Fact sheet
Smaller communities of Prince Edward Island Fact sheet
Smaller communities of Prince Edward Island

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In 2014, information on the emergency preparedness of people living in ‘smaller communities’ of Prince Edward Island was collected through the Survey of Emergency Preparedness and Resilience in Canada (SEPR).^{Note 1}^{Note 2}^{Note 3} This fact sheet presents information on the risk awareness and level of emergency preparedness of the residents of Prince Edward Island’s smaller communities, which could help improve the understanding of community resilience in the event of an emergency.^{Note 4}

Risk awareness and anticipated sources of help in an emergency or disaster

Residents of smaller communities of Prince Edward Island anticipated winter storms (including blizzards, ice storms and extreme cold) (97%), extended power outages lasting 24 hours or longer (78%) and hurricanes (49%) as the events most likely to occur within their communities. Additionally, nearly half (46%) of residents believed storm surges or tsunamis are likely to occur.
Residents anticipated first turning to news on the radio as a source of help and information in the event of a weather-related emergency or natural disaster (38%), a contamination or shortage of water or food (26%^{Note E: Use with caution}), and an industrial or transportation accident (24%^{Note E: Use with caution}) (Table 1.1).
In the event of an extended power outage lasting 24 hours or longer, people in Prince Edward Island’s smaller communities would commonly first turn to their utility company (49%). If faced with an outbreak of a serious or life-threatening disease, they commonly anticipated turning to hospitals, clinics, doctors or medical professionals (49%) first. The police were the most commonly anticipated source of initial help if faced with rioting or civil unrest (48%^{Note E: Use with caution}), as well as an act of terrorism or terrorist threat (38%^{Note E: Use with caution}).

Prior lifetime experience with a major emergency or disaster^{Note 5}

More than one-quarter (27%) of residents of smaller communities of Prince Edward Island have experienced a major emergency or disaster in Canada in a community they were living in at the time of the event. For many (83%), this emergency or disaster was significant enough to have resulted in severe disruptions to their daily activities.
Winter storms including blizzards and ice storms (47%) were the type of emergency or disaster most commonly experienced by residents. Extended power outages lasting 24 hours or longer (32%^{Note E: Use with caution}) and hurricanes (22%^{Note E: Use with caution}) were the other emergencies most commonly reported.
Missing work or school (72%) was the most common type of disruption to daily activities endured by those in smaller communities of Prince Edward Island who had experienced emergencies or disasters. This was followed by an inability to use electrical appliances (67%), missing appointments or planned activities (65%) and an inability to use water at home for tasks (62%). About half (52%) of residents who had been affected by a major emergency or disaster were unable to use roads or transportation within their community, while less than a quarter (21%) had to evacuate their homes.
Most (86%) residents who had experienced major emergencies were able to resume their daily activities within one week of the event; half (51%) of residents were able to resume their activities in two days or less.
About half (51%) of residents who had been affected by emergencies or disasters received help during or immediately following the event, most often from family members (35%^{Note E: Use with caution}) and neighbours (31%^{Note E: Use with caution}).
Nearly one-third (31%^{Note E: Use with caution}) of residents of smaller communities of Prince Edward Island who were affected by major emergencies or disasters that were significant enough to disrupt their regular daily activities endured a loss of property or another financial impact. Other types of long-term implications such as emotional, psychological, physical or health consequences were rare.

Emergency planning, precautionary and fire safety behaviours

Seven in ten (70%) residents of smaller communities of Prince Edward Island lived in households that were engaged in at least two emergency planning activities,^{Note 6} with more than four in ten (44%) living in households with three or four such activities (Table 1.2). One in ten (10%^{Note E: Use with caution}) people lived in a household that had not engaged in any emergency planning activities.
Three out of four (76%) residents lived in a household with at least two precautionary measures^{Note 7} taken in the event of an emergency, with about half (48%) living in a household with three or four such measures. A small proportion (4%^{Note E: Use with caution}) of people lived in a household with no precautionary measures in place.
Almost all (97%) residents stated that they had a working smoke detector in their homes. About three-quarters (78%) stated that they had a working fire extinguisher, and less than half (41%) stated that they had a working carbon monoxide detector in their household (Table 1.3). About one in three (35%) residents stated that they had all three fire safety measures within their households.
The proportion of residents in smaller communities of Prince Edward Island who had no precautionary measures set in place (4%^{Note E: Use with caution}) was significantly lower than that of those living in the province (7%) and of Canada’s 10 provinces as a whole (16%). The proportion of those within the smaller communities who had all four precautionary measures in place (20%) was significantly higher than Prince Edward Island residents overall (13%), as well as among residents of Canada (7%). Residents of smaller communities of Prince Edward Island were less likely than the Canadian population to have all three fire safety measures within their households (35% and 42%, respectively). There were no significant differences in the number of emergency planning activities taken by residents of smaller communities compared to the province as a whole or Canadians in general.^{Note 8}
There were some significant differences between residents of smaller communities of Prince Edward Island and both the province overall and Canada in general in terms of the types of activities and measures taken in the event of an emergency. For example, residents of smaller communities were more likely to have an emergency exit plan (69%), an alternate water source (60%) and a working fire extinguisher (78%) when compared to residents of Prince Edward Island in general (65%, 53% and 75%, respectively) as well as when compared to residents of Canada (60%, 43% and 66%, respectively).

Social networks and sense of belonging

Three in five (60%) people living in smaller communities of Prince Edward Island had a strong sense of belonging^{Note 9} to their community.
The majority (94%) of residents described the neighbourhood they lived in as a place where neighbours generally help each other.^{Note 10} Of those who did not describe their neighbourhood this way, most (80%) still described it as a place where neighbours would help each other in an emergency.^{Note 11}
Approximately two-thirds of residents had a large network of support in the event of an emergency or disaster, with more than five people to turn to for help if they had to evacuate their home (70%), if physically injured (68%) or for emotional support (65%). In the event of an emergency, less than one-third had such a network for financial support (31%), and 8%^{Note E: Use with caution} said there was no one they could turn to for financial help.^{Note 12}
High levels of sense of belonging, self-efficacy, neighbourhood trust and social support were sometimes associated with a higher level of emergency preparedness (Table 1.4).

Data tables

Table 1.1
Most commonly anticipated sources of initial help and information, by type of emergency or disaster, residents of smaller communitites of Prince Edward Island, 2014
Table summary
This table displays the results of Most commonly anticipated sources of initial help and information. The information is grouped by Most common sources of initial help and information by type of emergency or disaster (appearing as row headers), percent (appearing as column headers).
Most common sources of initial help and information by type of emergency or disaster	percent
Weather-related emergency or natural disaster^{Table 1.1 Note 1}
News- Radio	38
News- Television	18
News- Internet	18
Extended power outages
Utility company	49
News- Radio	21
Family	9^{Note E: Use with caution}
Outbreak of serious or life-threatening disease
Hospital, clinic, doctor or other medical professional	49
News- Radio	14^{Note E: Use with caution}
News- Television	13^{Note E: Use with caution}
Industrial or transportation accident^{Table 1.1 Note 1}
News- Radio	24^{Note E: Use with caution}
911	16^{Note E: Use with caution}
Police/law enforcement	15^{Note E: Use with caution}
Contamination or shortage of water or food^{Table 1.1 Note 1}
News- Radio	26^{Note E: Use with caution}
Local government	23^{Note E: Use with caution}
Act of terrorism or terrorist threat^{Table 1.1 Note 1}
Police/law enforcement	38^{Note E: Use with caution}
News- Television	27^{Note E: Use with caution}
Rioting or civil unrest^{Table 1.1 Note 1}
Police/law enforcement	48^{Note E: Use with caution}
^E use with caution Table 1.1 Note 1. Responses of 'don't know/not stated' were greater than 5% but not above 10% when respondents were asked about their likely sources of initial help and information. Return to Table 1.1 note 1 referrer Note: Respondents who perceived their community was at risk for any form of emergency or disaster were then asked where they would turn to first for information or assistance in the event of the perceived emergency or disaster. Respondents could provide more than one response. Responses of 'don't know/not stated' are included in the total for the percentage calculation but are not footnoted when representing 5% or less of respondents. Source: Statistics Canada, Survey of Emergency Preparedness and Resilience in Canada, 2014.

Table 1.2
Number of emergency planning activities, fire safety and precautionary measures taken by residents, smaller communitites of Prince Edward Island, 2014
Table summary
This table displays the results of Number of emergency planning activities. The information is grouped by Number of planning activities, fire safety and precautionary measures taken by residents (appearing as row headers), Smaller communitites of Prince Edward Island, Prince Edward Island and Canada, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Number of planning activities, fire safety and precautionary measures taken by residents	Smaller communitites of Prince Edward Island	Prince Edward Island	Canada
	percent
Number of emergency planning activities
None	10^{Table 1.2 Note E: Use with caution}	10	8
1 activity	17	19	17
2 activities	26	25	25
3 activities	26	26	27
4 activities	18	17	19
Number of precautionary measures
None	4^{Table 1.2 Note E: Use with caution}^{Table 1.2 Note ***}	7	16
1 measure	19^{Table 1.2 Note **}	21	27
2 measures	28^{Table 1.2 Note *}	33	28
3 measures	28^{Table 1.2 Note **}	25	20
4 measures	20^{Table 1.2 Note ***}	13	7
Number of fire safety measures^{Table 1.2 Note 1}
None	Table 1.2 Note F: too unreliable to be published	Table 1.2 Note F: too unreliable to be published	1
1 measure	14	16	14
2 measures	47^{Table 1.2 Note **}	45	38
3 measures	35^{Table 1.2 Note **}	35	42
^E use with caution F too unreliable to be published Table 1.2 Note * significantly different from provincial level estimate (p < 0.05) Return to Table 1.2 note * referrer Table 1.2 Note significantly different from Canada level estimate (p < 0.05) Return to Table 1.2 note referrer Table 1.2 Note * significantly different from both provincial and Canada level estimates (p < 0.05) Return to Table 1.2 note * referrer Table 1.2 Note 1. Responses of 'don't know/not stated' were greater than 5% but not above 10% for 'Canada'. Return to Table 1.2 note 1 referrer Note: Responses of 'don't know/not stated' are included in the total for the percentage calculation but are not footnoted when representing 5% or less of respondents. Emergency planning activities include: an emergency exit plan, an emergency supply kit, photocopies/electronic copies of important documents and a list of emergency contact numbers. Precautionary measures include: a battery-operated or wind-up radio, an alternative heat source, a back-up generator and an alternative water source. Fire safety measures include a working smoke detector, a working carbon monoxide detector and a working fire extinguisher. Source: Statistics Canada, Survey of Emergency Preparedness and Resilience in Canada, 2014.

Table 1.3
Planning activities, fire safety and precautionary measures residents engaged in, smaller communitites of Prince Edward Island, 2014
Table summary
This table displays the results of Planning activities. The information is grouped by Residents whose households were involved in the following: (appearing as row headers), Smaller communitites of Prince Edward Island, Prince Edward Island and Canada, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Residents whose households were involved in the following:	Smaller communitites of Prince Edward Island	Prince Edward Island	Canada
Residents whose households were involved in the following:	percent
Emergency planning activities
Emergency exit plan	69^{Table 1.3 Note ***}	65	60
Exit plan has been practised/reviewed in last 12 months^{Table 1.3 Note 1}	47	45	46
Designated meeting place for household members^{Table 1.3 Note 2}	38	36	33
Contact plan for household members^{Table 1.3 Note 2}	51	51	55
Household emergency supply kit	47	45	47
Vehicle emergency supply kit^{Table 1.3 Note 3}	59	56	59
Extra copies of important documents	44^{Table 1.3 Note **}	47	53
List of emergency contact numbers	62^{Table 1.3 Note **}	63	69
Plan for meeting special health needs^{Table 1.3 Note 4}	70	72	62
Precautionary measures
Wind-up or battery-operated radio	81^{Table 1.3 Note **}	78	58
Alternate heat source	61^{Table 1.3 Note ***}	53	48
Back-up generator	38^{Table 1.3 Note ***}	29	23
Alternate water source	60^{Table 1.3 Note ***}	53	43
Other^{Table 1.3 Note 5}	22	24	21
Fire safety measures
Working smoke detector	97	98	98
Working carbon monoxide detector	41^{Table 1.3 Note **}	42	60
Working fire extinguisher	78^{Table 1.3 Note ***}	75	66
Table 1.3 Note significantly different from Canada level estimate (p < 0.05) Return to Table 1.3 note referrer Table 1.3 Note * significantly different from both provincial and Canada level estimates (p < 0.05) Return to Table 1.3 note * referrer Table 1.3 Note 1. Percentage based only on those indicating that they have an emergency exit plan. Return to Table 1.3 note 1 referrer Table 1.3 Note 2. Excludes Canadians living in single-person households. Return to Table 1.3 note 2 referrer Table 1.3 Note 3. Excludes those who reported that they lived in a household that did not have a vehicle. Return to Table 1.3 note 3 referrer Table 1.3 Note 4. Percentage based only on those indicating that they or someone in their household has special medical needs. Return to Table 1.3 note 4 referrer Table 1.3 Note 5. 'Other precautionary measures' include having an escape/rescue plan for pets, extra supply of fuel, checking and replenishing emergency supplies, and keeping exits clear. Return to Table 1.3 note 5 referrer Note: Responses of 'don't know/not stated' are included in the total for the percentage calculation but are not footnoted when representing 5% or less of respondents. Source: Statistics Canada, Survey of Emergency Preparedness and Resilience in Canada, 2014.

Table 1.4
High or moderately high levels of emergency planning, fire safety and precautionary measures taken by residents, by social and political involvement, smaller communitites of Prince Edward Island, 2014
Table summary
This table displays the results of High or moderately high levels of emergency planning. The information is grouped by Social and political involvement (appearing as row headers), Percentage of residents who had high or moderately high levels of..., Planning activities, Precautionary measures and Fire safety measures, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).
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 activities^{Table 1.4 Note 1}
Yes^{Table 1.4 Note †}	44	46	36
No	42^{Table 1.4 Note E: Use with caution}	43^{Table 1.4 Note E: Use with caution}	28^{Table 1.4 Note E: Use with caution}
High level of civic engagement^{Table 1.4 Note 2}
Yes^{Table 1.4 Note †}	44	50	38
No	44	41	32
High level of social support^{Table 1.4 Note 3}
Yes^{Table 1.4 Note †}	54	44	44
No	40^{Table 1.4 Note *}	48	32
Strong sense of belonging to community^{Table 1.4 Note 4}
Yes^{Table 1.4 Note †}	49	49	35
No	33^{Table 1.4 Note *}	46	33
High neighbourhood trust^{Table 1.4 Note 5}
Yes^{Table 1.4 Note †}	47	54	37
No	37	38^{Table 1.4 Note *}	30
High level of self-efficacy^{Table 1.4 Note 6}
Yes^{Table 1.4 Note †}	50	52	39
No	36^{Table 1.4 Note *}	43	32
^E use with caution Table 1.4 Note * significantly different from reference category (p < 0.05) Return to Table 1.4 note * referrer Table 1.4 Note † reference category Return to Table 1.4 note † referrer Table 1.4 Note 1. Includes individuals over the age of 17 years who are eligible to vote, and who have participated in or volunteered for political parties or events in the past 12 months, including municipal, provincial, or federal elections, or expressed views on political or social issues through signing a petition, contacting news agencies or politicians, or attended a meeting involving social or community issues. Return to Table 1.4 note 1 referrer Table 1.4 Note 2. Civic engagement measures individuals over the age of 17 years who were involved in a recreational group or organization in the past 12 months, and includes engagement in political activities. A 'high level' is defined as having been involved in at least 4 activities in the past 12 months. Return to Table 1.4 note 2 referrer Table 1.4 Note 3. A 'high level of social support' is defined as having five or more people whom that individual could turn to for help in an emergency if they are physically injured, require emotional support, shelter, and/or financial assistance. Return to Table 1.4 note 3 referrer Table 1.4 Note 4. A 'strong sense of belonging to community' is rating one's own sense of belonging to their community as a 4 or a 5 on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 represents "very weak" and 5 "very strong". Return to Table 1.4 note 4 referrer Table 1.4 Note 5. 'High neighbourhood trust' is rating one's own trust in the people in one's neighbourhood as 4 or 5 on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 represents "cannot be trusted at all" and 5 represents "can be trusted a lot", as well as having a response of "very likely" when asked about the likelihood of someone in their neighbourhood returning a lost wallet or purse containing two hundred dollars with the money still inside. Return to Table 1.4 note 5 referrer Table 1.4 Note 6. A 'high level of self-efficacy' is derived from having a high self-rating on a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent) for the following three categories: an ability to think clearly and solve day-to-day problems, to handle unexpected and difficult problems, and to figure out what to do if faced with an emergency situation. Return to Table 1.4 note 6 referrer Note: Responses of 'don't know/not stated' are included in the total for the percentage calculation but are not footnoted when representing 5% or less of respondents. Households with ‘moderately high’ or ‘high’ levels of emergency planning engaged in 3 or 4 of the following: having an exit plan, an emergency supply kit, extra copies of important documents and an emergency contact list. 'Moderately high' or 'high' levels of precautionary measures include having 3 or 4 of the following: a wind-up or battery operated radio, a back-up generator, an alternate source of heat and additional water. 'Moderately high' or 'high' levels of fire safety measure include having all 3 of the following: a working smoke detector, a working fire extinguisher, and a working carbon monoxide detector. Source: Statistics Canada, Survey of Emergency Preparedness and Resilience in Canada, 2014.

Notes

^E use with caution

Footnote 1.

The SEPR covers three types of communities: Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs), Census Agglomerations (CAs) with population greater than 50,000, and ’smaller communities’ which include CAs with population 50,000 or less and those areas that fall outside of CMAs and CAs. All CMAs and CAs (with population greater than 50,000) were included in the SEPR. A sample of households were selected from smaller communities within each province to represent all households within the province in similar communities. Additional information on the SEPR and its sampling methodology can be found in the ’Survey description’ section.

Return to note 1 referrer

Footnote 2.

A Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) or a Census Agglomeration (CA) is formed by one or more adjacent municipalities centred on a population centre (known as the core). A CMA must have a total population of at least 100,000 of which 50,000 or more must live in the core. A CA must have a core population of at least 10,000. To be included in the CMA or CA, other adjacent municipalities must have a high degree of integration with the core as measured by commuting flows derived from census data.

Return to note 2 referrer

Footnote 3.

The target population for the SEPR included all persons 15 years of age or older, residing in households in Canada’s 10 provinces, excluding full-time residents of institutions (e.g. nursing homes, group homes, hospitals).

Return to note 3 referrer

Footnote 4.

Throughout this fact sheet, responses of ‘don’t know/not stated’ are included in the total for the percentage calculation but are not footnoted when representing 5% or less of respondents.

Return to note 4 referrer

Footnote 5.

This section focuses on personal experiences with emergencies or disasters that happened in Canada, in a community where the person was living at the time, and was significant enough to severely interrupt the individual’s regular daily activities.

Return to note 5 referrer

Footnote 6.

Emergency planning activities include: having an emergency exit plan, a household emergency supply kit, extra copies of important documents and an emergency contact list.

Return to note 6 referrer

Footnote 7.

Precautionary measures include: having a wind-up or battery-operated radio, an alternate heat source such as a non-electric stove or heater or a wood-burning fireplace, a back-up generator and an alternative water source such as a well, tank or litres of stored water.

Return to note 7 referrer

Footnote 8.

Unless otherwise specified, differences are statistically significant (p < 0.05).

Return to note 8 referrer

Footnote 9.

A 'strong sense of belonging to community’ is rating one’s own sense of belonging to their community as a 4 or a 5 on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 represents "very weak" and 5 "very strong".

Return to note 9 referrer

Footnote 10.

A proportion (28%) of respondents were not asked questions regarding neighbourhood helpfulness in the event of an emergency and as such these cases are not included in the analysis on neighbourhood helpfulness in general or in the event of an emergency.

Return to note 10 referrer

Footnote 11.

Responses of ‘don't know/not stated’ were equal to 14% when respondents were asked about whether their neighbourhood is a place where neighbours would help each other if there is an emergency.

Return to note 11 referrer

Footnote 12.

Responses of ‘don't know/not stated’ were greater than 5% but not above 10% when respondents were asked about the number of people they could turn to for help if financial support is needed.

Return to note 12 referrer

Date modified:: 2016-10-13

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Fact sheet
Smaller communities of Prince Edward Island Fact sheet
Smaller communities of Prince Edward Island

Risk awareness and anticipated sources of help in an emergency or disaster

Prior lifetime experience with a major emergency or disaster^{Note 5}

Emergency planning, precautionary and fire safety behaviours

Social networks and sense of belonging

Data tables

Notes

Fact sheetSmaller communities of Prince Edward Island Fact sheetSmaller communities of Prince Edward Island

Risk awareness and anticipated sources of help in an emergency or disaster

Prior lifetime experience with a major emergency or disasterNote 5

Emergency planning, precautionary and fire safety behaviours

Social networks and sense of belonging

Data tables

Notes

Note of appreciation

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Fact sheet
Smaller communities of Prince Edward Island Fact sheet
Smaller communities of Prince Edward Island

Prior lifetime experience with a major emergency or disaster^{Note 5}