had no natural gas and was staying with Wiebe during the day.
Keri Heiland was also waiting for gas to be restored. She is using Facebook to make sure everyone in town is taken care of.
“It’s probably one of the fastest ways to get information out quickly and works better than an email or phone call in a lot of situations,” she said.
Heiland has created a list of people who responded to a call for volunteers she put out on social media.
“Time, blankets, food — whatever they wanted to volunteer,” said Heiland, who has shared the list with the town office.
Myron Dyck, a Niverville councillor, said a staff member from the town is monitoring Facebook to make sure an one requesting help receives it.
He said he isn’t surprised how Facebook is being used in the community.
“Around 75 per cent of our population is under the age of 40, so they are growing up with this,” Dyck said.
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