Fact sheet
Community of Edmonton (CMA), Alberta
In 2014, information on the emergency preparedness of people living in the Census Metropolitan AreaNote 1 of Edmonton was collected through the Survey of Emergency Preparedness and Resilience in Canada (SEPR).Note 2 This fact sheet presents information on the risk awareness and level of emergency preparedness of the residents of Edmonton, which could help improve the understanding of community resilience in the event of an emergency.Note 3Note 4
Risk awareness and anticipated sources of help in an emergency or disaster
- Winter storms (including blizzards, ice storms and extreme cold) (87%), tornadoes (64%) and extended power outages lasting 24 hours or longer (59%) were named by residents of Edmonton as the most likely events to occur within their community.
- Residents most commonly anticipated turning to news on the television as an initial source for help and information if they were faced with an act of terrorism or terrorist threat (33%), a weather-related emergency or natural disaster (29%) or an industrial or transportation accident (25%) (Table 1.1).
- Residents also stated that hospitals, clinics, doctors and other medical professionals were the most commonly anticipated sources of initial help and information in the event of an outbreak of a serious or life-threatening disease (47%). In the event of an extended power outage, residents anticipated turning to their utility company (39%). If they faced a contamination or shortage of water or food, they anticipated seeking help from local government (33%), and in the event of rioting or civil unrest, they would turn to police or law enforcement (33%).
Prior lifetime experience with a major emergency or disasterNote 5
- Three in ten (30%) Edmonton residents have faced a major emergency or disaster in Canada in a community they were living in at the time of the event, two-thirds (67%) of whom reported experiencing severe disruptions to their daily activities as a result of the event.
- Tornadoes (53%) were the most commonly experienced emergencies or disasters by residents of Edmonton, followed by winter storms which include blizzards and ice storms (16%Note E: Use with caution) and floods (14%Note E: Use with caution).
- The most common types of disruption to daily activities endured by residents who had experienced major emergencies or disasters included missing work or school (48%) and missing an appointment or planned activity (43%). More severe disruptions experienced were an inability to use roads or transportation within the community (39%) or communicate outside the home (23%Note E: Use with caution), and home evacuation (21%Note E: Use with caution).
- Four out of five (82%) residents who experienced an emergency or disaster were able to resume their daily activities within one week of the event, three in five (60%) within two days or less.
- More than half (55%) of residents who had experienced an emergency or disaster received help during or immediately following the event, most commonly from a family member (35%Note E: Use with caution), a neighbour (22%Note E: Use with caution) or a friend (21%Note E: Use with caution).
- Three in ten (29%Note E: Use with caution) residents of Edmonton who experienced a major emergency or disaster in Canada in a community where they were living at the time of the event and which was significant enough to disrupt their regular daily routine also endured a loss of property or financial impact. A smaller proportion (7%Note E: Use with caution) of residents reported that they endured long-term emotional or psychological consequences.
Emergency planning, precautionary and fire safety behaviours
- Three-quarters (74%) of people residing in Edmonton lived in households that were engaged in at least two emergency planning activities,Note 6 and one-half (48%) lived in households with three or four such activities (Table 1.2). Less than one in ten (7%Note E: Use with caution) people lived in a household that had not participated in any emergency planning activities.
- Four in ten (42%) lived in a household with at least two precautionary measuresNote 7 taken in case of an emergency, and two in ten (19%) lived in a household with three or four such measures. Close to two in ten (22%) people lived in a household with no precautionary measures in place.
- The vast majority (96%) of residents reported living in a household with a working smoke detector, and two-thirds (67%) reported living in a household with a working fire extinguisher (Table 1.3). Three out of five (59%) residents stated that they had a working carbon monoxide detector in their household. However, less than one-half (46%) of the residents of Edmonton stated that they had implemented all three fire safety measures within their households.
- The number of emergency planning activities and fire safety measures taken by residents of Edmonton generally did not differ from residents in Alberta and Canada’s 10 provinces. However, differences did exist for precautionary measures. For example, Edmonton residents were less likely to have three (15%) or four (4%Note E: Use with caution) precautionary measures in place compared to Albertans (18% and 6%, respectively) and Canadians (20% and 7%, respectively). In fact, those in Edmonton (22%) were significantly more likely to have no precautionary measures in place compared to residents of Canada (16%).Note 8
- There were some significant differences in the types of emergency planning activities Edmonton residents engaged in when compared to Canadians. For instance, residents in Edmonton were more likely to have a vehicle emergency supply kit (67%), an emergency exit plan (66%) and extra copies of important documents (59%) compared to Canadians in general. In terms of precautionary measures, residents of Edmonton were less likely to have an alternate heat source (40%), an alternate water source (35%) and a back-up generator (17%) compared to residents of both Alberta overall and Canadians in general.
Social networks and sense of belonging
- Less than half (43%) of Edmonton’s residents had a strong sense of belongingNote 9 to their community.Note 10
- Most (85%) residents described the neighbourhood they lived in as a place where neighbours generally help each other.Note 11 Of those who did not describe their neighbourhood this way, the majority (72%) still described it as a place where neighbours would help each other in an emergency.Note 12
- More than half of individuals had a large network of support in the event of an emergency or disaster, with more than five people to turn to for emotional support (62%),Note 13 for help if physically injured (59%)Note 14 as well as in case of a home evacuation (57%).Note 15 About one-quarter (27%) of residents had a large support network if financial help was needed. However, 8% reported that they had no one to turn to for financial help.Note 16
- High levels of self-efficacy and social support, as well as civic engagement, were sometimes associated with a higher level of emergency preparedness (Table 1.4).
Data tables
Most common sources of initial help and information by type of emergency or disaster | percent |
---|---|
Weather-related emergency or natural disaster | |
News- Television | 29 |
News- Radio | 27 |
News- Internet | 22 |
Extended power outagesTable 1.1, Note 1 | |
Utility company | 39 |
News- Radio | 15 |
Local government | 12Note E: Use with caution |
Outbreak of serious or life-threatening disease | |
Hospital, clinic, doctor or other medical professional | 47 |
News- Television | 20 |
News- Internet | 17 |
Industrial or transportation accident | |
News- Television | 25 |
News- Radio | 24 |
News- Internet | 20 |
Contamination or shortage of water or foodTable 1.1, Note 1 | |
Local government | 33 |
News- Television | 18 |
News- Internet | 17 |
Act of terrorism or terrorist threat | |
News- Television | 33 |
News- Radio | 30 |
Police/law enforcement | 24 |
Rioting or civil unrestTable 1.1, Note 1 | |
Police/law enforcement | 33 |
News- Television | 26Note E: Use with caution |
News- Radio | 17Note E: Use with caution |
E use with caution
Source: Statistics Canada, Survey of Emergency Preparedness and Resilience in Canada, 2014. |
Number of planning activities, fire safety and precautionary measures taken by residents | Edmonton | Alberta | Canada |
---|---|---|---|
percent | |||
Number of emergency planning activities | |||
None | 7Note E: Use with caution | 8 | 8 |
1 activity | 16 | 17 | 17 |
2 activities | 26 | 25 | 25 |
3 activities | 29 | 26 | 27 |
4 activities | 19 | 20 | 19 |
Number of precautionary measures | |||
None | 22Table 1.2, Note ** | 21 | 16 |
1 measure | 31Table 1.2, Note *** | 27 | 27 |
2 measures | 23Table 1.2, Note ** | 23 | 28 |
3 measures | 15Table 1.2, Note *** | 18 | 20 |
4 measures | 4Note E: Use with cautionTable 1.2, Note *** | 6 | 7 |
Number of fire safety measuresTable 1.2, Note 1Table 1.2, Note 2Table 1.2, Note 3 | |||
None | Note F: too unreliable to be published | 1Note E: Use with caution | 1 |
1 measure | 15 | 14 | 14 |
2 measures | 31Table 1.2, Note ** | 31 | 38 |
3 measures | 46 | 48 | 42 |
E use with caution F too unreliable to be published
Source: Statistics Canada, Survey of Emergency Preparedness and Resilience in Canada, 2014. |
Residents whose households were involved in the following: | Edmonton | Alberta | Canada |
---|---|---|---|
percent | |||
Emergency planning activities | |||
Emergency exit plan | 66Table 1.3, Note ** | 63 | 60 |
Exit plan has been practised/reviewed in last 12 monthsTable 1.3, Note 1 | 42 | 45 | 46 |
Designated meeting place for household membersTable 1.3, Note 2 | 36 | 33 | 33 |
Contact plan for household membersTable 1.3, Note 2 | 59Table 1.3, Note * | 55 | 55 |
Household emergency supply kit | 44 | 43 | 47 |
Vehicle emergency supply kitTable 1.3, Note 3 | 67Table 1.3, Note ** | 69 | 59 |
Extra copies of important documents | 59Table 1.3, Note ** | 55 | 53 |
List of emergency contact numbers | 67 | 68 | 69 |
Plan for meeting special health needsTable 1.3, Note 4 | 61 | 64 | 62 |
Precautionary measures | |||
Wind-up or battery-operated radio | 48Table 1.3, Note ** | 49 | 58 |
Alternate heat source | 40Table 1.3, Note *** | 45 | 48 |
Back-up generator | 17Table 1.3, Note *** | 22 | 23 |
Alternate water source | 35Table 1.3, Note *** | 41 | 43 |
OtherTable 1.3, Note 5 | 20 | 17 | 21 |
Fire safety measures | |||
Working smoke detector | 96 | 96 | 98 |
Working carbon monoxide detector | 59Table 1.3, Note * | 65 | 60 |
Working fire extinguisher | 67 | 65 | 66 |
Source: Statistics Canada, Survey of Emergency Preparedness and Resilience in Canada, 2014. |
Social and political involvement | Percentage of residents who had high or moderately high levels of... | ||
---|---|---|---|
Planning activities | Precautionary measures | Fire safety measures | |
percent | |||
Engagement in political activitiesTable 1.4, Note 1 | |||
YesTable 1.4, Note † | 51 | 21 | 50 |
No | 41 | 15Note E: Use with caution | 40 |
High level of civic engagementTable 1.4, Note 2 | |||
YesTable 1.4, Note † | 54 | 22 | 54 |
No | 42Table 1.4, Note * | 16Note E: Use with caution | 40Table 1.4, Note * |
High level of social supportTable 1.4, Note 3 | |||
YesTable 1.4, Note 7Table 1.4, Note 8 Table 1.4, Note † | 57 | 18Note E: Use with caution | 56 |
NoTable 1.4, Note 9 | 45 | 18 | 43Table 1.4, Note * |
Strong sense of belonging to communityTable 1.4, Note 4 | |||
YesTable 1.4, Note † | 53 | 21 | 45 |
No | 46 | 15 | 47 |
High neighbourhood trustTable 1.4, Note 5 | |||
YesTable 1.4, Note † | 53 | 19 | 51 |
NoTable 1.4, Note 9 | 47 | 18 | 46 |
High level of self-efficacyTable 1.4, Note 6 | |||
YesTable 1.4, Note † | 55 | 21 | 47 |
No | 43Table 1.4, Note * | 15Note E: Use with caution | 47 |
E use with caution
Source: Statistics Canada, Survey of Emergency Preparedness and Resilience in Canada, 2014. |
Notes
E use with caution
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