Communities throughout British Columbia are subject to many types of disasters. While we hope that such occurrences never happen, it has been shown time and time again that it's better to be prepared if disaster occurs.
Take time as a family to talk about the types of hazards that may have an impact on you directly at home, at work, and school. Do some research to help identify hazards around you. Review the City of Abbotsford "Know Your Hazards Information booklet, this is a great Document – but not all hazards may affect you.
Get together with your family and discuss why you need to be prepared and have a plan. Ensure to create this plan with all members of your household – it will help them to remember the plan.
Develop a household communication and reunification plan so that you maintain contact with one another even if you’re not together.Discuss the types of hazards that are likely to happen and explain what to do in each case. Discuss what to do in an evacuation. Pick the places to meet – always have two ways out and two places to meet.
Places to meet
- Outside your home in case of a fire
- Outside your neighborhood in case you can’t return home due to an emergency. Make sure everyone knows the address where to get to meet and the phone number of your out-of-area contact
Put your plan into action
- Teach children how and when to call 911. Make sure they know how to dial on your cell phone.
- Show each member of the household how and when to turn off water, gas, and electricity by the main switches
- Check for adequate insurance coverage
- Install an ABC fire extinguisher in your home and teach family members how to use it and where it is kept
- Install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors on each level of your home
- Stock (and rotate) emergency supplies to ensure they are useful in the event of an emergency
- Find a safe spot in your home for each disaster
Having a Plan, knowing your plan, and practicing your plan will give you and your family peace of mind. Do your part to keep yourself and your family safe
- Review your plans every six months so everyone remembers what to do
- Conduct fire and emergency evacuation drills
- Test and recharge your fire extinguisher according to the manufacturer's instructions
- Test your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors every month, replace batteries every six months
- Replace stored water and food every six month
Evacuation plans may be different for each emergency. Planning is vital to ensure that you can evacuate quickly and safely regardless of the circumstances
- Listen to reliable media outlets for up-to-date information
- When warnings are being issued – heed to them and get ready
- Plan how you will leave, know more than one way out of your neighbourhood
- Identify several places you could go in an emergency – such as friends or family member's home in another town or a safer, unaffected part of your City
- If you have pets, plan ahead - a care plan – not all emergency shelters or commercial lodging will take pets
- Always follow the instructions of local officials and remember your evacuation route may be on foot depending on the type of disaster
- Get your grab-and-go bag ready and ensure it can be carried
- Always keep fuel in your vehicle at half tank for more
- Plan to take ONE car per family to reduce delay
- Have an emergency kit in your vehicle – stocked and ready to use
- If you don’t have a vehicle, be aware of other methods of evacuating that may NOT rely on public transit – plan with a neighbor or friend for a ride or prepare to leave on foot