Evacuating Your Home Due to An Emergency
It is important to think about how you would quickly leave your home in the event of an emergency such as a house fire.
✓ Plan several escape routes and make sure everyone in your family knows these routes. As a family, regularly practice leaving your home using the planned escaped routes.
✓ Decide on a meeting place outside of you home where family members can gather if they have to quickly evacuate the home. If everyone knows to meet at this location, everyone can be quickly accounted for.
Evacuating Your Community Due to An Emergency
Some disasters, such as floods, forest fires, and major power outages, can create very unsafe conditions. If your safety is at risk, community officials may ask you to evacuate or leave your home. If asked to evacuate, you may have only minutes to get what you need and leave. Evacuations of remote northern First Nation communities often happen in the spring due to flooding and during the summer forest fire season. However, many other emergency situations can make an evacuation necessary.
• Evacuation orders are usually broadcast through the media on local radio and television stations.
• An evacuation order may also be delivered by emergency service personnel from an emergency vehicle using a loudspeaker.
• Always follow the directions of community officials when they ask you to evacuate. It is for your safety.
• When you are asked to evacuate, you will be told where to go.
• You may be sent to a local evacuation centre or to an evacuation point.
IF TIME PERMITS AND IT IS SAFE TO DO SO, BEFORE YOU LEAVE YOUR HOME:
✓ Eat a meal – it could be a while until the next chance. ✓ Turn off all fans, vents and heating systems and close the fireplace damper.
✓ If evacuating your home for a prolonged period during cold weather, drain water from the plumbing system. Turn off the main water supply and then, starting at the top of the house open all taps, flush toilets several times and open the drain valve in the basement (if you have one). Drain your hot water tank by attaching a hose to the tank drain valve and running the hose to the basement floor drain.
✓ If you are evacuating due to a flood, move any valuable items from the floor/basement to limit potential water damage.
ONCE TOLD TO EVACUATE, DO THE FOLLOWING:
1. Ensure everyone in your family has their “grab and go” bag.
2. Shut off your water at the main valve.
3. Unplug everything but leave your electricity on (unless your community has instructed you otherwise).
4. Turn off all lights and lock all doors and windows prior to leaving.
5. Proceed to your evacuation point.
Tips:
✓ Make sure to wear shoes and clothing appropriate for the conditions.
✓ Offer to help any neighbors who may need assistance evacuating.
✓ Use only the travel routes provided by community officials as you leave. Using a shortcut could take you to a dangerous area or a road that is blocked.
✓ If you have family members or friends who are camping or hunting in the area when you are ordered to evacuate, make sure to advise emergency personnel/community officials. Tell them where the camp is located and who is at the camp. If you can, communicate with the camp via satellite phone, advise family members or friends of the evacuation order.
AIR EVACUATIONS
In some situations, it may be necessary to evacuate by air to a shelter located in a host community.
✓ Bring your “grab and go” bag. Details on how to prepare a “grab and go” bag for remote, northern First Nation communities can be found below.
✓ The aircraft used for air evacuations have weight limits and often don’t allow carry-on. Evacuees leaving from, and returning to their community, are allowed a limit of approx. 40 pounds. Medical assistive devices used by evacuees, such as wheelchairs, don’t count.
Disaster Risk Reduction - Canadian Red Cross evac_english_dig.pdf