Do you know that if a real emergency or major disaster occurs, like blackouts, floods, earthquakes (and YES Toronto sits on a fault line) bombings, gas explosions, nuclear power leaks and natural disasters you are expected to get organized and survive on your own without any info-structure help for 72 hours– that’s 3 days of an emergency? It can take 72 hours or more to mobilize a significant relief effort during an emergency by first responders such as police, fire and paramedics.

Estimates show that only 25% of the population are naturally organized, leaving the other 75% disorganized. So get it together! You only get one chance to get this right -So - prepare your own emergency kit - for your family, your animals and your business.

Business:

We can learn from the Americans who had to learn the hard way in 9/11 to never store your archival information or general backups in the same building where you work.

Do you know if your company has filled out an Business Emergency Preparedness Plan or Business Continuity Procedure or Business Continuity and Disaster Preparedness Plan and do you know what part you play in this? Just Google any of these names above and and you will get a flood of information and templates you can download for free to use that will save your company thousands of dollars in time and money should an emergency occur.

Family:

Prepare your home emergency kit. Prepare your family. This is a small but important point - make sure everyone in your household knows exactly where to find the emergency kit, what place to go as a safe haven if you are separated because by being prepared you will also allow the community resources and emergency workers to concentrate on the people who are in real urgent need. Also put an Emergency Kit in the trunk of your car.

Create a basic kit of the usual items such as flashlight, essential medications, copies of prescriptions and a cellular phone, battery-operated radio, food, water and blankets etc.

But to be fully prepared try these two helpful website - they will give a lists you can follow seamlessly to complete your emergency plan online, it only takes about 20 minutes and will produce a personalized plan you can print out :

Go to website "Get prepared" run by the government at: http://www.getprepared.gc.ca/index_e.asp

For safety tips go online to :

http://www.getprepared.gc.ca/tip/tip_e.asp

For how to prepare within Ontario, contact your Community Emergency Management Coordinator through your local municipal office or visit Emergency Management Ontario.

When it is all done - go out and celebrate knowing you have created more balance in your life and you have the future all planned out!