Group presentation 1.4

1. Personal & Family PreparednessThe first 72 hours
What can you do to be prepared?
Plan Procure Practice

2. Any negative event can happen at any time, including:
Fire
Flood
Automobile Accident
Hazardous spill
Severe weather
Seismic event
Pandemic
Plane crash
Train derailment
And many others

3. Reasons to be Prepared
So you can be ready for an unexpected event or catastrophe in order to reduce loss of life and property.
So you and your family can survive an emergency.
So you can help others during an emergency.
So you can be self-reliant and not cause an unnecessary drain on available disaster resources.
To increase your confidence that you can take care of yourself and others during an emergency.

Step 1 Plan
Look at the area where you live

What are the hazards natural and/or man-made in your neighbourhood?

Assess the potential risks
What are the risks to you and your family?
Do the risks pose a threat to you and your family?

Step 1 Plan
Create a plan based on those risks
Prepare a plan based on a minimum of 72 hours before local emergency workers can arrive
If at home, determine an emergency route and a place to meet
If not at home, determine a safe house(s) and a contact plan for each location
Prepare a contact list of out-of-area family/friends

Step 2 Procure (Get a Kit: home)
Basic home emergency kits
Buy or assemble an emergency kit for the home
For example:
Canned food
Two (2) litres of water per person for three days
Manual can opener
Matches
Out-of Area contact information

Basic home emergency kits:
Each household has different food, medical, comfort and safety needs and your emergency kit needs to be built by you to meet the specific needs of your house hold.
Below are linked examples of emergency kits:
http://www.getprepared.gc.ca/_fl/pub/shp-lst-eng.pdf
http://www.redcross.ca/article.asp?id=003714&tid=079
http://www.getprepared.gc.ca/knw/kt/bas-eng.aspx
http://www.pep.bc.ca/hazard_preparedness/Personal_Safety.html

Basic home emergency kits:
As the needs of every household are different, here are a few other links that will direct you to specific emergency preparedness information for women, children and pets:
Kits for Pets: http://www.americanfamilysafety.com/emergency-pet-kits.html
Kits for Women: http://www.safetygirl.com/roadside-emergency-kit.html
Kits for Kids: http://www.ready.gov/kids/step1/index.html

Step 2 Procure (Get a Kit: family vehicle)
Basic vehicle emergency kits
Buy or assemble an emergency kit for the family vehicle(s)
For example:
Food (energy bars)
Blanket
Flashlight
Road maps
Out-of-Area contact information
For more information about car emergency kits clink on the link below:
http://www.getprepared.gc.ca/knw/kt/auto-eng.aspx

Step 3 Practice
Check the emergency kits
Every six (6) months check the contents of the emergency kits
Replace any item deemed to be faulty (e.g., batteries)
Revisit the plan
Review the family emergency plan
Review, confirm and update all out-of-area contact information
Rehearse the plan
Test the plan on an annual basis
Discuss the results of the test
Make changes as necessary

11. Emergency Neighbourhood Preparedness

12. What is Neighbourhood Emergency Preparedness?
When disasters, earthquakes or floods occur neighbors naturally come together to help.
Designing a plan before an event occurs ensures neighbours can respond safely and effectively during a disaster.

13. Why Have a Plan?
You can not prevent an earthquake or flood from happening, but being prepared with a plan before a disaster strikes helps you and your neighbours to cope effectively during the event and ensures a quicker recovery.
Your neighbourhoods level of preparedness will reflect how effectively the next emergency or disaster is managed.

14. What does a plan include?
Your plan should include the following:
The size of the neighbourhood, its demographics and special concerns.
Identified hazards and their potential impacts to the neighborhood.
Suggestions for neighborhood residents to become personally prepared and learn what to expect and how to cope.

15. What does a plan include?
Neighborhood Response Teams that can specialize in different area of the response plan.
Identified Neighborhood resources.
Training and exercise plans to practice your Neighborhood Response Plan.
Networking plans with adjacent neighbors and other community resources. This will inform them of your plans and provide your team with additional resources.

16. How do you set up a plan?
The first step in setting up an Emergency Preparedness Plan is to get together with your neighbours.
Many neighbourhoods have established groups such as Block Watch, you may be able to present this information at their next meeting.
If not, establish a meeting place and send out notices inviting neighbours to attend.

17. How do you organize your Emergency Preparedness Team?
Meet with your neighbours and enlist them to join the team.
Define as a group the area your team will cover. This will be determined by the number of people involved and your ability to respond.
Decide what response teams are required to effectively respond to a disaster or emergency. i.e.: damage assessment, food and shelter, first aid, communication etc.
Ask for volunteers to head each group and develop a task force to implement your plan.
Establish regular meeting times to continue your work.

18. Research your Neighbourhood
Find out your local resources. This can include human skills as well as physical material.
Make a list of these resources to include in your plan.
Knowing who lives in your neighbourhood, who needs assistance, where to go, what materials are available and who skills you can rely on will ensure the safety of your neighbors and ensure you have the best qualified and equipped individuals assigned to the tasks in the event of an emergency.

19. Identify Your Neighbourhoods Hazards
Each neighbourhood has different hazards that require customized response plans.
For communities in British Columbia the greatest threat may come from earthquakes or tsunamis. For other communities it may be floods, fires or chemical spills.
Customize your plan. Knowing what the threats are to your neighbourhood allows you to anticipate what may happen and be better prepared.

20. Networking
Establishing links with other groups to coordinate their efforts is an import aspect of a Neighbourhood Emergency Response Plan.
Ensuring that your Emergency Program integrates with other community emergency plans such as those of the municipal and school district is essential to your success.

21. Whats Next?
Once your Neighborhood Response Plan is complete keep the momentum going.
Establish regular ongoing meetings.
Engage the neighborhood by planning practice exercises and distributing information.
Ensure everyone knows about the Neighbourhood Emergency Plan. Local websites, Welcome Wagon, and Neighbourhood houses or Community Centers are all good Resources.

22. Community Preparedness
What is your community doing to prepare for disasters?

23. Community Preparedness Helping community members during emergencies and disasters
Communities are responsible for
large scale emergency preparedness.

Local governments work very hard to ensure that emergency plans, emergency organization, and emergency services are prepared to assist communities when faced with an emergency or disaster.

Education

Group presentation 1.4