Atlantic Canadians the most prepared in Canada for emergency evacuations: survey

From severe weather to wildfires, First at Five looks at the importance of being prepared in the case of an emergency.

From hurricanes to floods, a once-in-a-generation blizzard and raging wildfires, Maritimers have experienced extreme weather events of all kinds in the past number of years.

“People were running out of gas for their generators, lineups were crazy,” Denise Forgeron of Louisbourg, N.S., said of her experience during post-tropical storm Fiona in September 2022.

Forgeron’s mother’s home in Louisbourg suffered more than $20,000 damage from Fiona. She and her husband were also without power or well water for a few days.

Since then, Forgeron has purchased a fireproof bag that contains things like passports, medication and some cash in case of another emergency.

“If something happens, I said, ‘Go in that closet, that black bag - grab it,’” Forgeron said. “Because it has all of our personal items and different things that we would need.”

On Wednesday, Canada’s Alert Ready system went off in most provinces, including the Maritimes. However, it was only a test.

In a real emergency, responses vary on what people would run out of the door with.

“A lot of homeowners and individuals care so much about their pets,” said Patricia Molyneaux, a branch manager in Charlottetown with First On-Site Property Restoration Services.

A new survey from First Onsite found the other things Canadians would grab first are cash, cards - and their phones.

“I’m right up there too,” Molyneaux admitted. “If I’m getting evacuated, my phone or whatever I use to communicate would be top of the line.”

The survey found that 53 per cent of Atlantic Canadians - the highest percentage in the country- feel prepared for a weather-related emergency.

It also found that 53 per cent know their local evacuation routes - also tops nationwide – and that 85 per cent know where to find official emergency alerts and weather information.

Another 30 per cent have an emergency kit prepared.

“(Being prepared) can make a huge difference, especially because when events happen you might not have a lot of time,” Molyneaux said.

In Louisbourg, one of Forgeron’s first priorities post-Fiona was replacing the deck so her 85-year-old mother would have more than one escape route.

“That’s why we got on the insurance like we did, because we had only one exit from September right up until the deck went on in February,” Forgeron said.