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As an emergency management director, Angela McKenzie is used to helping others from the Fort McKay First Nation deal with disaster. So, it was doubly challenging when wildfires swept north from Fort McMurray and forced her to flee, along with her new baby and hundreds of others, through dense smoke and flames.

Following  a powerful, 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit the province of Esmeraldas, on the coast of Ecuador on April 17, the Red Cross responded to support the needs of those affected by deploying a health Regional Response Unit (RRU) jointly with the Colombian Red Cross. The RRU was deployed to reinforce health centres and community outreach activities as well as to operate satellite health posts and mobile clinics in various locations across Ecuador.

Three years after flooding destroyed thousands of properties across southern Alberta, a colourful new playground stands outside a brightly restored school in High River.
Where twisted metal, broken branches, thick mud and debris covered the area in 2013, children now swing happily between new play structures at Holy Spirit Academy. Funded by the Canadian Red Cross community grants program and other sponsors, the playground offers a lot of unique features, not only for students but the entire community.

For those who can’t hear what’s going on around them – or who hear only muffled, jumbled sounds, the world can be a confusing or even unfriendly place. And when that comes on top of the stress and uncertainty of being evacuated from your home, things can be even worse.That’s the situation some Fort McMurray residents found themselves in after losing or leaving behind the hearing aids that help make life better. But with the help of two local companies, sounds around them are now more clear.
 

When a disaster like wildfires hits, it puts a lot of stress on those who are impacted. Those who live through crisis situations are very likely to experience extreme stress, and it’s important to remember that this reaction is entirely normal. Recovering from these feelings can take a long time but there are some ways that may help you cope.

From damaged and lost property, to the emotional impact of being displaced, to images of destroyed areas and overwhelming uncertainty– disasters and emergencies like the Alberta wildfires take a big toll on us.  Kids and teens can be especially vulnerable during disasters and in the days that follow. Here are some ways to help the kids in your life following the Alberta wildfires.

Until visitors opened the curtains on his hospital window, Ryan Cyr had no idea advancing wildfires had triggered the evacuation of Fort McMurray. A quadriplegic recovering from recent surgery, Cyr was startled to see fire and smoke billowing over a neighbourhood just across the highway from his hospital room. “I could see the flames on top of the hill, and I thought, okay, this isn’t going to be good,” said the 21-year-old.

When Robert Waniandy fled the Alberta wildfires with just a garbage bag full of clothes, the 65-year-old had no idea when or where he would see his wife again. The smoke and chaos in Fort McMurray had prompted his wife, Annie Auger, 71, to leave Fort McMurray a few days earlier. When Waniandy, a retired welder, finally reached the evacuation centre at Edmonton’s Expo Centre, he felt so sick that he could only lie listlessly on his cot. Concerned volunteers transferred him to the Royal Alexandra hospital, where he discovered his wife had also been admitted with health issues.