By Russ Nelson The idea of being prepared for emergency or disaster in the home might invoke images of “Preppers” who stockpile a years worth of emergency rations and gasoline in their backyard underground bunkers anticipating an apocalyptic event, but it doesn’t have to be this way in real life. While some people may get a thrill out of going to prepping extremes like fitting children for their own gas masks and practicing “bug out drills” for when “$h!t Hits the Fan” (edited for language), realistic conversations about personal and family preparedness for the home can be started with a few key questions: Home Emergency Events
These conversations are a great way to start deciding how to organize your home to respond appropriately to disasters. Keeping everything in a vault never to be used makes no sense however, and makes it hard to ensure everything is kept up to date. Instead simple organizational methods can allow you to actually use these things on a daily basis, yet still be ready to “grab & go” if needed. Keep all of your medications in one place, and ensure you are proactive about maintaining prescriptions without running out and replacing at the last minute. Have a first aid kit, and use it when you need it. Make sure you replace items immediately after use to know it is always ready to go. Keep a simple file storage system to hold copies of all your current policy documents and identifications. All of these small “kits” can then be easily gathered in minutes during a forced evacuation without needing to sort through mountains of
records and household items. If you like camping together a few times a year, why not keep your hiking bags packed with the essentials, and simply grab your toothbrush when you head out the door? Keep some of your clothes packed in there ahead of time, and then you can go out for family vacations easily any time! Clearing the clutter can help you stay prepared, and also give you more opportunity to pursue recreational activities. Larger events in the local community or even provincial region can have significant implications when we consider the finite amount of resources available to assist people caught up in catastrophe. The idea of a 72 hour kit is a great start, but when events like severe winter weather has historically kept people isolated without power for a week, preparing for self reliance might need to take a larger perspective into account. Some questions to consider talking about to all members of your family: Community Emergency Events
Provincial/National Emergency Events
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alert Ready - The Canadian Emergency Alert Tool https://www.alertready.ca/ https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/weather-general-tools-resources/alert-ready-emergency-system.html Provincial Emergency Alert Systems & Resources: If you find any better alert resources, please add to the comments below so we can edit this document! These are the best immediate resources we can find from provincial websites. Alberta http://www.emergencyalert.alberta.ca British Columbia https://www.emergencyinfobc.gov.bc.ca Manitoba https://www.gov.mb.ca/emo/prepare/alertready.html New Brunswick http://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/news/public_alerts.html Newfoundland & Labrador https://www.gov.nl.ca/fes/emo/alerts.html Northwest Territories http://www.gov.nt.ca/newsroom/news/live-test-nwt-alert-ready-system Nova Scotia https://novascotia.ca/dma/emo/about/storm_alerts.asp Nunavut https://www.gov.nu.ca/community-and-government-services/information/nunavut-emergency-management-0 Ontario https://www.emergencymanagementontario.ca/english/ontariowarnings/ontariowarnings.html Prince Edward Island https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/en/information/justice-and-public-safety/emergency-preparedness Quebec https://alerte.securitepublique.gouv.qc.ca/en/about.html Saskatchewan http://emergencyalert.saskatchewan.ca Yukon http://www.community.gov.yk.ca/protectiveservices/plan-and-prepare.html
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