New funding to support emergency preparedness on PEI

As the Atlantic Hurricane Season continues to be underway, Government is announcing a new investment to help better prepare the province for an emergency event.

Atlantic Hurricane Season officially runs from June 1 to November 30. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has predicted an above-average hurricane season, with an estimated 17 to 25 named storms, eight (8) to 13 hurricanes and four (4) to seven (7) major hurricanes in the North Atlantic.

To help further prepare for hurricane season and emergencies that could arise, the Province's Major Incident Readiness Team (MIRT) in collaboration with the Emergency Measures Organization have worked with fuel stations across the Island in sourcing resiliency equipment such as generators so that a variety of gas stations, service stations and general stores can continue to operate while the power is out.

"We are very pleased to work with local gas and retail operators to source secondary power options that can benefit Island communities in the event of another major emergency. As we continue to learn from the increased amounts of weather events in our region, it is critically important that we build on our preparedness and make investments to ensure we are ready for whatever comes our way."

- The Honourable Deputy Premier and Minister of Justice and Public Safety Bloyce Thompson

The Province is investing over $1.5 million for over 45 fuel stations and general stores to install these generators that will benefit Islanders in the event of an outage. Fuel stations that are working with the Province to source resiliency equipment will have the opportunity to display signage to inform Islanders that the respective site will operate when power is out.

While some stations continue to work with contractors on the procurement and installation of the secondary power source, a map of fuel stations with generators installed and a list of the sites awaiting installation can be found at PrinceEdwardIsland.ca/FuelStations. For more information how to be prepared for an emergency, visit PrinceEdwardIsland.ca/BePrepared

Media contact:
Kip Ready
Senior Communications Officer
Department of Justice & Public Safety and Emergency Measures Organization
[email protected]

Backgrounder:

Through the Fuel Station Resiliency Program, fuel stations and service stations that were approved entered into an agreement to work with the Provincial Emergency Measures Organization to give regular updates on the status of fuel during an outage, and should an outage occur, each site must prioritize fuel to designated responders such as first responders, public safety, and utility crews.

Additionally, Islanders are encouraged to take the following steps when preparing for hurricanes or other emergencies by:

• making a household emergency plan so that everyone knows what to do in case of emergency;
• updating your preparedness kits, including extra food, pet supplies, water, masks and hygiene products;
• bringing in or tying down furniture, play equipment, barbeques or anything that can become projectiles in the event of high winds;
• ensuring you have fuel for generators and vehicles, as well as propane for outdoor cooking devices such as barbeques;
• replacing batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide alarms;
• never operating a generator or barbeque anywhere inside a home, including a garage. Best practice is to keep a generator 20 feet from the home and pointing the exhaust away from the home;
• ensuring a generator is not operating in heavy rain unless the generator has a top cover protecting the electrical system; and
• keeping up with the latest information from reliable sources such as following PEI Government, local media, and law enforcement social media channels.

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