Are you prepared for an emergency?
403-603-6300
Clayton Terletski, Directory of Emergency Management - email
Emergency Prepareness Links:
Is Your Family Prepared?
Get Prepared (pdf)
Alberta Emergency Management Agency
Weather Warnings
River Flow and Precipitation Conditions
Alberta Wildfires
Health Canada
National Emergency Preparedness Week
First Week of May (annually)
The National Emergency Preparedness Week campaign aims to teach people the value of emergency planning, why every family should be prepared to survive for 72 hours during an emergency, and simple things anyone can do to be prepared.
Why?
PUBLIC SAFETY BEGINS AT HOME! Individual and family preparedness can greatly reduce the potential impact of an emergency.
A blackout or severe weather and other natural or manmade disasters can have serious and tragic consequences.
When disaster strikes, emergency workers may not reach everyone immediately, or even for several days. Families should be prepared to take care of themselves for a minimum of 72 hours.
How to prepare for emergencies:
- KNOW the risks specific to your community.
- DEVELOP a family emergency plan and practice it.
- PREPARE an emergency kit for your home and your vehicle.
KNOW what kind of risks we face in Alberta?
In Alberta, a tornado can strike quickly with significant damage. Wildfires can threaten communities and restrict movement. Heavy rains can cause flash flooding. In addition to natural disasters there are other types of risks. There are power outages, industrial and major transportation incidents. As well, there is the possibility of intentional acts including terrorism on Canadian soil. The following hazards could happen in your community.
- Avalanche
- Earthquake
- Flood
- Infectious disease outbreak
- Landslide
- Power outage
- Severe weather
- Tornado
- Wildfire
DEVELOP an emergency plan (pdf)
A family emergency plan will help you and your family know what to do in case of an emergency. Every Canadian household needs an emergency plan.
It will take you about 20 minutes to complete your personalized plan online. You can then print it out. Before starting your home emergency plan, you will need to think about:
- Safe exits from home and neighbourhood
- Meeting places to reunite with family or roommates
- Designated person to pick up children should you be unavailable
- Contact persons close-by and out-of-town
- Health information
- Place for your pet to stay
- Risks in your region
- Location of your fire extinguisher, water valve, electrical box, gas valve and floor drain
PREPARE a basic emergency kit
You may have some of these basic emergency kit items already, such as a flashlight, battery-operated radio, food, water and blankets. The key is to make sure they are organized, easy to find and easy to carry (in a suitcase with wheels or in a backpack) in case you need to evacuate your home. Whatever you do, don't wait for a disaster to happen.
Easy to carry - think of ways that you can pack your emergency kit so that you and those on your emergency plan can easily take the items with you, if necessary.
- Water - two litres of water per person per day (Include small bottles that can be carried easily in case of an evacuation order)
- Food - that won't spoil, such as canned food, energy bars and dried foods (remember to replace the food and water once a year)
- Manual can opener
- Flashlight and batteries
- Battery-powered or wind-up radio (and extra batteries)
- First aid kit
- Special needs items - prescription medications, infant formula or equipment for people with disabilities
- Extra keys - for your car and house
- Cash - include smaller bills, such as $10 bills (travellers cheques are also useful) and change for payphones
- Emergency plan - include a copy of it and ensure it contains in-town and out-of-town contact information.