In June 2026, AMF, together with the Town of Inuvik and the North American and Arctic Defense and Security Network, hosted a tabletop exercise on community preparedness (TTX) in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada. The exercise brought together local preparedness from communities across the Arctic to test their emergency response to a scenario involving compounding crises. The TTX was held ahead of the Arctic Development Expo, which focused on the theme “Arctic Security – A Shared Responsibility.” The exercise highlighted the idea that community security, including community preparedness and human security at the local level, is a critical part of a comprehensive security approach.
By collaboratively responding to scenario developments representing compounding crises, participants shared knowledge, best practices, and examples of local resilience. The simulated severe winter storm escalated with heavy snowpack and whiteout conditions, isolating the community and causing a total electrical blackout. These developments challenged participants to develop creative response strategies.
Preparedness experts from Nordic AMF member communities Tromsø and Luleå, and a Sámi preparedness expert shared insights from their perspectives while witnessing how Inuvik, as a regional hub, facilitates community preparedness. Despite the challenging nature of the scenario, local response experts and the Town of Inuvik responded adaptively and impressively, even as additional developments were introduced.
Feedback from participants after the TTX noted that “bringing everyone to the table and testing a realistic scenario” was useful and important work.
The TTX helped highlight the strengths that Arctic communities possess and are skilled at leveraging, while also demonstrating opportunities for improvement. Specifically, the exercise reinforced the importance of coordination, communication, building on existing community strengths, and continuously increasing capacity through learning and adaptation. The Town of Inuvik has strong response plans in place to support multi-agency and multi-level coordination, including evacuations, specialized support for a maintained list of vulnerable residents, and a clear activation pathway. These plans are available to town staff through an app and proved well suited to supporting an effective response during the simulated crisis. The TTX underlined the need to ensure those plans are understood across agencies and levels of government.
Focusing on local strengths, knowledge and skills, and leveraging those strengths during times of crisis emerged as a particularly impactful approach, especially given Inuvik’s remote location, where outside assistance may be delayed. Recognizing, fostering, and utilizing these existing strengths increases community preparedness. Participants shared approaches for involving community members through both formalized processes and ad hoc engagement.
Having clear lines of communication within and between responding organizations, as well as with the public, is essential for an effective response and for countering misinformation. Participants emphasized the need for frequent, empathetic, and transparent public updates throughout the emergency, including during the recovery and reflection phases. Proactive communication can also build trust before emergencies occur. Nordic participants noted that communities with a strong baseline of trust in government information are more resilient to misinformation during a crisis, and that such trust depends on consistent and honest communication over time.
The connections made during the exercise are already contributing to our growing community of practice and increasing capacity for community preparedness across the Arctic. We are excited to continue building on the lessons from this TTX and see this type of exercise as an incredibly valuable tool for strengthening community preparedness.
We thank the Town of Inuvik and the North American and Arctic Defense and Security Network for co-organizing this exercise and inviting us to the Arctic Development Expo to present the initial results. It was a great opportunity to strengthen North-to-North connections. This exercise, and the knowledge it has helped generate, would not have been possible without the participation and support of our members.
Photograph by Tony Devlin for the Enhancing Northern Connectivity project, funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers with the generous support and co-funding of our project partners.