It's cold, it's wet and it's slippery.
And if that isn't bad enough, winter weather can mean flooding or high winds that cause power failures due to trees and other plant debris hitting power lines.
Coquitlam is advising residents they can take simple steps to prevent impacts to their homes and neighbourhoods by pruning dead and overhanging branches, securing belongings that might blow away in a storm, clearing catch basins of debris and shutting off outside water taps to protect plumbing and draining built-in sprinkler systems.
The city's emergency preparedness webpage (coquitlam.ca/emergprepared) has more details and tips, including:
• the 26 Weeks to Emergency Preparedness Tip Sheet;
• a checklist for businesses to be prepared to respond to and recover from a major emergency;
• and resources from Emergency Management BC designed for individuals with mobility, visual, hearing and cognitive disabilities to become better prepared for an emergency or disaster.
