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Emergency Preparedness Week

May 8, 2021

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May 2 to May 8, 2021 is Emergency Preparedness Week in Canada and it is an opportunity for everyone to take action to ensure you are prepared to protect yourself, your family, and your community during an emergency.

The Strata Corporation:

In a strata corporation, your Council and Management Company perform scheduled preventative maintenance tasks to ensure the building is ready for emergencies. These tasks could include, regular generator testing, fire drills and inspections, elevator testing, vault testing, etc. In an emergency these tests the strata performs make sure building functions that need to operate on the generator(s) can do so, and that if they are not needed, they shutdown in a manner that does not permanently damage the equipment.

With that said, in the event of an earthquake or other major emergency, the strata corporation will not be in a position to assist residents with emergency supplies such as purified water, first aid kits, etc. Residents will be on their own.

Emergency Kits

Residents can build their own survival kits, or purchase pre-made kits online. The basic emergency kit checklist, as found on the Government of Canada Website, would include:

Water — two litres of water per person per day (include small bottles)
Food that won’t spoil, such as canned food, energy bars and dried foods (replace once a year)
Manual can opener
Wind-up or battery-powered flashlight (and extra batteries)
Wind-up or battery-powered radio (and extra batteries)
First aid kit
Extra keys for your car and house
Cash, and change
Important family documents such as identification, insurance and bank records
Emergency plan — include a copy in your kit as well as contact information

If you do not want to build your own kit, there are several services you can purchase premade kits from, including: Red Cross & BC Quake.

For more information on this important awareness week, Residents are encouraged to visit the Get Prepared Website or the BC Government Website. Stay safe and prepared!