Emergency Preparedness 18

While working abroad with the Guyana government, Heather Fehr came across the work of the Guyana Red Cross as she was working on community development projects with the isolated Amerindian populations in the Amazon rainforest.

The American Red Cross is currently providing support across the Hawaiian Islands as people start to clean up from Tropical Storm Iselle.

If a disaster were to strike in your community which left you and your family without electricity, would you have enough non-perishable food items to keep nourished until help arrived, potentially 72 hours later? Sault Ste.Marie's Disaster Dining Challenge shows you how!

Are you prepared in times of emergency? Canadian families should have supplies and resources to take care of themselves in disasters until help arrives.
Take this short quiz to determine how prepared you are in case disaster strikes.

Red Crosser Nicole Robicheau discusses the importance of being prepared when deployed to respond to an emergency here at home or abroad. Here is a Q&A with the international traveler:

As rain continues to fall on the already saturated ground throughout Southern Alberta this week, Red Cross staff and volunteers are providing relief to the many individuals and families impacted by rising rivers and wide-spread flooding. Red Crossers are in communities, mobilizing supplies such as cots, hygiene kits and blankets, assisting with a reception centre and shelter, and registering evacuees to ensure they receive the help they need. The effects of flooding can be devastating, but there are ways for individuals to help keep themselves safe.

As the Alberta Flood anniversary approaches, we at Red Cross are naturally focused on the work still ahead of us. That’s because we know hundreds of families are still struggling to recover.  Even now, people arrive at our offices with heartbreaking stories. Often, their financial credit is maxed out and they don’t know where else to turn. In the midst of this need, it can be tough to take time to recognize everything that’s already been accomplished during the Canadian Red Cross Alberta Flood response. But of course, that’s equally important. So today, Red Cross says a special thank you to all the staff and volunteers who work so hard to help others.

Slabs of fresh sod draw subtle lines along the High River field where Andrea Vasquez’s kids play soccer now. Just as the park shows few signs of last year’s devastating floods, Vasquez says her family also refuses to be defined by the disaster.