Emergency Preparedness Week – For Households

Emergency preparedness week is a national event in Canada. It is an opportunity for communities and organizations to come together and learn about emergency preparedness. It is a great time to put together an emergency plan, and make sure emergency supplies are in place and up to date.

Emergency preparedness week usually takes place during the first full week of May. For 2023, this is May 7 – 13.

If you have picked up a newspaper or gone online in the last couple of years, you know that emergencies happen every day. We all hope that they happen somewhere else, but every now and then, one inevitably comes knocking.

Forest fires, floods, storms, blizzards, earthquakes, tsunamis, power outages, and tornados are all events that happen, somewhere, every year. Emergency preparedness is a kind of insurance – something you put in place to mitigate any disasters that do happen. We all hope we’ll never need our plans or supplies, but they can bring peace of mind and make emergency events easier.

Participating in emergency preparedness week is a good, quick way to ensure that you are ready, all year long.

1. Make sure you understand your local hazards. Check your municipality or provincial websites and think back on what emergencies have affected your area in the past.
2. Review your emergency plan. Make sure all members of your household understand the procedures they should follow.
3. Check on your emergency supplies. Does anything need replacing? Are consumables going to expire soon? Do you need more supplies to accommodate a growing family or household?
4. Post on social media using the hashtag #EPWeek and encourage your followers to check their own emergency preparedness supplies.