Emergency Preparedness
View all active ALBERTA EMERGENCY ALERTS.
Major emergencies or disasters can happen anywhere, any time or any place. Although we may not be able to avoid an occurrence, we can be prepared.
Being informed can help you better prepare for emergencies, disasters and life’s inconveniences.
- Download the Alberta Emergency Alert app for life saving alerts. Alberta issues alerts to provide critical information about an immediate disaster and what action you need to take to stay safe.
- Start a conversation. Talk to your friends and family about what you can do to manage emergencies, disasters, and unexpected inconveniences before they occur.
- Know the risks – if you know the Hazard preparedness | Alberta.ca in your community, you know how to prepare for them.
- If you would like a copy of the Municipal Emergency Management Plan to gain an understanding of how the County responds during an emergency, please contact the Emergency Management Coordinator at: 780-523-5955.
Plan. Pack. Prepare.
72 hours – Is your family prepared?
In the event of an emergency, it may take emergency workers some time to reach you as they need to focus on those in desperate need. Public Safety Canada advises that you should be prepared to take care of yourself and your family for a minimum of 72 hours.
Use the information below to create your own emergency plan and checklists to build an emergency kit.
Plan
Although the consequences of various disasters can be similar, knowing the risks in your region can help you better plan for an emergency.
In Alberta, we could be faced with a blizzard, tornado, wildfire or heavy rains. In addition to natural disasters there are other types of risks such as power outages, industrial and transportation incidents.
The POCKET GUIDE TO EMERGENCIES or GETPREPARED.CA can be helpful tools to identify risks you could face. The CANADIAN DISASTER DATABASE offers more information on disasters, including those triggered by natural hazards, technological hazards or conflict.
Every household needs an Emergency Plan
This plan will take about 20 minutes to create and will ensure that you and your family know what to do in the event of an emergency.
Your family may not be together when an emergency occurs. Plan how to meet or contact one another, and discuss what you would do in different situations.
Pack
In an emergency, you will need some basic supplies so you and your family can be self-sufficient for at least 72 hours.
Work with your family and use the checklists below to develop emergency kits for use in emergencies. You may have to stay in your home without electricity or water, or you may have to evacuate your home for a period of time.
Update your emergency kits once a year when you change your clocks in the spring or the fall. This is also a good time to change the batteries in your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors, as well as the batteries, food and water in your emergency kit.
72 Hr Family Emergency Kit Checklist
72 Hr Pet Emergency Kit Checklist
Prepare
Do your best to stay well informed and prepare yourself in the event of an emergency by thinking ahead.
Know your Neighbourhood
Work with your neighbours to identify people who may need extra help during an emergency. Assign ‘block buddies’ to help ensure that everyone is taken care of.
Review your plan
Update your emergency plan and kit once a year when you change your clocks in the spring or the fall. This is also a good time to change the batteries in your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors, as well as the batteries, food and water in your emergency kit.
Have an Emergency Car Kit
If you have a car, prepare an EMERGENCY CAR KIT and keep it in your vehicle.
For more emergency preparedness information, follow @GET_PREPARED on Twitter.
If you are asked to evacuate…
Authorities will not ask you to leave your home unless they believe that you may be in danger.
If you are ordered to evacuate, remember to take your:
- emergency kit
- wallet
- personal identification for each family member
- copies of essential family documents
- cellular phone and spare battery or charger
If you have time, call or e-mail an out-of-town contact. Tell them where you are going and when you expect to arrive. Once you are safe, let them know. Tell them if any family members have become separated.
If possible, leave a note at your house telling others when you left and where you are. Shut off water and electricity if officials tell you to do so.
Leave natural gas service on unless officials tell you to turn it off. If you turn off the gas, the gas company has to reconnect it. In a major emergency, it could take weeks for a professional to respond.
Take pets with you and lock your home. Use the travel routes specified by local authorities.
If you go to an evacuation center, register your personal information at the registration desk.
Do not return home until authorities advise that it is safe to do so.
If you are asked to shelter-in-place…
You may be instructed to shelter-in-place if contaminants are released into the environment. This means you must remain inside your home or office and protect yourself there.
If you are advised to shelter-in-place:
- Close and lock all windows and exterior doors
- Turn off all fans, heating and air-conditioning systems to avoid drawing in air from the outside
- Close the fireplace damper
- Get your emergency kit and make sure the radio is working
- Go to an interior room that’s above ground level (one without windows if possible)
- Use duct or other wide tape to seal all cracks around the door and any vents into the room
- Continue to monitor your radio or television until you are told it is safe or are advised to evacuate.
Alberta Emergency Management Agency (AEMA) resources
To access the following materials translated into six different languages, refer to the links below and click on the Resources and translations link under the page header.
- Hazard preparedness – the following links include multiple pages dedicated to hazards in Alberta with preparedness tips and 60 second video clips that are sharable on social media:
- Build an emergency kit – is our most popular page and includes printable brochures and checklists for family, pet, farm animal and vehicle preparedness
- Pet Preparedness – includes tools and materials to help keep pets safe and comfortable, before, during and after an emergency
- Farm animals and livestock – includes tools and materials to help keep farm animals and livestock safe if you need to shelter in place or evacuate
- Raise awareness in your community – includes tools and materials for communities to raise awareness, including info on emergency preparedness week, #PrepareYourSelfie campaign, and 60 second videos that are sharable on social media
- Make an emergency plan – includes an emergency preparedness guide, tips on how to communicate during an emergency and information relating to pets, children and a guide for people with disabilities
- Emergency preparedness – includes hazard info and general emergency preparedness information including shelter-in-place and evacuation fact sheets