Preparing for an Emergency

Knowing the risks in your community can help you prepare. Potential risks in Perth County include:

• Severe weather and other meteorological events
• Major accidents
• Infrastructure failures
• Disease outbreaks
• Intentional acts

An emergency plan will help you and your family know what to do in case of an emergency. It only takes 20 minutes to complete a personalized plan online. You can then print it out. Most of this information can be filled out on your own. You may need to get some information from the municipality.

To fill out your home emergency plan, you will need to think about:

• Safe exits from your home and neighbourhood
• Meeting places to reunite with family or roommates
• Designated person to pick up children should you be unavailable
• Contact persons close by and out of town
• Special health needs
• Place for your pet to stay
• Risks in your community
• Location of you fire extinguisher, water valve, electrical box, gas valve and floor drain

Keep this document in an easy to find, easy to remember place (for example, with your emergency kit). Photocopy this plan and keep it in your car and/or at your work.

Everyone should be prepared to take care of themselves and their families for up to three days in the event of an emergency or disaster. Ensure you are ready by preparing an emergency kit.

Basic emergency kit checklist:

Water - two litres of water per person per day (include small bottles)

Food that won't spoil, such as canned food, energy bars and dried foods (replace once a year)

Manual can opener

Wind-up or battery-powered flashlight (and extra batteries)

Wind-up or battery-powered radio (and extra batteries)

First aid kit

Extra keys for your car and house

Cash, travellers' cheques and change

Important family documents such as identification, insurance and bank records

Emergency plan - include a copy in your kit as well as contact information

The Perth County Emergency Management Plan outlines how the County and its emergency response agencies will coordinate themselves to respond to, and help the County recover from, a large scale emergency. It outlines roles, responsibilities, procedures and guidelines that will be followed to protect the health, safe and well-being of Perth County residents.

Children in particular can feel the stress of emergencies deeply and may react in different ways. The key to helping your children cope is simply by being there and making them feel safe.

Learn how to help kids prepare for emergencies.

It is important to prepare for your pet in the event of an emergency.

While disasters and emergencies affect everyone, their impact on people with disabilities/special needs is often compounded by factors such as reliance on electrical power, elevators, accessible transportation and accessible communication – all of which can be compromised in emergency situations.

Please review the Emergency Preparedness Guide for People with Disabilities/Special Needs.

Be prepared for winter driving and always keep a winter survival kit in your car.  Kits should include:

• charged phone
• water
• non-perishable food
• flashlight
• blanket and warm clothes
• jumper cables
• shovel
• traction mats or sand
• candles and a lighter or matches

You may be instructed to “shelter-in-place” if chemical, biological or radiological contaminants are released into the environment. This means you must remain inside your home or office and protect yourself there. The following steps will help maximize your protection:

• Close and lock all windows and exterior doors
• Turn off all fans, heating and air-conditioning systems to avoid drawing in air from the outside
• Close the fireplace damper
• Get your emergency kit and make sure the radio is working
• Go to an interior room that's above ground level (if possible one without windows)
• Using duct or other wide tape, seal all cracks around the door and any vents into the room
• Continue to monitor your radio or television until you are told all is safe or are advised to evacuate