‘Are You Prepared?’

Gathering Essential Items

May 1, 2016.

That was the day ‘the Beast’ ignited.

I texted my girlfriend when I heard the news and asked her if they were being evacuated. They weren’t then.

Fast forward a few hours later, she was forced to evacuate north of Fort McMurray with her kids and spent the night on the side of the road not knowing what was happening.

Many friends of ours were evacuated that day with barely a few minutes to gather items and flee and it brought a few things to my attention — I needed to think more seriously about being prepared for an event like that.

Only a couple of years ago, the Cariboo burned and more friends were without homes for a while and some indefinitely.

Though we’re probably clear ever having a Tsunami warning, Kamloops and area is annually prone to devastating wildfires and flooding. Other elements like wind, snow, hail and even an earthquake could also cause additional problems for those who are ill prepared.

The Vancouver news headlines yesterday and today noted ‘strong wind warnings’ that have lead to ferry cancellations.

Combined with a week full of unrelenting rain, CBC put out an article encouraging people to make sure they are prepared in the event of a storm or emergency. B.C. Hydro survey people on their preparedness. Here is a blurb:

“While people have toilet paper, hand sanitizer and groceries to deal with the pandemic, they’re lacking emergency items such as a first aid kit, bottled water and a flashlight, it says.

The Crown corporation commissioned the research to gauge whether people in B.C. are prepared for surviving in a cold, dark house if the power goes out due to high winds or snow.

BC Hydro said the number of storms that the province is experiencing has gone up by 117 per cent since 2014.”

It further stated that over half of people are not prepared properly for an emergency nor do they even realize they should be thinking about it.

Read the full article here- https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-hydro-advises-preparing-for-power-outages-1.5800448

I’ve always been one to have a first aid kit in the house, car and my backpack I carry around. I’ve also made sure to have jumper cables available in all vehicles.

Over the years, however, I’ve increased my efforts on that front. After the ‘Beast’, I bought a 72 hour kit and have been plugging away at gathering things to ensure we have our bases covered if anything were to come up…which it inevitably will in some form or another.

COVID has taught us to be ready for certain things while being ready for a storm or longer power outage involves different and additional considerations.

Do you think you’ve got things covered well enough?

If you need tips and a list, check out B.C. Hydro’s site for their guideline: https://www.bchydro.com/safety-outages/emergency-preparation.html

Also, if you need a decent place to start besides Canadian Tire or Surplus Herbys, 72Hours.ca (based out of Burnaby) is a decent site to get stuff from- IMO

-Becky