If something were to happen, could you go 72 hours in your home?
This week is emergency preparedness week, and the City of Hamilton is asking residents to be ready “just in case”, with the help of a free online planner.
An emergency could happen at any time, anywhere.
From an extreme weather event, like the 2022 winter blizzard, last summer’s raging forest fires in Northern Ontario, a public health emergency like 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns, or an energy emergency, like the 2003 blackout.
That’s why this week, from May 5 to May 11, is National Emergency Preparedness Week.
The week is supported by Public Safety Canada. This year’s theme is ‘Be Prepared, Know Your Risks’, with a focus on knowing potential emergencies that could happen in your region.
The city of Hamilton identified the following list as the risks the city could face:
- Hazardous materials incident/spills from transportation or industrial accidents, where a chemical is spilled or released
- Flooding, from either a river or body of water
- Human health emergency or outbreak, from water or food contamination, human or animal-borne diseases, epidemics or influenza
- Energy supply emergency, where the power supply, production or transportation of electricity, natural gas or oil is disrupted
- An extreme ice storm
- Large scale explosions or fires
- A train crash or collision
- A critical telecommunications crash that makes emergency lines unavailable
The city outlines responses to each of these potential city-wide emergencies, and asks residents to make a personal plan just in case.
The city suggests things like making an emergency home escape plan, make copies of important documents, have emergency contact numbers written down in your safety plan.
It also provides a checklist for items you need to stay home for 72 hours, including water, shelf stable food, a can opener, batteries, a hand crank radio, playing cards, and a cellphone power bank, among other things.
The document also provides guidelines for emergency kits for pets and vehicles.
To find out more about the city’s emergency preparedness plans and suggestions, visit the city website.
