Emergency Preparedness Week - May 6-12
Its EP Week, don’t ya know. What’s that? Its an annual reminder that we all should be personally prepared – at home, at work, and in-between, to survive a significant regional disaster on our own without the help of emergency services for at least a week.
It takes very little planning and forethought to make sure you have enough water and food on hand, and other basic essentials, to survive a week without power or additional groceries or running tap water. Yet despite how easy it is to prepare, few are prepared.
Think back to the residents of New Orleans two summers ago and then consider what Vancouver would be like after a 7.0 or 8+ magnitude earthquake, and you would more or less correctly envision the situation here in Vancouver – access to the city cut off, supplies limited and scarce within hours.
A big quake (or an industrial spill or power outage or…) Could happen 10 minutes from now. So start preparing.
Live in Vancouver? Attend one of these free emergency preparedness “how-to” sessions (to register, call the community centre):
- Tuesday, May 8 at 7 pm, West End Community Centre (604) 257–8333
- Wednesday, May 9 at 7 pm, Renfrew Community Centre (604) 257–8388
- Saturday May 12 at 10 am, Trout Lake Community Centre (604) 257–6955
- Saturday May 19 at 2 pm, West End Community Centre (604) 257–8333
- Wednesday May 16 at 7 pm, Dunbar Community Center (604) 222–6060
- Wednesday June 6 at 7 pm, Kits Community Centre (604) 257–6976
Resources:
- West End Residents Association, Emergency Preparedness information
- Vancouver’s Neighbourhood Emergency Preparedness Program, information on other course dates.
- Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services offers a home emergency kit checklist
- Families for School Seismic Safety, May 7th update for EP Week, includes a reference to the VSB BIG ONE earthquake drill Tuesday May 10th at 2pm
- EPWeek.ca, a national site with links to programs in jurisdictions across Canada.