It’s always a good time to be prepared

If there’s one true thing you can say about Manitoba in the spring it’s this: the river is rising. On this day, Tobin Praznik, emergency manager for the City of Brandon has been watching it do just that.

“We’ve been keeping a close eye. The river’s been pretty dynamic over the last couple of days,” Praznik said.

And if that’s not enough to get you thinking about a contingency plan, May 3 to 9 is National Emergency Preparedness Week, a federally designated week to remind all Canadians that emergencies happen and readiness is imperative.

“Emergencies can happen at any time and without warning, that’s the reality. The benefit in preparing is it supports and ensures our safety as individuals and families,” Praznik said.

“It reduces, hopefully, panic and confusion because we’re comfortable with the steps we should be taking. If we can get one more person prepared, then we’re in a better place than we were yesterday.”

A two-pronged approach is a good way to start for all households and residents: develop and review a plan yourself or with your family, and have a basic, portable supply kit in an easily accessible place in your home.

“It doesn’t take long to prepare an emergency kit. In most cases, households have the necessities, but it’s important to make sure that they are updating them, and that it’s enough for the entire family,” Praznik said.

“Risks and hazards are different in the summertime than they are in the wintertime, so be adjusting those accordingly, whether it’s our home or vehicles. We recommend that kits are checked every six months, checking for expiration dates, replacing batteries or anything that’s battery operated. It’s a good practice to do it when we’re doing our time change in spring and fall.”

Make sure that the contents are adapted to any changes in the household. Have the needs of your children changed? Do you need copies of new prescriptions, a spare pair of glasses? Have you got a new pet?

“Have it easily accessible. You don’t want it hidden away where it’s going to take a long time to access — you want to be able to grab and go quickly,” he said.

Most of the needed items are likely in your home. The Brandon Emergency Services website has a page on family preparedness with suggestions for contents that are broken down into food, personal items, equipment and water.

“It’s critical to have a charged cellphone. We rely so heavily on those. Without that, how do we connect family and friends, making sure we’re OK? How do we get updated information about the emergency? It’s a great tool for us as long as we’re prepared and making sure that it is charged,” he said.

Tobin also strongly recommends writing down your contacts and their phone numbers so if you have a phone failure you can still borrow a phone to reach out. A small notebook and pencils could be added to your kit for this and other information.

Ensure that all family members know what the plan is. All residents are encouraged to practise their plans on a regular basis, every six months based on seasonal risks, or at least once a year.

“Whether they physically walk through the process to exit or evacuate or shelter in place, at least have those discussions so that everybody knows where they go,” he said.

“If they’re asked to shelter in place, they should know the location. If they get separated because somebody’s not home, what’s the location, the meetup place? Ideally, there are two areas, one locally and one outside the city if they are required to evacuate.”

If something major happens in the city, Brandon residents will be notified with the steps to follow with updates.

“If the event is large-scale, we will use every platform available to us. Primarily it would be social media, our city website where people would be directed, and then we’d expand through radio stations and other social media platforms as well,” he said.

Preparedness supports crucial communication amongst family members, neighbours and friends and also from the city to citizens. And the better prepared residents are, the better able they are to help other family, friends and neighbours.

Additionally, for folks who have special needs or disabilities, Praznik recommends they identify those nearby neighbours, friends, and family and let them know what kind of support they would need.

Accurate, local information on preparedness is important. The Brandon Emergency Support Team plays a vital role in increasing preparedness by educating the public to help them have a well-planned, ready response to an emergency.

“We get a ton of support from our community membership through the Brandon Emergency Support Team (BEST). They create radio ads, bus benches, posters, and the emergency quick reference guide on our website, which is available for residents,” Praznik said.

Now is the right time to take the initiative.

“Emergencies are everyone’s responsibility. It’s important that we take the necessary steps as individuals and families to be better prepared. Know our community risks, be familiar with them,” Praznik said.

“The goal of emergency preparedness or having that mindset is for it to be second nature, so when something happens we know exactly the steps that we should be taking.”

For comprehensive information on how to prepare, go to Brandon Emergency Preparedness at: brandon.ca/emergency-services/emergency-preparedness.

Click on the link “Prepare for an Emergency” to go to the Family Supplies Kit information.

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