Every municipality and regional district in the Province of BC is required to have an emergency program in place under the BC Emergency Program Act. The City of Vernon’s Emergency Program is managed by Vernon Fire Rescue Services.
The Emergency Program is responsible for the direction and control of a coordinated response to—and recovery from—a major emergency event or disaster. This is accomplished through prevention and mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery activities. Resources engaged to provide effective responses include trained and practiced emergency management personnel, community volunteers and emergency plans that reflect the risks inherent to the area.
Emergency programs do not coordinate or facilitate daily emergency response activities of the RCMP, fire rescue services, BC Ambulance Service or public works departments. The program is designed to support these agencies with required resources when they have depleted those initially available to them.
Frequently asked questions
During an emergency event like the flooding that the Okanagan region is experiencing, there are a number of questions that people have about response and recovery. Click on the link to go to our emergency management page and to read the answers:
Be Prepared
Residents have a responsibility to be prepared for disasters and emergencies. In the event of an emergency, you should be prepared to be self-sufficient for at least 72 hours. Knowing what to do is an important part of being prepared. Those who are well prepared can minimize some of the challenges incurred during the initial response and after recovery to a major incident. Many resources are available through a variety of sources and are noted on the following page:
Make a plan
Remember to include the following in your plan
Build a kit
Grab and go bag
Plan for pets
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Additional resources:
- Sign up to receive emergency alerts from the City at www.vernon.ca/subscribe. Enter your email address and check the boxes to indicate the updates you want to receive.
- Information about flood preparation and FAQs are located here: https://www.vernon.ca/floods-emergency-management
- Tips and a video on effective sandbagging are located here: https://www.vernon.ca/activities-events/news-events/news-archive/tips-safety-near-floodwaters-and-effective-sandbagging
- In the event of flooding, updates will be provided through the local news outlets and on the City’s social media pages: https://www.facebook.com/cityofvernon and https://www.twitter.com/cityofvernon