Emergency Management
An emergency can be any situation or a threat of an emergency that is caused by some event whether it is natural (tornado), technological (power outages), or human (September 11th terrorist attacks) that negatively affects the health, safety or property of a significant portion of the people in a community.
All municipalities, large or small, are vulnerable to major community emergencies such as tornadoes, floods, blizzards, and power outages. When an emergency of this scale does occur, local municipalities are usually the first level of government to respond.
Recent significant events, such as the 1998 ice storm, September 11th terrorist attacks, SARS and the August Power Outage have all contributed to the increased awareness and need for appropriate public safety measures.
Today, all levels of government, Federal, Provincial and Municipal, are taking steps to ensure proper emergency management programs are put in place.
The AIM of Ontario’s emergency management program is to improve public safety and to promote disaster-resilient communities through increased public awareness and public education campaigns, and to create public confidence in a municipality’s ability to manage a major community emergency.
Emergency Preparedness Week
National Emergency Preparedness Week is held each year early in May, and will be May 2 - 8, 2010.
"Emergency Preparedness week is an annual week-long event intended to enhance Canadians' awareness and understanding of emergency preparedness issues and activities through a consistent joint provincial/territorial/federal approach and by encouraging support and partnerships among other stakeholders. The primary target audience is the public, such as families, seniors and school-aged children."
Everyone has there own reasons for being prepared. Natural disasters can and do happen. An emergency can strike a community at any time. Being prepared for your safety and that of your family is the first step.
In 2005, the County, along with the seven member municipalities prepared "Wellington County Emergency Prepardness Guide". A copy of this guide is now available on our website. It is located in our documents section.
In 2008, the County of Wellington will again be participating in activities aimed to increase public awareness of emergency management.
To find out more about Emergency Preparedness Week and how you can "Prepare Now" check out the website by clicking on the web link to the right.