Are you ’emergency ready’? The Great B.C. ShakeOut is here
Ahead of Thursday’s Great B.C. ShakeOut — a province-wide earthquake drill — emergency responders are reminding people what it actual means to be “emergency ready.”
“It is not enough for people to purchase a 72-hour emergency kit, to be really ready for any emergency, one needs to have an emergency plan, a kit of supplies, be trained to administer first aid and continue to maintain their supplies and skills for an emergency,” Karen MacPherson, CEO of St. John Ambulance British Columbia and Yukon said in a media release.
A survey of 800 people conducted by Ipsos Reid last April found that just 7 per cent of British Columbians are doing all four things that St. John Ambulance says you need to be ready for a major emergency like an earthquake: create an emergency plan, build an emergency kit, get trained in first aid and fourth, keep all three up to date.
People should be prepared to be sufficient for up to 72 hours.
Despite so few people saying they’re actually doing all four things, the survey — which was commissioned by St. John Ambulance — found that 34 per cent of British Columbians rate their household’s overall level of emergency readiness as “excellent/good.”
St. John Ambulance suggests people check out their website — www.SETforEMERGENCY.com — where they’ve identified “four easy steps to become ’emergency ready,’ complete with a free emergency ready plan and checklist.”
The Great B.C. Shakeout is scheduled for Thursday at 10:19 a.m. At that time, participants should practice how to “drop, Cover and hold on,” St. John Ambulance explained. Register at http://www.shakeoutbc.ca/register.
Source: http://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/are-you-emergency-ready-the-great-b-c-shakeout-is-here
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