Environmental disasters such as flooding and fires act as a “wake up call” to be prepared in case of an emergency.
Whether it’s an earthquake, flood, power outage, or fire, event manager Lauren McGregor said the public will learn how to best be prepared for any emergency or environmental disaster at week’s new emergency preparedness expo in Langley.
“The world has been changing … you see so many things happening, especially with the floods and fires and disasters we don’t have control over, for the most part,” McGregor said.
She added that emergencies can also be local disasters, like a house fire.
“You don’t have to live out in dense forest to experience a fire. It could be in our own home, it could be a disaster in which you lose your job and you don’t have means to go buy food every day.”
The free event is on Saturday, June 10, in the southeast corner at the Temple View Chapel. The gate opens at 10 a.m.
Exhibits include amateur (HAM) radio and family radio systems, cooking on a budget, food and water storage, making a grab n’ go binder of important documents, neighbourhood preparedness, and much more.
Neighbourhood preparedness is an opportunity to gather neighbours and discuss what to do in case of an emergency as a community, McGregor explained.
“What are we going to be responsible for? When the neighbourhood comes together, it’s a neighbourhood effort rather than individual homes and families trying to survive,” she said.
Three workshops are scheduled at the expo.
The first workshop starts at 10:30 a.m. on earthquake preparedness, followed by an emergency communications workshop at 11:35 a.m., and finishing the day with a psychological first aid workshop at 12:40 p.m. by Canadian Red Cross.
McGregor said it’s important to be stronger together in an emergency.
“Emergencies can happen at any time and without warning. We all have a responsibility to be aware and be as prepared as possible for disasters, emergencies, and the unexpected.”
The expo was originally scheduled in May during emergency preparedness week, but due to a scheduling conflict the event was pushed to June.
The chapel is located at 20370 82nd Ave.
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