Emergency preparedness at the community level is led by the local Municipality, with support by the County, First Responders, and other agencies including Public Health. In most, cases emergency response is led by the First Responders (Police, Fire and EMS) and the local Municipality, with support from the County and other agencies such as Public Health when necessary. The Province has oversight of this work through the Office of the Fire Marshall and Emergency Management of Ontario;
More information on emergency preparedness, visit the website for your local municipality or the following websites:
https://www.ontario.ca/page/emergency-management-ontario
https://www.ontario.ca/page/a-safe-practiced-and-prepared-ontario
Living in Grey Bruce within close proximity to Lake Huron and Georgian Bay brings certain challenges including the possibility of severe weather events and emergencies. It’s important to be emergency ready for when these situations happen. The Be Prepared Grey Bruce Huron website is an educational resource for the distinct types of emergencies residents should be prepared for to ensure their safety.
It is useful to be aware of weather watches and warnings for the Grey Bruce region by following Public Weather alerts for Ontario on the Government of Canada website
Neighbours play an important role during emergencies. Just as it is important to be prepared at an individual and family level for emergencies (e.g., preparing a 72-hour kit), it is important for neighbourhoods to be ready to respond to disaster. Community-based disaster management is the approach whereby communities evaluate their situations, are involved in the creation and implementation of plans to mitigate the impact of emergencies, and have control over their resources. Because of the tremendous needs following an emergency event, first responders may not be immediately available to assist communities so residents may have to rely on themselves. Grey Bruce is also a vast rural area where it may take time for emergency responders to arrive.
The following is a tool that may be used to assist your neighbourhood in creating an emergency response plan:
Neighbourhood Emergency Response Plan
Each community assesses the risk of a variety of emergencies. For example, in Grey and Bruce counties, certain transportation emergencies are less likely than other regions (we do not have any 400 series highways or railways in the region), but are more likely to be affected by winter storms. Most communities in the region have identified weather related emergencies including winter storms, ice storms, and tornadoes as being higher risk. In addition power outages and (in limited geographic areas) flooding is of concern. To find out what you can do to prepare for such emergencies, go to the Preparedness at Home section.
The types of industry in a region may require additional preparedness planning. The Municipality of Kincardine in Bruce County is home to Bruce Power, currently the world’s largest nuclear power generating facility. Additional information about the plans associated with this facility can be found here;
https://www.kincardine.ca/en/living-here/emergency-preparedness.aspx
https://www.brucepower.com/in-the-community/community-programs/emergency-preparedness/
To find out about the Health Unit’s role in a radiological scenario click here.
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