Send an email to REMO_KingsCounty@countyofkings.ca with the Subject Line of "Emergency Email Notification System". You will receive a subscription confirmation email notifying you that all emails are sent to subscribers ‘bcc’ so that your email address is not shared with other subscribers.

Emergency preparedness is a shared responsibility at all levels of government, the private and non-profit sectors, and individual citizens. The best way to ensure your own safety and well-being is to take responsibility for your own emergency preparedness.

Water quantity

You should have at least four litres of water per person per day - for drinking, food preparation, personal hygiene and dishwashing. So for example, if you have three family members, you should have 12 litres a day for at least a three-day period, i.e. 36 litres of bottled water in a cool, dark place, in washed and disinfected plastic bottles that are easy to carry.

Record the date that you bottled or stored the water on the label. Replace stored water every six months and store-bought bottled water every year.

If you have pets or a service animal, don't forget to store approximately 30 millilitres of water per kilogram of the animal's weight per day. For example an average cat or small dog would require at least 1/5 of a litre (or half a cup) of water per day.

Water storage

If your local water is treated commercially by a water treatment utility, you do not have to treat the water before storing it. If your water comes from a public well or other public, non-treated system, follow instructions about water storage provided by your public health agency or water provider. Likewise, if your local water comes from a private well or other private source, consult with your local public health agency about recommendations regarding storage of water. Only your local public health agency should make recommendations about whether your local water can be safely stored, for how long, and how to treat it. In all cases, it is important to change and replace stored water at least every six months.

Water treatment

You should treat all water of uncertain purity before using it for drinking, food preparation or hygiene. Treatment can vary depending on the nature of the contamination, but when in doubt, do not drink water you suspect may be contaminated. There are many ways to treat water and none are perfect. Often the best solution is a combination of methods. Boiling and disinfection will kill most microbes but only distillation will remove other contaminants such as heavy metals, salts and most other chemicals. Before treating, let any suspended particles settle to the bottom, or strain them through layers of paper towel or clean cloth.

• Boiling Water: Boiling is the safest method of treating water. Bring water to a rolling boil for 10 minutes, keeping in mind that some water will evaporate. Let the water cool before drinking.
• Disinfection: You can use household liquid bleach to kill micro-organisms. Use only regular household liquid bleach that contains 5.25 percent sodium hypochlorite as the active ingredient. Do not use scented bleaches, colour-safe bleaches or bleaches with added cleaners. Add one to two drops of bleach per litre of clear water. If the water is cloudy, treat with three to four drops of bleach per litre. Stir and let stand for 30 minutes. If the water does not have a slight bleach odour, repeat the dosage and let stand another 15 minutes.
• Distillation: Distillation involves boiling water and then collecting the vapour that condenses back to water. The condensed vapour will not include salt and other impurities. To distil, fill a pot halfway with water. Tie a cup to the handle on the pot's lid so that the cup will hang right-side-up when the lid is upside-down. Make sure the cup is not hanging into the water and boil the water for 20 minutes. The water that drips from the lid into the cup is distilled.

Candles pose a fire hazard and must never be burned unattended. For safety reasons, battery powered flashlights may be a better option. That said, candles are an inexpensive light source and are often readily accessible. If you decide to use candles, be sure to follow the necessary fire safety precautions. Keep lit candles in sturdy containers on level surfaces. If possible, place a glass shade over them.

Candles can be easily knocked over, so keep them out of the reach of children and pets, and away from anything that can burn. Extinguish candles before leaving the room or going to bed.

You can only safely heat your home during a power outage if you already have a standby heating unit installed, such as a non-electric stove or heater, or a wood-burning fireplace. Unvented combustion appliances are not safe for indoor use.

When choosing a standby heating unit, pick one that is not dependent on an electric motor, electric fan or some other electrical device to function. It is also important to adequately vent the stove or heater with the type of chimney flue specified for it. Use only fuel-burning heaters certified by the Canadian Standards Association(CSA) or Canadian Gas Association.

If you have a wood-burning fireplace, clean the flue every fall in preparation for its use for home heating (i.e. sustained use at high temperatures). The creosote in a flue can be ignited by sustained high temperatures and develop into a chimney fire.

If the standby heating unit will use the normal house oil or gas supply, have it connected with shut-off valves by a competent technician.

For more information, contact the Canadian Gas Association.

You should personalize your basic emergency kit items according to your needs. If you have pets include special items such as food, water and medication for your pets or service animal. Whether you decide to stay put in an emergency or evacuate to a safer location, you will need to have a plan ready for your pets. If you need to evacuate, take your pets with you if possible. However, if you are going to a public shelter, remember that animals may not be allowed inside (except for service animals). Plan in advance for shelter alternatives that will work for both you and your pets. Make a back-up emergency plan in case you can't care for your animals yourself. Develop a buddy system with neighbours, friends and relatives to make sure that someone is available to care for or evacuate your pets if you are unable to do so.

A grab-and-go kit is an emergency kit that you can easily take with you if you need to leave your home. Make sure your kit is easy to carry and everyone in the household knows where it is. Keep it in a backpack, duffel bag or suitcase with wheels, in an easy-to-reach place, such as your front hall closet. If you have a large household, your emergency kit could get heavy, so it's a good idea to separate some of these supplies in backpacks. That way, your kit will be more portable and each person can personalize their own grab-and-go emergency kit.

The Public Health Agency of Canada advises that it if it not possible to keep additional medication on hand for emergency use, you should prepare and keep on you an accurate description of your health conditions, your prescriptions (including dose) , treatment requirements, and name of your prescribing physician. Having this information readily available can assist emergency responders to address people's medical and health needs in the most timely and efficient way possible.

The database is hosted on a server owned and managed by the Municipality of the County of Kings which is physically located within Canada. All standard security procedures are in place. The data is only accessible by Kings IT staff and the VPR coordinator and the physical machine is accessible only by Kings IT staff in a secure and auditable badge-access area.

• Local media through regular updates
• www.KingsREMO.ca
• Kings REMO Facebook and Twitter social media sites
  • Twitter: @REMO_KingsCty
  • Facebook: /REMOKingsCounty
• Kings County Municipal Facebook and Twitter social media sites
• Press releases and public safety announcements (PSAs)
• Messaging through media outlets (print, radio, tv)
• Working with NS EMO for messages and updates
• Constant communication with Elected Officials, Kings County RCMP/Kentville Police Services, Kings County Fire & EHS, Emergency Social Services teams
• Media conference for emergency updates

Having an emergency plan in place and knowing where your vital material is – an ‘Emergency Go-Bag’, may be the best way to get you, and your family, out in time with everything you need. Here’s a list of recommended items to have when time is short:

• All family members
• Pets
• Medication
• Change of clothing
• Important documents, including insurance information, birth certificates and passports
• Money/credit cards
• Portable radio
• Flashlight
• Irreplaceable family photographs