Tips to Preparing an Emergency Response and Recovery Plan
Photo by Joel Muniz on Unsplash
Prepared BC, B.C.’s emergency preparedness education program serving the general public, local governments, Indigenous communities and schools, offers advice and resources on their website to help create a plan for your household.
The website looks in detail at the five elements of preparing and recovering from a community emergency:
Know the hazards and make a plan
Prepare emergency supplies
Find guides and resources
Learn what happens in an evacuation
Financial assistance after a disaster
Knowing which hazards you need to plan for is the first step to getting prepared. The hazard map shows the key types of hazard to be prepared for in your area of B.C.: seasonal hazards such as floods, wildfires, severe weather (cold or hot), and avalanches; and year-round hazards such as earthquakes and tsunamis, landslides, power outages, pandemics and disease breakouts, and hazardous material spills.
Following a disaster, it may be necessary either to stay at home with an emergency kit or to leave immediately with a ‘grab-and-go’ bag. This page outlines an emergency kit supply list, explains how to create a ‘grab-and-go’ bag, and stresses the importance of having water supplies available. Three videos explain:
Emergency Kit vs. Grab-and-Go Bag – What’s the Difference?
What to pack in your Grab-and-Go Bag
Building an emergency kit? Think “Camping at Home”.
If the cost of putting together emergency supplies is a barrier, there is a separate page on how to build up a kit gradually in cost-effective ways.
Emergency Plan: The first step is drafting an emergency plan. The site offers a fill-in-the-blanks plan (PDF) that can be completed in a weekend or a couple of evenings.
Food and Water: The recommendation is to start building the kit with essentials like food and water, then work on adding items over time as your budget allows. If a group of friends or neighbours can get together to prepare, then it is easier to take advantage of bulk buying and of in-store promotions for things like flats of water, canned and other non-perishable foods, pet food, personal hygiene items, etc.
Phone chargers: “Before you go shopping, check that junk drawer for extra phone chargers, connection cords and battery packs. These items don’t have to be new or state of the art.”
First Aid Kit: “Try building your own first aid kit using extra items you may have tucked away like bandages, sterile gauze pads, adhesive tape, antiseptic wipes or soap, tweezers and scissors.” A purchased basic first aid kit ($15 - $25) can be customized by adding items to meet your family’s specific needs.
Seasonal Clothing: Look in your closets for rarely used items that you can use to add to your kit and look out for useful items at thrift stores.
Garbage Bags and Plastic Ties: Dollar stores are a good place to stock up on foil blankets, rain ponchos, dust masks, tarps, zap straps, rope, utility knives, whistles, can openers, wipes, garbage bags and work gloves.
Batteries: The site recommends, “This is one item you may not want to scrimp on. Look for good quality batteries with a longer shelf life; this will save money over time. Keep an eye out for sales, promotions and coupons.”
Flashlight: “In an emergency, you want a sturdy and reliable flashlight. You can pick up hand-crank, solar and battery-powered flashlights ranging from $5 to $30 from big box or online retailers.”
Radio: “Having a radio that isn’t reliant on electricity during an emergency is key.” These can be purchased new, but it is also worth looking out for older, battery-powered radios at thrift stores and garage sales, checking that they are functional and working properly.
The household emergency kit is the first priority. Once it is completed, then start to build ‘grab-and-go’ bags (smaller versions of the emergency kit) that you can easily access at home, work, or in your vehicle if you need to leave immediately in the event of an emergency.
Extreme heat is now becoming a regular threat, and pregnant women, infants, and young children are amongst those especially at risk in these conditions. Again, it is important to start by making a plan.
“If you are at risk and you live in a building or residence that gets very hot, with sustained internal temperatures of 31 degrees or higher, plan to go elsewhere during an Extreme Heat Emergency.” Check what places near you in your community are places that can be visited to get cool, such as libraries, community centres, shopping malls, movie theaters, religious centres, parks and other shaded green spaces.
Even if your home is lower than 31 degrees, it is wise to be prepared to stay in the coolest part of your home and to focus on keeping that one location cool. “Start by identifying a room that’s typically coolest and consider how you can modify the layout to support sleeping and day-to-day living for the duration of the heat event.”
Thermal curtains, or window coverings (e.g. cardboard, especially if it can be put up outside the window) can help to reduce internal heat. Use fans to help move cooler air indoors during the late evening and early morning hours, but remember that a fan is not an effective personal cooling device.
If you have access to air conditioning in your residence, make use of it during this time.
Set up a buddy system with a friend or neighbour to check in regularly, especially if you are the only adult at home in your household.
If an Extreme Heat Emergency has been issued, put your plan into action:
Relocate to a cooler location if you have planned to do so.
Reconfigure the coolest location in your home so you can sleep there at night.
Check in with your pre-identified heat buddy. If you don’t have one, reach out.
Put up external window covers to block the sun if you can safely do so.
Close your curtains and blinds.
Ensure digital thermometers have batteries.
Make ice and prepare jugs of cool water.
Keep windows closed between 10 am and 8 pm. Open them at 8 pm to allow cooler air in, and use fans (including kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans) to move cooler air through the house.
If you don’t have access to air conditioning:
Sleep with a wet sheet or in a wet shirt.
Take cool baths or showers to draw heat from your body.
Drink plenty of water, regardless of whether you feel thirsty. Be aware that sugary or alcoholic drinks cause dehydration.
If you are taking medication or have a health condition, ask your doctor or pharmacist if it increases your health risk in the heat and follow their recommendations.
If your doctor limits the amount you drink or has you on water pills, ask how much you should drink when the weather gets hot.
Warning Signs
If you’re experiencing symptoms, such as rapid breathing and heartbeat, extreme thirst, and decreased urination with unusually dark yellow urine, take immediate steps to cool down and seek emergency care:
Get medical attention or call 911
Submerge yourself or the person you are helping in cool water
Remove clothes and apply wet cloths.