In any emergency, first responders will be dealing with those most affected. All residents need to be prepared to take care of themselves and their families for a minimum of 72 hours. Could you do that if you need to? Preparing now could make all the difference in keeping you, your loved ones, and your property safe.
For people with disabilities or special needs, additional advice on how to prepare for emergencies is available through Public Safety Canada’s Emergency Preparedness Guide for People with Disabilities/ Special Needs.
Make an Emergency Plan
Creating a plan will ensure that you and your family members know what to do and who to call in an emergency. To start making your plan:
- Collect health and medication information for your family.
- Designate safe exits from your home and neighbourhood.
- Designate a safe meeting place to reunite with family or roommates.
- Designate someone to pick up children should you be unavailable.
- Designate a safe place for your pet to stay.
- Make sure you have a supply of flashlights and batteries.
- Collect insurance documents, important phone numbers, etc. Pick a safe place to store them.
- Make a list of contact persons close by and out of town.
For help making a full emergency plan for you and your family, use the Government of Canada’s guide.
Get a 72-Hour Emergency Kit
In an emergency, responders must assist those in immediate danger first. A 72-hour kit holds basic supplies to support you and your family in an emergency for 3 days. Basic items to include in your kit include:
- Food that won't spoil, such as canned food, energy bars and dried foods (ensure you have food that doesn’t require cooking in the event of an electrical outage)
- Manual can opener
- Wind-up or battery-powered flashlight (and extra batteries)
- Wind-up or battery-powered radio (and extra batteries)
- First aid kit
- Extra keys for your car and house
- Cash (including change)
- Important family documents such as identification, insurance and bank records
- Emergency plan - include a copy in your kit as well as contact information
- Water – two litres of water per person per day (include small bottles)
For a complete list of what to include in your kit: