Are you prepared?

Adam Care Opinião

As most of you, I am sure, are aware, a sizeable earthquake hit parts of Turkey and Syria last week, which has left approximately 42,000 people dead and hundreds of thousands in immediate need of emergency assistance. Less of you may be aware of the train derailment which occurred on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, 700 km from here, which forced the evacuation of a town and has put the entire area on an environmental risk watch. My concern in the ever-growing world of disasters is how ready is the average Canadian for a disaster. After witnessing Canadians’ behavior most recently during the pandemic, I am confident when I say not ready at all! During the early stages of the COVID lockdown, who can forget the run-on toilet paper? Canadians seemed to be far more concerned about toilet paper than the more crucial necessities. This is eyebrow raising to say the least.

The government of Canada and most emergency agencies will tell you that it is up to you to be prepared to look after yourself, your family members, and your pets for 72 hours in the wake of a disaster. I’m here to tell you in today’s chaotic world of poor governance (have you seen who is running Canada?) and the ever-present mentality of greed above need, that’s its closer to 7 days minimum, not 3 for being prepared in an emergency or disaster situation. While nothing seems to happen in the GTA, I can assure you that its complacency which kills. Toronto will probably never be hit by a 7.8 earthquake. Still, with populations growing and resources shrinking, it won t take much for chaos to reign in the wake of any emergency.

What are the residents of the GTA really at risk of other than each other when the chaos begins? I would put flooding and train derailments, like the one mentioned above very high on the list. Both disasters can occur at a moment’s notice and are equally as deadly. Both can make you evacuate your immediate area at a moment’s notice and keep you away for quite a length of time. Are you prepared to evacuate your home in, and I will be reasonable and say, an hour? By the way, it could be half that time, depending on your proximity to a flash flood or train derailment. The people in Turkey and Syria had far less time to evacuate, and they had far fewer resources to be ready. What’s your excuse? Canadians have the time to learn to be prepared and almost all of us, have the resources.

If you suppose the government will come and help you in a reasonable time frame, that could be a bad decision for your well-being. The government tells you that you must be able to look after yourself for 72 hours. They don’t just mobilize on a mo- ment’s notice. Take, for example, Hurricane Katrina, the perfect storm (nature at its worst and human nature at its worst). Was it the actual hurricane that killed all those people? No, it was what came after.

The lack of preparation and execution by the one government on this planet that prides itself on being ready for anything and the lack of preparedness by the people is what killed most of the people during that disastrous event.

You could argue with me that it was all because the people were poor. That may have a little validity; it only goes so far. It costs little to have some of the necessities stored away. No, not being poor is what killed those people; being unaware is.

Know where you live and have an emergency preparedness plan and kit. That means know the risks and be prepared. The basic necessities to live for seven days are a little, depending on your climate. In Toronto, we should be far more prepared than those in New Orleans due to our unpredictable climate.

Below is the basic Canadian emergency checklist listed on the government of Canada website for preparedness (https:// www.getprepared.gc.ca/cnt/kts/bsc-kten.aspx). This is for 3 days. Now imagine you need all that is below for 7 to 14 days!