Residents encouraged to create an Emergency Preparedness Plan!

The start of a New Year is a time when lots of people re-evaluate, re-assess, and re-organize. It is also a really great time to refresh your family's Emergency Preparedness Plan! Don't have a plan? It is also a great time to create one!

"Ensuring that you and your family are prepared for a possible emergency is a great way to start off a New Year. Please take the time to Know your Risks, Make a Plan, and Get an Emergency Kit. You may never have to use it, but if you do, it will be more than worth the time," said Ray Lux, Bruce County Emergency Management Coordinator.

Emergencies can happen at any time and there may be no warning. Having a Family Emergency Preparedness Plan ensures that your family knows what to do in the event they have to shelter in place at home, or what to do if they are not at home when an event happens. Give yourself some peace of mind for 2025 and sit down with your family to create or refresh your Emergency Preparedness Plan. It takes three basic steps.

Step 1 - Know the Risks
What are the risks where you live? Is the area prone to tornados, severe winter storms, flooding? In recent years, risks such as Cyber incidents and Human Health Emergencies have become more prominent in people's assessment of risk.

Step 2 - Make a Plan
Plan for how you would care for your family and keep them safe for a number of days. Emergency services may be overloaded and unable to assist immediately. Being able to sustain your family for a period of time ensures those services can focus their efforts on those who need them most.

But what if you aren't all at home when the emergency occurs? Make a plan for where you would meet or contact each other. Know what your children's school's emergency plan entails.

Talk to your neighbours about having a neighbourhood plan. Relying on others or assisting others often becomes a necessity in the event of an emergency. Plan for it ahead of time!

Step 3 - Get an Emergency Kit
Emergencies can often be accompanied by power outages, and communications or water failures. Support your Emergency Plan by having the items required to sustain your family over a period of time. Kits can be created from items you have on hand, or they can be purchased from stores or online. Make sure they are stored in an easily accessible location and that they are portable in the event of an evacuation.

Discover more from Government of Canada Emergency Management.
Discover more about Emergency Preparedness at www.brucecounty.on.ca/getprepared.