It’s Emergency Preparedness Week, as the City of Lethbridge and the Lethbridge County Regional Emergency Partnership encourages you to take simple steps toward emergency preparedness by focusing on the theme, In it Together.
According to the County, research shows people and communities with strong social connections are often more resilient, able to respond more quickly and better able to recover after a disaster.
You’re encouraged to use Emergency Preparedness Week as an opportunity to:
- introduce yourself to your neighbours
- update emergency contact lists and have paper copies on hand
- identify trusted sources of local emergency information, including your municipality’s website or social media
- check in with people who may need extra help during an emergency, including older adults or those with mobility challenges
County Director of Emergency Management and Coordinator Breea Tamminga said when we know our neighbours, share trusted information, and look out for one another, “we build stronger communities.”
“It doesn’t have to be hard. It can be nice and easy. All you need to do is make those connections with your neighbours, with your communities and be prepared. Whether that’s having your emergency preparedness lists up to date, keeping a copy of that in your plan and being ready should the time come,” Tamminga explained. “Knowing your neighbours is going to help to be more resilient when there’s a disaster, so we can build back better.”
Living in a rural community, Tamminga added it’s definitely important to get those connections with your counterparts. “Even if you’re a few miles up the road, having that connection especially from a livestock perspective, knowing you can count on your neighbour to help move your livestock if need be.”
And because emergency response crews might take a little more time to arrive, Tamminga noted that means you’re going to have do a little bit more in your rural community to help, “so tap into your neighbours, they’ve probably got a lot of resources to help you out,” said Tamminga.
To help families get involved, the partnership is also launching an Emergency Preparedness Week colouring contest for children 12 and under. The contest runs from May 4 to 31, and one prize will be awarded in each partner municipality: Lethbridge County, Barons, Nobleford, Picture Butte, and Coalhurst.
“Starting out with our young families and getting the information to travel up to the adults in the family is really going to help support that connection to emergency preparedness. Transferring that knowledge from the youth up to the adults is such a big piece,” noted Tamminga.
Colouring sheets and full contest details are available online at lethcounty.ca/p/emergency-preparedness.
(Photo by Stan Ashbee)
