Emergency Preparedness Month - High River, AB (May 2021)

 

Sunrise on the Rockies (photo by V.A. McMillan 2021)

Last week was National Emergency Preparedness Week in Canada (https://thegoodplanblog.blogspot.com/2021/05/emergency-preparedness-week-02-08-may.html). This week is the start of week two of Emergency Preparedness Month for the Town of High River, Alberta. 

As I look westward to the Rockies, they are glistening in this morning's sunrise, covered in a fresh cap of snow from the weekend. While out here on the prairie we received mostly rain all weekend, the mountains received mostly snow. I haven't checked recently to see where the snow pack is, but we are reaching that time of year when a couple weeks of warm weather could melt all the Winter's snows in the mountains and send it into the tributaries of the local river systems. Melt too fast and there can be high water issues. Melt too fast and accompany with heavy rains for a week or so and it will be flood season. 

This is the whole point of devoting a month to emergency preparedness, keep preparedness fresh in the minds of town folk. Then if heavy rains in June wreak havoc on the river systems folks will remember everything they learned or refreshed during Emergency Preparedness Month. Or that is the theory.

Here is what is currently on the Town's website to educate and inform the town folk:

You can find that at https://highriver.ca/emergency-prep

If you follow the link to High River - Be Prepared (https://highriver.ca/be-prepared) you will find this as your starting point for gathering focused information on emergency preparedness. See screenshot below:

There is common messaging being shared in this educational campaign - Know your neighbours, Prepare a kit, and Focus on wellness. Knowing one's neighbours is a great starting point. When you do not know whom your neighbours are, then a small part of community is lost. Since success to surviving a disaster is community response; if you are not part of the community it will be more difficult. Start small, get to know the neighbours to the left of you and the right of you. Slowly, get to know a few more. Maybe have a block party or neighbourhood BBQ...build bridges and friendships. 

Remember, when developing your family emergency plan you need to think about a shelter-in-place (SIP) plan, a Get Out Of Dodge (GOOD) plan, and a "I'm never coming home" (INCH) plan. Here are a few links to past posts that may help:

SIP GOOD INCH 

https://thegoodplanblog.blogspot.com/2018/02/sip-good-inch-three-parts-of-family.html

Evacuation Checklist

https://thegoodplanblog.blogspot.com/2019/07/evacuation-checklist-appendix-n-for.html

GO! Bag - Pack List

https://thegoodplanblog.blogspot.com/2019/08/urban-go-bag-pack-lists.html

Survival Mindset (from Mountainman's Mantra Blog)

https://mtnmanblog.blogspot.com/2014/01/adapt-improvise-overcome-survival.html

Well with flood season, potentially, only weeks away now is a great time to review your family's emergency plan and make sure all the information is up-to-date and any changes have been written down. Have insurance policies or identification been updated?? Have phone contact lists noted the addition or reduction of family or friends contact numbers?? Email addresses?? Have you taken recent photos of your home?? Inside and outside?? Changed vehicles lately?? Photos?? 

Remember to update the digital copy of important family documents that are on your USB drive in your GO! Bag. 

Stay alert, stay vigilant, and stay alive!

VAM