This page is intended to provide those looking for information with reliable and credible sources of information. Reliable information is described as providing good guidance more often than not. Credible information is described as coming from sources where we can expect that they know what they’re talking about. These two criteria are drawn from an old intelligence source vetting approach.
If looking for alerts and warning information, check the “Current Conditions” page.
Government
If you are looking at the area and are wondering what kinds of things have happened in the past, the Canadian Disaster Database provides a view of this. That being said, check the criteria is used for entry into the system as it’s a good start point but there’s a lot more that happens that just the declared disasters.
Public Safety Canada’s “Get Prepared” website that provides advice on how to get ready for events. Good information at a general level but you may want to extend how long you might need to be ready for (I double it).
There is also a fairly reasonable plan outline available online. You will need to print it and fill it in by hand.
Ready.gov (USA Government website) also has some guidance on emergency kits.
Government of Nova Scotia Emergency Management Office “Emergency and Disaster Preparedness” provides slightly more local but still general guidance and advice. Like the federal site, those in less populated areas may want to extend how long they need to be ready for.
The City of Halifax has an Emergency Preparedness site that includes details on how to prepare for certain events, what to put in emergency kits, and things you should do in planning. It can be found here.
You can find information on the Voluntary Vulnerable Persons Registry in the Halifax are here.
Specialized Official Sources
The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a leader in dealing with hurricanes and the like. Those events are much more severe in the southern USA than here (we have post tropical depression and lower category storms whereas they can have Cat 5 hurricanes down there). They have a full web site on how to get ready for these things.
Environment Canada also has a hurricane conditions web page. This provides recent information but also has links to things like marine warnings.
Firesmart Nova Scotia provides guidance and tools on how to look at threats posed by wildfires and the like. I’ve included the landing page here but you may want to look at their home risk assessment and other guidance.
Hazard Maps
These maps are from official sources and project details and past, present, or future disasters based on geography.
| Name and Link | Description |
| Nova Scotia Coastal Hazard Map | Potential coastal flooding with layers. |
| PEI Coastal Hazards Information Platform | Providing details on potential future flooding. |
| New Brunswick Flood Maps | Generally historical details |
| Newfoundland Flood Risk Mapping | From flood risk mapping studies. |
| Floodsmart Canada Flood maps | Other maps and links associated with flood plains. |
| Floods and River Ice Break Up | Seasonal data but near real time through GoC operations center. This is also included in the “Current Situations” page but is here due to a number of good links. |
| Flood Risk Check up Tool for Municipalities | A short (50 question) tool intended to help municipalities gauge their preparedness for various forms of flood-related threats (heavy rain, etc.) and endorsed by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. |
| Canadian Disaster Database | Useful in terms of historical research with a national scope. Note that this only covers declared disasters. |
| Canadian Disaster Database in other formats | This includes formats like csv, kml, etc. |
| Canada Natural Hazards | Various hazards available. |
| Canada Seismic Hazards | Static maps presented as graphics. |
| Canada (2024) National Risk Profile | Written report that may help provide broader context around challenges. |
| Government of Canada Climate Related Links | This is really a start point for research but can open a number of doors on topics. |
Infrastructure Around You
This section looks at the infrastructure that delivers services around you. These are not “active conditions” kinds of pages, but rather the more stable maps that show where certain things are.
| Toporama | Natural Resources maps of all topographic maps in Canada. Useful in terms of looking at surrounding heights of land, road networks, etc. |
| Canadian Cellular Tower Map | This map locates the major service providers’ cell tower networks across Canada. |
| Cell Phone Carrier Coverage Map | Shows what kinds of coverage may be available in the area. Knowing this can give you an idea of reliability and data transmission rates.You will need to work through the different carriers from the drop down list. |
| Energy Infrastructure and Resource Map | Run by natural resources, this includes natural gas processing, refineries, power plants over 100 MW, solar resources, etc. The map is national but can be focused into local areas. |
| International Power Lines Dashboard | This provides some status about the power lines that cross international boundaries, not local service lines. More of a strategic thing. |
| Canada VMap Power Lines | This takes some getting used to but once you figure out how the search function works, is quite detailed. You can also find various provincial power line maps online. |
Some Lists, Calculators, or Instructions
These lists should be considered supplemental to the official guidance from sources like the NS Emergency Management Office and other sites. You should not rely on these lists to cover everything you may need (they are written for a broad community) but should use them as a guide and take the time to consider other things that you may need.
| General | |
| How a basic EM routine might look over the year can be found here. | A general list of vital documents you may want to bring can be found here. |
| A general checklist for preparing for severe storms can be found here. | A general checklist for preparing for flooding can be found here. |
| A general checklist for preparing for wildfires can be found here. | Basic ideas for preventing or dealing with coastal erosion can be found here. |
| The USA guidance for preparing pets for disasters can be found here.Note that Canadian alerts should be used. | Emergency Preparedness for Farm Animals involving a range of Government of Canada departments. |
| Calculators and How to | |
| Calculator for backup fuel here. | Basic tie down point for raised decks here |
| Snow load on roof calculator here. | Tethering a computer through a smart phone here. |
| Estimating wind speed from visual cues can be found here (pdf) or here | Estimating sea state from visual cues can be found here |
Potentially Helpful Videos
We don’t receive any compensation or consideration for these videos. They are simply coming from a reasonable source and provide information that may be useful when dealing with trying to figure out how to deal with certain issues. These are informational only. This section will be updated periodically.
| General Preparedness | |
| Lowe’s Using Sandbags | Maricopa Country video on protecting against flooding |
| Victoria State Emergency Services Using Sandbags | Lowe’s Bracing Garage Doors |
| Home Depot Boarding Windows | Lowe’s Tarping a Roof |
| Home Depot Emergency Preparedness | Lowes Hurricane Preparedness Website |
Mental Health and Weather Events
This section is not intended as medical advice. Those feeling that they need assistance should contact their local health authorities and not rely on this information. This is just to give you a sense of the kinds of things that some people (remember, everyone reacts differently to these things) may encounter.
| Source | Description |
| American Psychiatric Association “How Extreme Weather Events Affect Mental Health | This generally focuses on single disasters and takes a broad view of the impacts. It also has a list of additional resources in the sidebar. |
| National Weather Service Storm Stress and Anxiety | This is more from the weather perspective but does offer some advice on how to address some of the stresses that may arise. |
| Canadian Mental Health Association (British Columbia Division) | Mental health tips for the family when dealing with natural disasters. |
Anti-Fraud
For some reason, some people find these kinds of events an opportunity to prey upon those that are desperate, vulnerable, or otherwise an “easier target.” It is very important to ensure that you are dealing with official and trustworthy organizations when in these situations. While you can ultimately check with any public help line set up in the event, the resources below may help as well.
| USA Consumer Protection Bureau: How Do I Avoid Scams and Fraud after a disaster. | Note that this is a USA site so the contact information should not be used (unless you live in the USA). It does provide decent guidance. |
| National Insurance Crimes Bureau: Disaster Fraud | Again, a USA site but guidance and tools to help you detect and avoid fraudsters. |
| FBI: Charity and Disaster Fraud | This is more informative and again, USA-centric. You may be asked to verify that “you’re a person” through a captcha the first time you visit the site. |
| Canadian Anti-Fraud Center | This Canadian source has significant details on different kinds of frauds and how to report them. |
| Vancouver Police Fraud Prevention | Another decent source of information and from a trustworthy source. |