A major earthquake could occur at anytime in B.C. Careful planning and preparation can reduce injuries, prevent panic, and ease rescues and clean up.
Be prepared before an earthquake by planning both at home and at work. Have a discussion with family members and make an emergency plan in case you are separated.
Have an emergency plan
You may not be with family and friends when an emergency happens. It’s important to think about how you‘ll connect with them, where you will meet and to think of back up plans to have children picked up from school, and alternate plans for caring for your pets or other dependents in case you can’t get to them. Make a family emergency plan today!
Know important phone numbers
As part of your emergency plan be sure to keep important contact numbers with you for family, friends, co-workers, roommates, etc. and have them on your cell phone along with a paper copy.
Establish an out-of-area contact that you and your family agree to call to check in. Choose a contact person who lives far enough out of town that he or she will most likely not be affected by the same emergency.
Have an emergency kit
Prepare an emergency kit for your home, car and office. Kits should be easy to carry and easily accessible in case you need to evacuate quickly. You may already have some of these basic emergency kit items at home but it is critical to have them well organized, easy to find and easy to carry (i.e. a backpack or small suitcase). See sample ideas of what to put in your emergency kit for your home, car and office.
Prepare and replenish annually.
Home kit
- Water – two litres of water per person per day
- Food that wont spoil- i.e. canned food, energy bars, dried foods (replace the food/ water annually)
- Manual can opener
- Flashlight and batteries
- Battery-powered or wind-up radio (and extra batteries)
- First aid kit
- Special needs items – prescription medications, infant formula, equipment for people with disabilities, pet food
- Extra keys for your car and house
- Cash – include smaller bills such as change for pay phones
- Emergency plan – include a copy and ensure it contains in-town and out-of-town contact information
- A USB or other storage device with important documents, family photos
Car kit
- If you have a car, prepare an emergency car kit and keep it in the vehicle:
Water in plastic bottles so they won’t break if frozen (change every six months)
Food that wont spoil- i.e. canned food, energy bars, dried foods (replace the food/ water annually) - Blanket
- Extra clothes and shoes
- First aid kit
- Small shovel, scraper, snow-brush
- Candles and matches
- Wind-up flashlight
- Whistle– to attract attention
- Road maps
- Sand, salt or cat litter
- Antifreeze or windshield washer fluid
- Tow rope
- Jumper cables
- Fire extinguisher
- Warning light or road flares
The emergency kit in your office could contain the following
- Sturdy walking shoes
- Extra clothing (sweater, rain gear, etc.), blanket
- Flashlight or light sticks, candle, waterproof matches
- Portable radio tuned to a local news station
- Food that wont spoil- i.e. canned food, energy bars, dried foods (replace the food/ water annually)
- Water (store in unbreakable container)
- Emergency phone numbers, roll of quarters for pay phones
- Toilet tissue, moist towelettes
- First aid kit
- Whistle
- Multi-tool