Hey London: How prepared are you for a major emergency?

City staff would like Londoners to take a good look around their home and ask themselves a direct and possibly difficult question: Could everyone in your family survive at home, without leaving and with no other help, for a full 72 hours?

And what if, as an added wrinkle, the power was also out or the water not running?

Developing the ability to be self-sufficient is a strong suggestion included in the emergency management section of the city's website. It's part of a push to get everyone thinking more about how they can be ready at home in case of emergency, a topic that's gaining traction at a time when wildfires, wild weather and a fast-changing political climate are making headlines.

"Since COVID, there's been a significant increase in demand for emergency management training," said Andre Beauregard with the city's emergency management department. "I believe with the current political situation and recent emergencies, that more people are paying attention to it." 

The city has created a citizen's academy, a two-hour course in emergency preparedness that's free and open to anyone. 

The course, which CBC News took part in this week, lays out how London is prepared to deal with a major emergency. It also has detailed information with practical advice for anyone keen to become better prepared for the worst. 

Ontario municipalities are required to have an emergency management plan and London's spans 45 pages, spelling out in detail how various agencies are to work together should some type of emergency or disaster strike. 

City staff have also built up detailed risk assessments for the London area along with disaster scenarios to deal with what might come, based on the city's location and climate. Tornadoes top London's list of potential emergency scenarios because they happen every year and have the potential to cause widespread damage.

A tornado that hit Goderich in 2011 left one person dead, injured more than 30 and caused extensive damage to buildings in the town's downtown.  

Also near the top of the city's potential risks is a hazardous material spill, particularly resulting from a derailment on one of the two railway mainlines that traverse London's downtown core. 

Other risks London is planning for include a major power outage, flooding or an explosion. 

What should be in your emergency kit?

The city's website includes a detailed list of items people should assemble into an emergency preparedness kit. Some of the items, such as water, food, flashlights and batteries, are obvious. Other items that perhaps don't come immediately to mind include spare medication and prescriptions, candles and a battery-powered radio.

The idea is to assemble a kit than can help sustain everyone for at least three days. 

The three-days target is based on the time it might take the province to send extra resources if a major emergency were to occur, said Taylor Simmons, who is with the city's emergency management team

"We saw during COVID a lot of people weren't able to sustain themselves for that long," she said. 

During this week's course, participants heard that most people don't have even a basic preparedness kit ready. 

The course also includes information about caring for pets and seniors in an emergency, along with tips on developing an escape plan from your residence. Much of the information is available here on the city's website.

The citizen's academy course also a discussion about Alert London, a free sign-up service that will send updates and alerts to your phone during an emergency. The information can be tailored for a specific geographic area. 

Wednesday's citizen academy course drew a mix of interested Londoners. 

Ace Vergara, 18, is a first-year medical science student at Western University with an interest in public health and safety. He's started to put together an emergency preparedness kit, but admits there's more to do if to meet the three-day target.

"I do have plans in place, I just want to be prepared as much as I can be," he said. "Through this course I have the checklist now." 

Janice Wiseman is a senior who lived through a tornado that hit London's White Oaks neighbourhood in 1984. The wind damaged houses right next door to hers. 

"I don't think you forget something like that," she said. "I could see the other houses being hit. And I was running for the basement. I was alone in the house. I had friends calling from Ottawa asking if I was okay because they'd heard it on the news." 

Could she survive for three days on her own? Not without some upgrades. 

"That's why I came here tonight," she said. "To find out how unprepared I am and to make an effort toward preparedness."

The city's citizen academy courses will continue in the fall. You can find more information about them here on their website.