Planning ahead and preparing for a flood means having a 72-hour emergency kit with basic supplies, personal items, and important documents ready to go at a moment’s notice.

Download the Emergency Checklist

• Exercise caution around riverbanks as the fast-moving water can cause erosion and destabilization of riverbanks
• Warn children about the dangers of fast-moving water, particularly those residents who live near the river
• Cyclists and pedestrians should watch for low-lying areas where the river can submerge the pathways
• Please be aware and adjust your travel to allow time to react and respect any closures
• Contact 311 if you see any flooding concerns and contact 911 if life safety is a concern
• Keep pets away from fast-moving water
• Remove lawn furniture and other portable items off the riverbank

Click HERE for the guide.

Build an Emergency Kit

Community Resources

Hazard Preparedness Guide

Emergency Preparedness Week

Pet Preparedness

Make an Emergency Plan

Farm Animals & Livestock

Know the 6Ps of Preparation: people, prescriptions, personal needs, papers, priceless items, pets

• Plan and practice your family emergency preparedness plan
• Every member of the family should prepare a ‘go bag’ with emergency supplies for 72 hours
• Emergency kits should be easy to find or close to the door
• Make copies of your most important documents and store them in watertight bags or off-site
• Establish a plan on how to communicate with friends, family, neighbours during a flood
• Have an out of town contact to connect you with family and friends should local lines be congested in an emergency
• Keep important numbers in your wallet or have a list handy, not just on your phone
• Have a meetup place for your family to meet after a flooding emergency
• Consider creating a closed social media group just for emergencies
• Store treasured photos, family videos, important mementos, financial records in a safe place or higher level in the house
• Save documents electronically or on a backup drive or portable thumb drive in advance
• Have a plan to move lighter weight valuable electronic equipment like TVs, computers, laptops to higher levels and away from windows when a flood happens
• Prepare your home with sandbagging and temporary flood measures to reduce your risk 

• ​Assign flood wardens at your facility if you live in a condo or apartment
• Have a list of residents and know your muster point in the event the entire facility is evacuated
• Check your insurance policy to see if it covers flooding with overland flood insurance – many policies do not cover high-risk areas
• Make a list of your household inventory and belongings to be ready for future insurance claims (take pictures or make a video of each room)
• For homes along the shoreline, think about temporary flood measures like sandbagging
• Have large signs on hand to put in your window during an emergency (Green with the word ‘Ok!’, Red with the word ‘Help!’)
• Make a list of things to do immediately if you need to evacuate (shutting off gas appliances, water tank, electricity etc.)
• Have a backup power outage source like a generator on hand
• Know who to call or what to do if utilities need to be shut off

• ​Talk to your kids candidly about disasters like flooding and its impacts, like the risk of injury and death so that everyone takes the discussion seriously
• Get kids to pack and store their own 72-hour ‘go bag’ so that they are part of the process
• Assign roles for kids when disaster hit (older kids can help with sandbagging for example)
• Make sure everyone understands flash flood responses, evacuation plans and shelter plans
• Learn and practice first aid skills with your kids (first aid, how to use a defibrillator, CPR)

For those with pets, emergency kits should include:

• Have an emergency and care plan in place for your pet should an emergency occur
• Identify a temporary residence for your pet for safekeeping in the event of an emergency
• Have photos of your pets handy to make sure you can seek help in finding them post-flood if they are missing
• Have pet food, a leash and collar and a familiar carrier ready to go as part of the 72-hour emergency kit
• Have copies of vaccinations as part of the important documents to store or save

• ​Have an emergency plan in place to evacuate your animals
• Make sure you have a farm emergency kit ready to go
• Read the Alberta Farm Animals and Livestock Preparedness guide and the Government of Canada guide

• ​Have an emergency preparedness and communications plan ready
• Create a business continuity plan for evacuation scenarios
• Think about how to protect critical assets during a disaster
• Have HR policies in place: 
  • Employee alerts/early release/working remotely/payroll and insurance policies
• Provide first aid training to employees and have first aid kits readily available
• Save or store all important documents (off-site or on higher ground)
• Assign one or more points of contact responsible for employee counts in case of evacuation
• Assign a point of contact to communicate with first responders
• Larger businesses should assign floor or facility wardens to get people out and meet at a planned muster point to ensure everyone’s safety
• Test your emergency employee and customer notification plans (emails, text alerts) – start all notification tests with “THIS IS A TEST” to avoid confusion
• Have a plan to work in an alternate location in case of evacuation
• Make sure employees are aware of their respective roles during a flood
• Have an accessibility plan for employees with disabilities or special needs
• Consider having a manual for every employee to review the plans and procedures
• Host an annual tabletop exercise with management and employees to review and practice the plans, process, roles and procedures
• Use social media platforms like business websites, Twitter, and Facebook to communicate with employees, customers and members

• ​Discuss your plans with friends and neighbours to ensure everyone’s safety during a flood
• Have a plan to check in on elderly neighbours, people living alone or with a disability and offer to assist or be part of their plan
• Consider creating a closed social media group in case of emergency to communicate with the immediate community

​People with disabilities have unique challenges during emergencies, and they have to consider things such as:

• Difficulties with communication
• Surroundings looking unfamiliar
• Stress and confusion can occur with visual or hearing impairments 
• Guide animals can go missing
• Trusted support networks of 2-3 helpers or caregivers can check-in and assist in an emergency
• Make sure that they have spare keys and know the emergency response plan
• Emergency kits should include all special needs items and written documentation to assist helpers
• Emergency kits for people with disabilities should have extra medication (2-week supply), dosages, prescription information, medical and mobility devices and equipment (walkers, canes etc.)
• Have a whistle or personal alarm on hand to seek help
• Support helpers should know where the emergency kit is located and, if a service dog is needed, have a plan to evacuate the animal where possible

• Have a trusted support network of 2-3 helpers to check-in and assist in an emergency
• Helpers should know the response plan, have spare keys and know the location of the emergency kit
• Caregiving needs should be clearly outlined on paper and shared with the support network
• Emergency kits for seniors should have extra medication (2-week supply), dosages, prescription information, medical and mobility devices and equipment (walkers, canes, eyeglasses, hearing aids and batteries, spare footwear and orthotics etc.)
• All special needs and medication should be clearly written and accessible to helpers should communication be hindered in any way
• Always have a whistle or personal alarm close to seek help
• Mobility devices and equipment should be by the door where possible should a rapid exit be required

• A high-quality crushed gravel base layer below the basement slab (i.e., a minimum building code requirement)
• Damp-proofing of exterior basement wall surface prior to backfilling
• Perimeter weeping tile tied into an interior collection sump with positive drainage/discharge away from the site
• Add lateral drains connected into the collection sump for a site where seasonal groundwater might rise to within 1 m of the basement floor  
• Upgrade damp-proofing to waterproofing
• Add water stops between footings, basement walls and floor slabs
• Add a free-draining gravel drainage mat across the basement area tied into 1 or 2 collection sumps
• Add a water-proof membrane with the drainage mat

View this Alberta Floods and Rivers Tutorial

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• Be ready with a supply of sandbags and temporary flood measures in high-risk areas
• Plan how many sandbags you will need and who will help install them
• It could take two people an hour to position 100 sandbags to build a one-foot high wall
• Assign flood-ready tasks to family members, including sandbagging for stronger members
• Have sandbags, sand, burlap and plastic bags, rags, shovels stored on hand and on higher ground

• Eavestroughs and extensions should drain away from the home and its foundation at least 1.5 metres away and soak onto landscaped areas vs concrete areas and away from your neighbours’ homes
• Do not connect extensions to sanitary sewer lines or weeping tiles
• Ensure that leaves and debris are cleared from gutters to prevent rainwater accumulation 

• Know where your floor drains, back-flow prevention and clean-out sewer lines are located
• Install a backflow prevention device on your sewer pipe to reduce the risk of sewage entering your basement
• Install a weeping tile backup prevention device to reduce the flow of water from entering your basement
• Check your sump pump periodically to make sure it is operating as it should
• Plug toilets, sinks, sewer standpipes and drains with rags or caps where possible during a flood