Emergency (Page 38)

A woman is found frozen in remote Squamish, British Columbia. The story of her rescue seems almost impossible, combining luck with a dedicated team’s refusal to give up. 

Spending time outside is a big part of many Canadians’ winters, but there is need for precautions to make sure everyone stays warm and avoids a cold-related emergency. What’s a cold-related emergency? When a person is exposed to cold temperatures it can cause their body temperature to decrease. 

House fires are one of the most common emergencies experienced by Canadians in their home - and many of these fires occur in the winter months. Taking proper precautions can help prevent fires, and can help keep you and your family safe in the event of a house fire.

The start of the year is a perfect time to check your emergency kit to make sure everything is ready to go if it’s needed. 

Two weeks ago, our world looked a bit different. We were providing psycho-social support at a transit camp for refugees near Munich in Germany as part of a Canadian Red Cross team assisting the German Red Cross. There we witnessed the best of humanity, the resilience and the courage of refugees, as well as the devastating effects of conflict in home countries, and the consequences of trauma during migration.

While Germany continues to take in thousands of refugees fleeing violence in their countries, the German Red Cross welcomes them into reception centres and camps. Canadian Red Cross staff member Esther Laforte, Deputy Director, Disaster Management in Quebec, was deployed to a camp in Erding, Germany, to support the German Red Cross' refugee response efforts.

The sun is rising over the camp in Idomeni, Greece, on the border with Macedonia. It’s nearly impossible to keep count of the buses that have been arriving one after another over the last few hours. Each bus has around 50 passengers — refugees and migrants — who undertook a perilous journey in the hope of a better life. Among them are women, men, newborns, elderly people, sick children, pregnant women, people with disabilities…

​The Red Cross opened a field hospital on Saturday in the small village of Idomeni, Greece, close to the border of Macedonia, in order to provide support to refugees arriving in, and transiting through the country. Already 500 patients have been seen to date. The hospital, which has a child-friendly space, will provide basic health care, as well as psycho-social services.