Emergency preparedness week is here, and between Alberta’s ongoing drought and wildfire season ramping up, there’s no shortage of risks to prepare for.
“My family and I are trying to be a bit more mindful of our water usage as we think of the drought and I keep meaning to get an emergency preparedness kit ready but I haven’t done that yet,” one woman told CityNews.
“For us, we live in Canmore so we are worried about the drought and forest fires this summer so we’ve kind of got a bag packed and prepared in case evacuations become a potential this summer,” another person added.
Emergency Preparedness Week gives Calgarians and Albertans an opportunity to think about steps they need to take to prepare for emergencies as we head into the warmer months.
“That can include everything from having an emergency kit in your household, to making sure that you’ve looked around your house and making sure you understand, what does it look like in Calgary?” said Coby Duerr, the deputy chief of emergency management operations for the City of Calgary. “We have hail, we have heavy storms sometimes, we are waiting for rain right now.
“There’s an opportunity for you to do a little work around your house to prepare yourself for emergencies.”
Some Calgarians also told CityNews they are preparing by stocking up on water and non-perishable food.
Preparing for the province’s drought is top of mind across many homes in Calgary, particularly those who live in the lake community of Mahogany.
“The city has imposed a water restriction in terms of how much city water they can use to fill that lake, so our area is doing our part to make sure we consume the right amount of water and enjoy the lake community the way it is, and the amount of water that is available,” a resident said.
The city is encouraging everyone to conserve water this year.
“Making sure they have a rain barrel this year… capturing that rain that comes and making sure they can use that to water their plants and things like that around their house,” Duerr said.