Severe Weather and Natural Hazards: Lessons 2026

Lesson 1: Weather alerts in Canada

Security guards often work outdoors, patrol in vehicles and look after buildings full of people. Knowing the weather alerts helps you act early. Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) issues these alerts:

Alert	Meaning	What to do
Warning	Severe weather is happening or will happen	Act now to protect yourself
Watch	Conditions are favourable for severe weather	Be prepared; it may become a warning
Advisory	Less severe but significant weather, such as fog, blowing snow or freezing drizzle	Act now to protect yourself from significant weather
Special weather statement	Unusual or concerning weather; information only	Stay informed; not colour-coded

Colour-coded alerts

Since November 26, 2025, every warning, watch and advisory has a colour:

Yellow: hazardous weather that may cause damage, disruption or health impacts. The most common colour.
Orange: severe weather that is likely to cause significant damage or disruption. Uncommon.
Red: very dangerous, possibly life-threatening weather that will cause extreme damage. Rare.

Most warnings come 6 to 24 hours ahead, but a tornado may give less than 30 minutes. Alert Ready sends emergency alerts to TV, radio and compatible wireless devices. The WeatherCAN app can also send alerts for your area.

Lesson 2: Thunderstorms, lightning and hail

If you can hear thunder, you are within striking distance. Go to a safe shelter right away and stay there for at least 30 minutes after the last thunder.

Safe shelter	NOT safe
A fully enclosed building with wiring and plumbing	Picnic shelters, carports, tents, dugouts
An enclosed metal car, truck or van with windows closed	Small sheds, greenhouses, open vehicles, golf carts

If you cannot reach shelter

Stay away from tall objects, water and metal such as fences
Do not be the highest object around; use a low area, but watch for flooding
If in a group, spread out several metres apart

People struck by lightning are safe to touch. Call 911 right away and start CPR if they are not breathing.

Hail

Go into a solid building and stay away from windows, glass doors and skylights. If caught outside, crouch down, face away from the wind and protect your head and neck with your hands.

Lesson 3: Tornadoes and high winds

Get Prepared, the federal emergency preparedness site, gives this advice:

Where you are	What to do
Office or apartment building	Go to an inner hallway or room, ideally in the basement or on the ground floor. Stay away from windows. Do not use the elevator.
Gym, church or auditorium	Wide-span roofs can collapse. Go to another building if possible, or get under a sturdy table.
Vehicle	If the tornado is far away, drive to the nearest solid shelter. If it is close, get out and lie in a low area such as a ditch.
Mobile home or trailer	Leave. Mobile homes account for over half of tornado deaths. Go to a sturdy building or lie in a ditch away from it.
Outdoors	Get as low as you can, cover your head and watch for flying debris.

Signs of strong winds include swirls of dust, waves on water and fast-moving clouds below thunderstorms. A tornado can look like it is standing still when it is moving toward you. Never chase one.

Lesson 4: Extreme cold and wind chill

Wind chill is how cold it feels on your skin when the wind blows. It is reported when the temperature is zero or below and the wind is 5 km/h or more.

Wind chill	Risk	Exposed skin can freeze in
-28 to -39	High	10 to 30 minutes
-40 to -47	Very high	5 to 10 minutes
-48 to -54	Severe	2 to 5 minutes
-55 or colder	Extreme	Less than 2 minutes

In winds over 50 km/h, frostbite can happen even faster.

Dress in layers and cover exposed skin
Limit time outside and take warm-up breaks out of the wind
Check your face, ears, fingers and toes often for numbness or whiteness
Patrol with a working phone or radio and tell someone your route

Lesson 5: Heat and wildfire smoke

	Heat exhaustion	Heat stroke
Signs	Heavy sweating, weakness, dizziness, nausea, headache, pale, cool, moist skin	Confusion, collapse, seizures, hot skin, body temperature often above 40°C
What to do	Move to a cool, shaded place, cool with wet cloths, give water or a sports drink, get medical aid	Call 911 right away. Move to a cooler place and cool with water and cold, wet cloths. Do not force drinks.

Heat stroke is a medical emergency. Heat exhaustion can turn into heat stroke if it is not treated. Use a buddy system on hot days, because people often do not notice their own symptoms.

Wildfire smoke and the AQHI

The Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) runs from 1 to 10+: 1 to 3 low risk, 4 to 6 moderate, 7 to 10 high, above 10 very high. At high and very high levels, reduce or reschedule strenuous outdoor activity, especially if you have symptoms such as coughing or throat irritation. Children, people over 65 and people with health conditions are most at risk.

Lesson 6: Floods, earthquakes and after the storm

Floods

Do not drive on a flooded road. You cannot tell what the road is like under the water. Avoid low-lying areas during heavy rain.

Earthquakes

Drop to your hands and knees.
Cover your head and neck, under sturdy furniture if possible.
Hold on until the shaking stops.

If you are inside, stay inside. In a high-rise, stay away from windows and do not use elevators. In a vehicle, pull over away from overpasses and power lines and stay inside until the shaking stops. After the shaking, count to 60 before getting up, and expect aftershocks. Call 911 only for serious injuries, not to report the earthquake.

After any severe weather

Patrol for damage such as broken windows, roof damage and fallen trees
Stay well away from downed power lines and report them
Keep people out of damaged areas
Record what you found, with times and photos if allowed, and report to your supervisor