Emergency Preparedness

Emergency Preparedness

Emergencies can happen at any time and without warning. Be ready. With a little preparation, you can respond quickly to help yourself and others. Understand the risks in your area, create a household emergency plan and build an emergency kit.

Emergency Response Plan

Every official, municipal department and agency must be prepared to carry out assigned responsibilities in an emergency. The Emergency Response Plan is developed and maintained to respond to an emergency. This includes steps to guide the response effort, identifies persons, equipment, and resources for activation in an emergency and outlines how they will be coordinated. View the Emergency Response Plan here. 

Emergency Kits

In an emergency, you will need some basic supplies. You may need to get by without power or tap water. Be prepared to be self-sufficient for at least 72 hours.

You may have some of the items already, such as food, water and a battery operated or wind-up flashlight. The key is to make sure they are organized and easy to find. Would you be able to find your flashlight in the dark? Make sure your kit is easy to carry and everyone in the household knows where it is. Keep it in a backpack, duffle bag or suitcase with wheels, in an easy-to-reach, accessible place, such as your front-hall closet. If you have many people in your household, your emergency kit could get heavy.

It's a good idea to separate some of these supplies in backpacks. That way, your kit will be more portable and each person can personalize his or her own grab-and-go emergency kit.

More Information

• Get an emergency kit!
• Emergency car kit
• Where to buy an emergency kit

For more information on how your family can prepare for an emergency please visit the Emergency Management Ontario website.