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In preparing for an emergency, the Canadian Red Cross has a lot of information on how to plan for times that take us by surprise at www.redcross.ca/ready. Every household should have an emergency preparedness kit to help you get through the first 72 hours after a disaster strikes.

There’s no question that Canada has had its fair share of challenging weather over the last year. Just think back to the Alberta floods or the ice storm that hit Eastern Canada. There have been an unusually high number of severe weather situations that have kept Red Cross disaster teams on high alert across the country.

About 30 Canadian Red Cross Disaster Management volunteers and staff helped kick off Emergency Preparedness Week, May 4-10, at Toronto City Hall this week. Red Crossers were on hand to teach Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly how to set up cots for a shelter and share information to help Torontonians be ready for disasters.

Emergencies such as floods and house fires can happen to anyone, and in many cases, quite unexpectedly. That’s what Haley Overland and her family discovered this past winter when their home flooded as a consequence of the extended power outage caused by the ice storm that struck the Toronto area. She never imagined that this could happen to her and felt shock and disbelief.

Some Canadians don’t believe a disaster will happen in their community, yet, last year, many Canadians experienced disasters through events such as the Lac-Megantic derailment, Alberta floods and Toronto ice storm, as well as personal disasters like house fire or flooding. Are you prepared in case of an emergency? Join us on May 7 at 3 pm EDT for a live Twitter chat on emergency preparedness using the hashtag #BeReady.

With winter finally thawing, spring brings warmer weather as well as an increased risk of flooding. Floods are one of the most common and costly disasters in Canada, and the Canadian Red Cross is already providing support in communities affected by flooding in some parts of the country. 

Canadian Red Cross volunteer Russell Barton is motivated by knowing his actions will positively affect people in the future. That’s one of the many reasons he is a dedicated disaster management volunteer with Red Cross in Saskatchewan.

We always encourage people to know the risks, make a plan and get a kit so they can be ready for any emergency.

While much of Atlantic Canada is digging out from what has been described as a weather bomb, or spring blizzard, we thought we’d check in to see how residents of the Atlantic provinces prepared and got through the storm.