Alberta RCMP reminds families to prepare an emergency plan
Your Alberta RCMP is encouraging families to prepare an emergency plan in the event of a flood or wildfire. With summer around the corner, it’s important to be prepared to act quickly in case of a natural disaster.
Keep the following in mind when making an emergency plan for your family:
- Consider the specific needs of your household, including older family members, special health or mobility needs, children, pets, and service animals.
- Detail how your family will contact each other during an emergency and make sure family members have shared and saved each other’s contact information. Remember, you may not be in the same place or location when these events are taking place.
- Determine the best and quickest way to evacuate your home. Include evacuation routes, meeting or muster points, etc.
- If you can’t evacuate your home, be prepared to be self-sufficient for three days. This includes having enough food, water, and a secondary power source if possible.
- Prepare an emergency kit, or “grab-and-go-bag.” Along with water and non-perishables, your kit should include things like medications, personal hygiene items, copies of important documents, as well as a first-aid kit, manual can opener, phone charger, power bank, flashlight, extra batteries, emergency blanket, extra cash, and seasonal clothing.
- Ensure household members know the location of your emergency kit, fire extinguishers, and where water, electric, and gas utilities are located.
- Learn the emergency plans for your workplace, school, and community in case you’re not at home in the event of a disaster.
- Listen to instructions from local police and first responders on how to evacuate your neighbourhood. Don’t take shortcuts as you could end up in blocked or unsafe areas.
- If you are able, consider making an out-of-town contact, far away enough that they likely won’t be affected by the same disaster, that your family can stay with in the event of evacuation.
Practice your plan frequently so that you’re ready in case of emergency. Remember, evacuation alerts warn the public of a potential or current threat. If an alert is issued, you should prepare to evacuate. Evacuation orders are mandatory and issued when the public must leave the area for their safety.
Cpl. Troy Savinkoff
Alberta RCMP
