Know the Risks in Halton Region

Windstorms involve high winds and violent gusts but little to no rain.

Before a windstorm

• Continuously trim dead wood and weak overhanging branches.
• Secure patio furniture, etc., so these items do not become a hazard.

During a windstorm

• Stay away from windows.
• If driving, pull over and wait in your vehicle until the storm passes.
• If outdoors, get inside quickly, watching for items that could be picked up by the wind.
• Be prepared for a power failure.

• When a winter storm watch or warning is in effect, listen to the radio or television for information or instructions.
• When a winter storm hits, stay indoors and make sure you have enough heating fuel.
• During winter storms, icy roads challenge even the most experienced drivers.
• If you must travel during a snowstorm, do so during the day and let someone know your route and expected arrival time. Where possible, stay on cleared routes. Ensure your Car Survival Kit is stored in your car.
• Power outages are often caused by winter storms which damage power lines and equipment.
• During a power outage, you may be left without heating, lighting, water, or phone.
• You can greatly lessen the impact of a power outage by taking the time to prepare in advance.
• You and your family should have a Family Emergency Survival Kit (including battery-powered or wind-up radio) and be prepared to cope on your own during a power outage for at least 72 hours.
• Farmers should take the necessary precautions to safeguard animals and livestock.
• If you must go outside, dress for the weather.

Recognizing cold-related injuries

• The risk of cold-related injury varies depending on the temperature, wind speed, length of time outdoors, age, physical conditions, and whether clothing is wet or dry.
• Frostbite, or the freezing of body tissue exposed to the cold, is a common cold-related injury and has a numbing effect so you may not be aware you are frostbitten.
• Warning signs include:
  • A stinging or aching feeling, followed by numbness;
  • Skin that feels waxy and cold; and skin that turns red, then gray, white, yellow or blue.

How to treat frostbite

• Move the person to a warm place and call for professional emergency medical help.
• Don’t let the person walk if his or her feet are frostbitten.
• Handle the frostbitten area gently; never rub it. Wait for professional emergency medical help to arrive.
• Do not try to re-warm the frostbitten area.

How to treat hypothermia

• Hypothermia occurs when your body loses heat faster than it can produce it. Heat loss occurs more rapidly when you are wet. Warning signs of hypothermia include increased shivering, slurred speech, impaired judgement, and poor muscle coordination.
• Gently move the person to a warm place and immediately call for professional emergency medical help.
• Remove the person’s wet clothing. Slowly warm the person by wrapping them in blankets or putting on dry clothing. If the person is conscious, offer a warm, non- alcoholic drink and avoid caffeine.

Summer thunderstorms are a fairly common occurrence in most of Canada, providing much-needed precipitation for gardens, crops and other purposes. Unfortunately, a small percentage of summer thunderstorms intensify to the extent that they become “severe,” causing damage to property and threatening lives.

Environment Canada will issue a severe thunderstorm or tornado warning if heavy rain, high winds, tornadoes, hail or intense lightning are present or expected. The storm’s expected motion and developments are also provided in the weather warning. If you hear a weather warning and are in the area specified, take appropriate precautions.

During a thunderstorm

• In heavy rain, be on the lookout for flash floods.
• When swimming or boating, always head to shore at the first sight of a storm.
• Remember that damaged and weakened structures, fallen debris, downed electrical wires, and gas leaks are potential dangers after a storm has passed.

If you are outside

• If caught in the open, do not lie flat but crouch in the leapfrog position and lower your head; you do not want to be the tallest object in the area.
• Take shelter in a building or depressed area, such as a dry ditch or a culvert, but never under a tree.
• Do not ride bicycles, motorcycles or golf carts or use metal shovels or golf clubs as they conduct electricity.
• If swimming or in a boat, get back to shore immediately.
• If riding a horse, dismount so as not to be the tallest object and return to the barn/shelter as soon as it is apparent there will be lightning.
• If you are in a car, stay there but pull away from trees which could fall on you.

If you are inside

• Stay there but away from windows, doors, fireplaces, radiators, stoves, sinks, bathtubs, appliances, metal pipes, landline telephones (you can use a cell phone) and other materials which could conduct electricity.
• Unplug radios, televisions and use a battery or crank powered radio instead.
• Do not go out to rescue the laundry from the clothesline as it conducts electricity.

Tornadoes are unmistakable rotating columns of high-velocity wind that bring devastation to anything in their path. Ontario averages 20 tornadoes per year. Most tornadoes occur in June and July although the season extends from April to September. They can occur at any time of the year. They frequently develop in mid- afternoon to early evening.

Environment Canada warns the public about tornadoes but because they are hard to predict and can move at up to 70 km per hour, a tornado can strike without warning. Typically, a tornado is preceded by a severe thunderstorm and is associated with black skies, strong wind and heavy rain or hail. Sometimes the sky will turn an unusual green colour and the wind will sound like a freight train.

When a tornado threatens

• Take shelter immediately, if available, preferably in the basement or lowest level of a sturdy building.
• Stay away from windows, doors and exterior walls. Flying glass is extremely dangerous.
• Don’t waste time opening windows to keep pressure from building up in the house. It’s unlikely to help anyway.
• Outdoors, with no shelter available, lie flat in a ditch, ravine or other low lying area, and shield your head with your arms.
• Don’t get caught in a vehicle or mobile home, which the tornado can lift. Take shelter elsewhere or, if none is available, even a ditch offers better protection.
• Choose a location where your vehicle won’t be hurled or rolled on top of you. More than half of tornado deaths occur in mobile homes. If you live in a mobile home, it is wise to identify a nearby sturdy shelter well in advance, and go to that shelter when a severe storm is approaching.
• Beware of flying debris. Even small objects such as sticks and straw can become lethal missiles.

Your best shelter

• In a house, go to the basement and take shelter under a stairway or a sturdy work table in the centre of the house.
• In a house with no basement, the safest spot is the ground floor in the centre of the house. Small rooms tend to be more structurally sound so seek shelter in a hallway, small room, closet or bathroom (the plumbing may provide some structural stability). Lying in the bathtub with a mattress on top of you may provide good protection.
• In a vehicle or mobile home, get outside and find other shelter. North American officials still debate whether seeking shelter in a car during a tornado is safe. Some advise, if the tornado is weak, a car can offer protection against flying debris and rollovers if the occupants fasten seat belts and keep their heads down.
• There is no way of knowing how strong or violent a tornado is without the proper tools, so the safest strategy is to get out of the vehicle. As a last resort, lie in a ditch or culvert but be aware of flooding.
• Avoid wide-span buildings, such as barns, auditoriums, shopping centres and supermarkets with large roofs.
• Go to a nearby sturdy shelter, preferably, or to the lower floor, an inside room, restroom or hallway, or get underneath a sturdy piece of furniture.
• At school, seek shelter in small windowless rooms such as a washroom instead of a gymnasium.
• Avoid areas near high walls or large chimneys which may collapse.
• In shopping centres, stay out of aisles and away from exterior walls and windows. Do not go to your parked car.
• In high-rise buildings, move to lower levels, small interior rooms or stairwells. Stay away from elevators and windows.

• Floods are one of the most common hazards in the Canada. Flood effects can be local, impacting a neighbourhood or community, or very large, affecting entire river basins and multiple municipalities.
• However, not all floods are alike. Some floods develop slowly, sometimes over a period of days or weeks. But flash floods can develop quickly, sometimes in just a matter of minutes and without any visible signs of rain. They can occur at any time of the year and are most often caused by heavy rainfall, rapid melting of a thick snow pack, ice jams, or more rarely, an infrastructure failure.
• Be aware of flood hazards no matter where you live, but especially if you live in a low-lying area, near water or downstream from a dam. Even very small streams, gullies, creeks, culverts, dry streambeds, or low-lying ground that appears harmless in dry weather can flood.
• It is important to regularly listen to radio or television or check the Web for the latest information related to flooding or potential flooding in your community.

Flood facts

• A heavy rainfall can result in flooding, particularly when the ground is still frozen or already saturated from previous storms.
• Flash flooding – in which warning time is extremely limited – can be caused by severe storms.
• All rivers experience flooding at one time or another. The potential for flood damage is high where there is development on low-lying, flood-prone lands.

Find more information and tips on basement flooding, including flood preparation, response and recovery.