This site provides information for those looking to better prepare for and withstand severe weather along Nova Scotia’s Eastern Shore. No commercial activities are attached to this site. It is strictly informational in nature.It is intended for people that are looking for answers or at least ideas on how to approach challenges.
This site offers three things. First, it is a place to find reasonably reliable and credible resources. This may be government sites, sites offered by experts, or even sites run by organizations that are well-meaning. Second, it tailors the information presented on those sites to our unique conditions. Public Safety may say be ready for 72 hours. After a couple of years out here, if it’s a really big storm be ready for a week. Finally, it will slowly evolve to a place where we can build communities between those who look at solutions and those who are on the front line of the problem.
You should not assume that doing everything in this site will prepare you for every possible contingency or situation. Nor should you assume that taking these steps will be adequate in all circumstances. The site provides a starting point from which you should do your own due diligence and research. The site points towards many activities that need to be performed or managed by certified, licensed, or otherwise accredited professionals. While we have made a reasonable effort to identify these, you should check with local authorities to make sure you have those bases covered. Similarly, certain mitigation approaches require permitting. Checking with both the local authorities or appropriately certified or experienced contractors should indicate if this is the case for any measures you are thinking about.
So What is Emergency Preparedness?
Basically, this is about being ready for serious situations that could have a very detrimental effect on your ability to maintain shelter or livable conditions. In this site (since we’re talking severe weather), we are looking at events like hurricanes, severe storms, flooding, landslides, etc.
How is this Organized?
Emergency Preparedness is divided the four following major phases of activities:
- Mitigation: Things that you do to avoid risks (negative effects or losses in terms of property, etc.) that last over the long term. A change in a building code or zoning restriction falls into this category.
- Preparedness: Things that you do to in response to a specific and imminent event. Boarding up windows due to extreme winds during a hurricane falls into this category.
- Response: The things that you do during an event. This category tends to focus on keeping yourself and those around you safe during the event. The bulk of major response activities are covered by people with specific roles and specialized training.
- Recovery: Occurring after the event, these are the things that are done to get things back to normal (or as close as they can get). In this case, there are certain things that residents can do but a great deal of this phase involves knowing where to look for support as you deal with the issues resulting from the event (such as how to request assistance, etc.).
These four activities are organized into a cycle:
About this site…
If you look across the top menu of this site, you will see a number of links to steps. These steps are in an order that aligns with this cycle. You can “click” on these and be taken to the applicable step.
This site is not intended for commercial purposes nor is it looking for donations to help keep it running. If you want to donate in support of this kind of issue, look for the donation pages for the following organizations:
- Team Rubicon Canada: An organization of volunteers that provide disaster assistance to communities made up of veterans and other volunteers.
- Canadian Red Cross: An organization that has been instrumental in supporting persons in need for generations.
- Mennonite Disaster Services across Canada: think back to what this organization was doing after Fiona.