As
devastating wildfires rage in Southern California, Canadians might be
feeling pretty lucky that we don't see those kind of natural disasters
very often.
But the fact is that unusually severe weather events are a fact of life North of the border as well.
In
2013, major flooding, fires, and other natural disasters across Canada
caused insurers to pay out a record 3.2 billion in claims,and 2014 could
be another record-breaker. Canada gets about 5,000 earthquakes every
year, and flooding has been a major issue throughout the Maritimes as
well as the prairies.
While extreme weather obviously isn't in
your control,you can make a plan of what to do if you hear a storm is
coming your way, because educating yourself is the best way to protect
yourself and your family.
A 66 year-old New Brunswick woman is dead after an incident on the water last night.
The
woman was using an inflatable dingy in Marshville, Nova Scotia. Police
say she got caught in the current and changing tides which began
carrying her out into the Northumberland Strait.
Fire crews,
paramedics and the Canadian Coast Guard were each called in to help but
by the time they located the woman she was unconscious. The woman,
believed to be from Moncton, was later pronounced dead at a hospital in
New Glasgow.
Police are not releasing her name or any other details. They are trying to make sure the family has been notified.
May 17 is the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia.
The
observance celebrates lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. It
originated in Quebec in 2003 and is now marked in countries around the
world.
Homosexuals are still treated as criminals in 77
countries, and being gay carries the death penalty in six countriesand
in parts of Nigeria and Somalia. Brunei introduced death by stoning this
year.
A recent poll showed 74% of Canadians know someone who is lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.
