Emergencies & Being Prepared
An emergency can strike at any time. Are you ready?
Prepare emergency kits to be ready to take care of yourself and your family for at least 72 hours in case of an emergency. Tune in to your local TV or radio channels for emergency advisories and instructions.
Across the country, Canadians face a number of potential hazards, ranging from:
- earthquakes
- floods
- forest fires
- power outages
- disease outbreaks (including influenza pandemic)
- hazardous material spills
- extreme weather
• winter storms
• extreme heat
• extreme cold
Disasters can also be much more personal, including home fires and flooding.
What can I do to prepare my family for an emergency?
All levels of government in Canada have emergency response plans in place, but it may take several days for first responders to reach you. If disaster strikes, you may have to evacuate your home at a moment’s notice or you may find yourself home-bound without electricity, running water or access to stores and banks. It is impossible to predict everything that might happen during an emergency, but you can minimize the potential impact on your family by preparing an emergency kit to be ready to take care of yourself and your family for at least 72 hours.
What is Public Health Sudbury & Districts’ role during an emergency?
Unlike the Police or Fire Department, the Health Unit is not normally a first responder during an emergency. Our normal role is to work with other agencies to reduce the impact on the public’s health. This may include sending out warnings to not drink the water, supplying information for flood remediation, inspecting for the safety of various sites or monitoring emergency shelters. The exception to this is when there is a public health emergency, such as an outbreak of disease in the community, then Public Health Sudbury & Districts is the lead agency.
Where can I get information during an emergency?
Tune in to local TV or radio channels for emergency advisories and instructions.
If you would like more information, would like to speak to a public health inspector, or make a complaint, you can submit your question or complaint electronically or contact us directly.
This item was last modified on October 7, 2024