06 Sep
News

Emergency Preparedness Plans For Your Entire Family

Recently, in 2009, central and southern Ontario was besieged by numerous tornados. Eleven of these twisters touched ground. They damaged over 600 homes. In 2006, three storm systems roared up the west coast of Canada. Heavy winds and rain left over 240,000 people with no electricity, according to the Edmonton Sun.

Natural disasters can happen to anyone at anytime. Canada has experienced raging forest fires, devastating earthquakes, rising flood waters, and avalanches. While the government of Canada implements several emergency programs to help the residents, you can do your part in protecting yourself and your family by engaging in emergency preparedness. Here are 3 tips that will help you and your family during a disaster.

Emergency Planning Tip #1: Know What Natural Disasters Happen In Your Region

If you live on the coast of British Columbia, you will be affected by earthquakes more than if you lived in the provinces of Manitoba, Alberta, or Saskatchewan. Avalanches may be a common occurrence along the Canadian Rockies than it would be for people who live in Nova Scotia. Your location makes a difference on the types of natural disasters you may see.

For this reason, you need to do your research concerning what natural disasters affect your region. When you know what you might experience, you can properly plan escape routes and emergency kits with what you truly need in case you are in the middle of a disaster area.

Emergency Planning Tip #2: Prepare An Emergency Kit

Everyone should have at least one emergency preparedness kit inside their home and keep a second kit inside your vehicle. This ensures that if you have to evacuate your home and you leave the kit behind, you will still have one in easy reach. In addition, if you are out driving to work or home and get caught in a natural disaster, you will have the supplies you need to keep safe.

Store the basic items in your emergency preparedness kit. The kit should hold these following items:

• 2 liters of water per person to use per day;

• Blankets;

• Flashlights;

• Can opener;

• First Aid kit;

• Prescription medications;

• Extra cash;

• Copies of important personal information such as medical records, birth certificates, and passports.

Place all these things in a backpack or suitcase that you can easily carry along wherever you go. Make sure medications, cash, documents, and flashlights are placed in waterproof containers. You should also consider taking along portable radios to hear the latest news updates, toilet paper, and canned food according to the Government of Canada’s Health Canada website.

Emergency Planning Tip #3: Have An Escape Route

If you need to leave your home immediately during a fire or earthquake, you should set up an escape route plan to ensure your entire family gets out of the house safely. Create and review escape route plans with every family member so they know how to get outside safely. You should also set up a meeting place that everyone should go to so the entire family can meet at a safe location away from the danger.

Emergency Preparedness Increases Your Chances Of Staying Safe

With just a few minutes of planning, you can make sure you and your family will survive whenever a natural disaster strikes. While disasters can happen in a matter of seconds, you can increase your chances in staying safe and having the things you need until the disaster is over by having an emergency kit and a solid escape plan.

 

 

05 Jun
News

We Didn’t Prepare for this Emergency… Now What?

Emergency Preparedness is a very important focus for many people, and not so important to others. If one is thinking of some sort of emergency preparedness and just doesn’t know where to start, it will take a bit of research. It will depend on how extensive one wants to be prepared. Does one want the bare essentials, flash light, batteries, emergency radio, fresh water, first aid kit and blankets, or do they prefer an emergency supply of equipment from gas masks to a year’s supply of food? The prospects of emergency preparedness can be confusing and complicated to most citizens, and expensive. There are emergency kits prepared for a few hours or up to a year.

It is difficult to understand the complexity of all the different ways to prepare for emergencies. One can do the least or the most, in being prepared. One can spend $10.00 or up to any amount of money, if they plan on building a bunker somewhere way underground.

Dehydrated and or freeze-dried foods and ice-cream, to first aid kits including anything and everything could mean life or death in some circumstances. Companies have specially designed earthquake kits and hurricane kits. Space blanks can be ordered to assure sufficient warmth. If one is really serious about having everything, they should purchase water filters and purifiers, water barrels and storage cases. After a catastrophic event such as a level five tornado or a large scale earthquake, a water test kit is essential for survival. All first aid kits should include flashlights, emergency radio, light sticks, potassium iodide, and security supplies, such as a hand gun, body warmers, lanterns, and batteries. If one is well supplied for a year and finds themselves in the epicenter of a major earthquake, then what?

If one wants to stockpile food items, most of these have a shelf life of over 20 years. One must remember that a year’s supply of food, water and equipment may be difficult to move and especially if one has to move in hurry and they do not have time to gather their supplies. No one really knows what the future holds, and no one knows what kind of situation they may find themselves in. Everyone has their own ideas about emergency preparedness that makes them feel comfortable, secure and safe. At the very least have a portable first aid kit, flashlight, gallon of water and blanket ready to go., and always keep the car filled with gas, (in case it can be used).