Fact sheet
Community of Cape Breton (CA), Nova Scotia Fact sheet
Community of Cape Breton (CA), Nova Scotia

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

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

Most residents of Cape Breton anticipated winter storms (including blizzards, ice storms and extreme cold) as the event most likely to occur within their community (97%). Extended power outages lasting 24 hours or longer (71%), hurricanes (63%) and wildfires or forest fires (56%) were among the other events that residents thought were likely to occur within their community.
In the event of a weather-related emergency or natural disaster (32%) or an industrial or transportation accident (23%^{Note E: Use with caution}), residents named news on the radio as the source of initial help and information that they would commonly turn to (Table 1.1). A utility company (56%) would commonly be contacted first by residents in the event of an extended power outage. Hospitals, clinics, doctors or other medical professionals (48%) would be the first sources of initial help in the event of an outbreak of a serious illness or life-threatening disease, while in the event of a contamination or shortage of water or food, news on the television (16%^{Note E: Use with caution}) was named as the most common source of initial help and information by residents. In the event of either rioting or civil unrest (44%^{Note E: Use with caution}) or an act of terrorism or terrorist threat (37%^{Note E: Use with caution}), people in Cape Breton would most commonly turn to police for help and information first.

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

Nearly a quarter (22%) of residents of Cape Breton have personally experienced a major emergency or disaster in Canada in a community where they were living at the time. For most (82%), the emergency or disaster was significant enough to have resulted in severe disruptions to their daily activities.
Winter storms which include blizzards and ice storms (45%) were the most commonly experienced emergency or disaster reported by residents, followed by extended power outages lasting 24 hours or longer (25%^{Note E: Use with caution}) and hurricanes (23%^{Note E: Use with caution}).
Residents who had experienced a major emergency or disaster were often unable to use electrical appliances (67%), attend an appointment or a planned activity (65%) or attend school or work (58%). Almost half of residents who were affected by a major emergency were unable to use roads or transportation within their community as a result (44%^{Note E: Use with caution}).
The majority (84%) of residents who had experienced a major emergency or disaster were able to resume their daily activities within five days of the event (33%^{Note E: Use with caution} within 24 hours, 31%^{Note E: Use with caution} within one to two days and 20%^{Note E: Use with caution} within three to five days).
Close to half (46%) of residents who had been affected by an emergency or disaster received assistance during or immediately following the event. Family members (42%^{Note E: Use with caution}) and neighbours (34%^{Note E: Use with caution}) were most often the source of help.
One in four (24%) individuals in Cape Breton affected by a major emergency or disaster, which was significant enough to have resulted in severe disruptions to their regular daily routines, experienced a loss of property or some other kind of a financial impact.

Emergency planning, precautionary and fire safety behaviours

Seven out of ten (69%) residents of Cape Breton lived in households that were engaged in at least two emergency planning activities,^{Note 6} with half (49%) living in households with three or four such activities (Table 1.2). One in ten (11%^{Note E: Use with caution}) lived in a household that had not engaged in any emergency planning activities.
Three quarters (75%) of residents lived in a household with at least two precautionary measures^{Note 7} taken in the event of an emergency, with four in ten (40%) living in a household with three or four such measures. A small proportion (6%^{Note E: Use with caution}) of residents lived in a household with no precautionary measures set in place.
Most (97%) residents reported living in a household with a working smoke detector, and 64% reported living in a household with a working fire extinguisher (Table 1.3). More than a third (38%) stated that they had a working carbon monoxide detector in their household. Less than one-third (29%) of the residents stated that they had taken all three fire safety measures within their households.
The number of emergency planning activities taken by residents did not differ between Cape Breton and the province of Nova Scotia or Canada’s 10 provinces as a whole. There were, however, some differences in the number of precautionary and fire safety measures taken. For example, the proportion of residents of Cape Breton who had not taken any precautionary measures (6%^{Note E: Use with caution}) was significantly lower than the proportion of Canadians (16%), while the proportion that had taken all four precautionary measures was significantly higher in Cape Breton than in Canada (12%^{Note E: Use with caution} versus 7%). The proportion of residents who had taken all three fire safety measures was significantly lower in Cape Breton (29%) than in Canada in general (42%).^{Note 8}
There were some significant differences in the types of planning activities, precautionary and fire safety measures residents were engaged in compared to the province of Nova Scotia and Canada in general. Some of these differences include the proportion of residents who had a designated emergency meeting place for household members, which was significantly higher for residents of Cape Breton (45%) than for residents of Nova Scotia (37%) and for Canadian residents in general (33%). Conversely, the proportion of residents of Cape Breton who had a working carbon monoxide detector within their homes (38%) was significantly lower than the proportion of Canadians overall (60%).

Social networks and sense of belonging

Two-thirds (68%) of Cape Breton’s residents had a strong sense of belonging^{Note 9} to their community.
The majority (91%) 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 (91%) still described it as a place where neighbours would help each other in an emergency.
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 for emotional support (67%), if physically injured (64%) or in the event of a home evacuation (64%). More than a quarter (29%) had at least five people to turn to for financial support.^{Note 11} However, 8%^{Note E: Use with caution} reported that they had no one to turn to for financial help.
High levels of sense of belonging, social support as well as civic engagement and involvement in political activities 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 Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, 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
News- Radio	32
News- Television	21
News- Internet	18
Extended power outages
Utility company	56
News- Radio	18
Family	10^{Note E: Use with caution}
Outbreak of serious or life-threatening disease
Hospital, clinic, doctor or other medical professional	48
News- Television	17^{Note E: Use with caution}
News- Radio	17^{Note E: Use with caution}
Industrial or transportation accident^{Table 1.1, Note 1}
News- Radio	23^{Note E: Use with caution}
Police/law enforcement	19^{Note E: Use with caution}
News- Television	15^{Note E: Use with caution}
Contamination or shortage of water or food^{Table 1.1, Note 1}
News- Television	16^{Note E: Use with caution}
Local government	15^{Note E: Use with caution}
News- Radio	13^{Note E: Use with caution}
Act of terrorism or terrorist threat
Police/law enforcement	37^{Note E: Use with caution}
News- Television	24^{Note E: Use with caution}
Rioting or civil unrest
Police/law enforcement	44^{Note E: Use with caution}
News- Radio	19^{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, community of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, 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), Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and Canada, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Number of planning activities, fire safety and precautionary measures taken by residents	Cape Breton	Nova Scotia	Canada
	percent
Number of emergency planning activities
None	11^{Note E: Use with caution}	9	8
1 activity	19	18	17
2 activities	20	21	25
3 activities	31	28	27
4 activities	18	21	19
Number of precautionary measures
None	6^{Note E: Use with caution}^{Table 1.2, Note **}	7	16
1 measure	18^{Table 1.2, Note **}	19	27
2 measures	35^{Table 1.2, Note ***}	27	28
3 measures	28^{Table 1.2, Note **}	27	20
4 measures	12^{Note E: Use with caution}^{Table 1.2, Note ***}	18	7
Number of fire safety measures^{Table 1.2, Note 1}
None	Note F: too unreliable to be published	1^{Note E: Use with caution}	1
1 measure	24^{Table 1.2, Note ***}	18	14
2 measures	43	42	38
3 measures	29^{Table 1.2, Note **}	35	42
^E use with caution F too unreliable to be published 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, community of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, 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), Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and Canada, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Residents whose households were involved in the following:	Cape Breton	Nova Scotia	Canada
Residents whose households were involved in the following:	percent
Emergency planning activities
Emergency exit plan	64	67	60
Exit plan has been practised/reviewed in last 12 months^{Table 1.3, Note 1}	47	44	46
Designated meeting place for household members^{Table 1.3, Note 2}	45^{Table 1.3, Note ***}	37	33
Contact plan for household members^{Table 1.3, Note 2}	58	55	55
Household emergency supply kit	50	48	47
Vehicle emergency supply kit^{Table 1.3, Note 3}	60	62	59
Extra copies of important documents	43^{Table 1.3, Note **}	48	53
List of emergency contact numbers	66	67	69
Plan for meeting special health needs^{Table 1.3, Note 4}	74^{Table 1.3, Note **}	68	62
Precautionary measures
Wind-up or battery-operated radio	73^{Table 1.3, Note **}	77	58
Alternate heat source	50^{Table 1.3, Note *}	57	48
Back-up generator	34^{Table 1.3, Note **}	36	23
Alternate water source	63^{Table 1.3, Note ***}	55	43
Other^{Table 1.3, Note 5}	23	28	21
Fire safety measures
Working smoke detector	97	97	98
Working carbon monoxide detector	38^{Table 1.3, Note **}	43	60
Working fire extinguisher	64^{Table 1.3, Note *}	71	66
Table 1.3, Note * significantly different from provincial level estimate (p < 0.05) Return to Table 1.3, note * referrer Table 1.3, Note significantly different from Canada level estimate (p < 0.05) Return to Table 1.3, note referrer Table 1.3, Note * ignificantly 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, community of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, 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 †}	51	40	30
No	24^{Note E: Use with caution}^{Table 1.4, Note *}	36^{Note E: Use with caution}	Note F: too unreliable to be published
High level of civic engagement^{Table 1.4, Note 2}
Yes^{Table 1.4, Note †}	54	46	34
No	34^{Table 1.4, Note *}	25^{Note E: Use with caution}^{Table 1.4, Note *}	19^{Note E: Use with caution}^{Table 1.4, Note *}
High level of social support^{Table 1.4, Note 3}
Yes^{Table 1.4, Note †}	68	46	34^{Note E: Use with caution}
No	43^{Table 1.4, Note *}	40	28
Strong sense of belonging to community^{Table 1.4, Note 4}
Yes^{Table 1.4, Note †}	55	41	29
No	38^{Table 1.4, Note *}	42	31^{Note E: Use with caution}
High neighbourhood trust^{Table 1.4, Note 5}
Yes^{Table 1.4, Note †}	49	47	29
No	51	37	30
High level of self-efficacy^{Table 1.4, Note 6}
Yes^{Table 1.4, Note †}	55	43	32
No	43	39	25^{Note E: Use with caution}
^E use with caution F too unreliable to be published 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.

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 1 referrer

Footnote 2.

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 2 referrer

Footnote 3.

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 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 (18%) 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 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 11 referrer

Date modified:: 2016-10-13

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Fact sheet
Community of Cape Breton (CA), Nova Scotia Fact sheet
Community of Cape Breton (CA), Nova Scotia

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 sheetCommunity of Cape Breton (CA), Nova Scotia Fact sheetCommunity of Cape Breton (CA), Nova Scotia

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

Standards of service to the public

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Fact sheet
Community of Cape Breton (CA), Nova Scotia Fact sheet
Community of Cape Breton (CA), Nova Scotia

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