Each year, Public Safety Canada coordinates an Emergency Preparedness Week that encourages Canadians to be prepared for emergencies in their community. This year, Emergency Preparedness Week takes place the first week of May. Through its Office of Emergency Management, the City hosts the annual Get Ready in the Park (GRIP) event. The purpose of this event is to:

• Promote community personal emergency preparedness.
• Showcase the Edmonton and regional initial response/emergency management community.
• Provide information to help residents prepare for a major emergency or incident.

This free, interactive event will occur on Saturday, May 6, 2023 at the Edmonton Northlands Fair Grounds, just south of the EXPO Centre—perfect for the whole family. Visit edmonton.ca/GetReadyInThePark to learn more.

Curious about the climate change connection to emergency preparedness? Look for the Change for Climate home tent (it looks like a house!) that we’ll have set up at GRIP, and read on.

Emergency Preparedness and Climate Change:

This year’s theme for GRIP is “Emergency Preparedness: Be Ready for Anything.” Already we have seen changes in Edmonton’s weather with high winds, extreme rainfall events and smoke from distant fires choking the city. When citizens are prepared and able to help each other out, first responders are better able to focus their attention on where it is needed most.

Climate change is projected to bring more frequent and intense weather events that have the capacity to leave us, literally, in the dark for hours, or perhaps days. Without power, homes can be overheated in summer, or too cool other times of the year. Heavy rains might lead to overland flooding. Read more about climate changes projected for Edmonton at edmonton.ca/climatealmanac.

Taking measures in advance to prepare ourselves—and our neighbours for emergencies (read our blog post, Neighbouring for Climate)—can help us to avert the worst. Read this account of an extreme weather event affecting another part of Canada last fall.

Can't make it to GRIP? Learn how you can “Be Ready for Anything”—visit Preparing for Climate Change to learn more.