City wants residents to avoid being scared by being prepared during Emergency Preparedness Week, May 5 - 11.
According to a study by Prepared B.C. in December, 2017, most British Columbians aren’t prepared for an emergency, but the city and Nanaimo Fire Rescue want to be sure residents have the right information to stay safe in the event of an emergency.
Knowing the risks, having an emergency plan and making an emergency kit are important steps to being prepared, notes a city press release. Information on creating emergency kits and plans to deal with situations that might require evacuation or staying at home without power, water and other utilities and services for several days until help arrives can be found on the City of Nanaimo website’s emergency management section at www.nanaimo.ca.
Be on the alert for an alert in Nanaimoon Wednesday, May 8, at 1:55 p.m., when test alerts are sent out across the country through Canada’s emergency alert system to TV, radio and wireless devices to demonstrate what an emergency message will sound like should a life-threatening event arise. To learn more, visit www.alertready.ca.
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“Emergencies happen when we least expect them. Additionally, climate change is causing more extreme weather events that can result in an impact to our community, including loss of power for an extended period of time,” said Karen Fry, Nanaimo Fire Rescue chief in a press release. “It is important to take steps to ensure you and your family are prepared to care for yourselves for a minimum of 72 hours, but ideally up to seven days given the geographic area where we live.”
More information is also available at City of Nanaimo website’s at this link, Preparedness B.C. at this link and at the Alert Ready emergency alert system website.
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