Are you prepared for emergencies?

What is community resilience?

Many communities in Nottinghamshire suffered from severe flooding in 2007. It became apparent in the aftermath that often members of the community helped one another to cope with the consequences of the floods and to protect their homes from suffering further damage. This is what we in the emergency planning world call, community resilience. Through planning and preparing for emergencies individuals and communities can increase their own ability to cope and recover and be ‘ready to react’ if an emergency strikes.

What emergencies might we face in Nottinghamshire?

Nottinghamshire is a very safe place to live but it is important that we are ‘ready to react’ should an emergency occur.

The list below gives an idea of the range of incidents Nottinghamshire County Council, the emergency services and other organisations plan for:

• Fire
• Flood
• Snow
• Foot and Mouth Disease
• Flu pandemic
• Toxic fumes
• Terrorist attack
• Transport incident (rail, road or air)
• Landslide/earthquake
• Heat wave
• Power cut.

How can communities become more resilient?

Communities broadly fall into two categories:

• Locality based communities e.g. your street, your village, your neighbourhood.
• Community groups e.g. faith groups, after school clubs, neighbourhood watch schemes and Women’s Institute.

Groups within communities and Parish Councils can help the whole community become more resilient by:

• being aware of the risks that your community might face
• having an emergency contacts list for your group so you can keep in touch during an emergency event
• identifying which members of your community might be vulnerable in an emergency, and be prepared to offer assistance if required
• developing, or helping to develop, an emergency plan for your organisation or community. See the community plan template and guidance or contact the Emergency Planning Team for further information.

Communities are more resilient if they have tried and tested emergency plans with good clear lines of communication and an idea of the resources that are available within the community. Local people know the area better than the emergency services and other organisations who may respond during an emergency. This local knowledge can be an important aid to the responders.

If an emergency is widespread or you live in a remote area, the emergency services may take a while to reach you, so it’s important that you are ‘ready to react’. For example, some communities in Nottinghamshire have ‘community stores’ that help them to be prepared in the event of an emergency. These stores are equipped with resources that will help the community prevent damage to property during floods. Others have community emergency plans in place that outline: who needs support in an emergency, communication channels and what assistance members of that community can offer to the emergency services.

What can I do to prepare for an emergency?

Individuals and families can make a difference to how well they cope with an emergency situation through planning and preparing. It will help you be ‘ready to react’ if you:

• Know how to turn off water, gas and electricity in your home
• Know the emergency procedures for your workplace and/or child's school
• Consider how your family will stay in touch in the event of an emergency - mobile networks may be jammed, cordless telephones need power to work
• Have a household emergency plan ready. Who would you stay with if your home was evacuated? List of useful contact numbers
• Ask whether elderly or vulnerable neighbours might want/need your assistance in the event of an emergency
• Have a battery powered (with spare batteries) or wind up radio in your home and know how to tune into your local radio stations.
• Have a torch (wind up or battery powered), candles and matches in your home (kept out of reach of children)
• Have a supply of bottled water, ready to eat food (e.g. tinned) and a tin opener in your home
• Have an emergency kit prepared in a 'ready bag' or a list of things you would need and where to find them in a hurry. See a 'ready recipe' of what you might need in case of an emergency
• Find out whether your home is subject to any specific risks, such as flooding, and what you can do to help protect it
• Sign up for flood warnings (if appropriate in your area). To find out how, visit the Environment Agency website at: www.environment-agency.gov.uk

What should I do in an emergency?

If you are involved in an emergency:

• Call 999 if people are injured or if there is a threat to life
• Don't put yourself or others in danger
• Follow advice given by the emergency services
• Remain calm and try to help others if you are able and it is safe to do so.

If you are not involved in an emergency but are close by, or believe you may be in danger, in most cases:

• Go in
• Stay in
• Tune in.

During some emergencies it may not be safe to ‘go in’ to a building, for example if there is a fire. Always follow the advice given by the emergency services.

'Go in' to your home, or other building, if it is safe to do so
'Stay inside' until the emergency is over or you are instructed by the emergency services
'Tune in' to a local radio station or TV news station to hear the latest information about the emergency.

Ready Recipe - what should my emergency kit (ready bag) contain?

Keeping all of the things you might need in an emergency in a 'ready bag' is a great idea. However, we know this is often not realistic but you could keep a list of where to find the items in a hurry. An emergency kit might be kept at home and in the car.

Ideally, your ready bag might contain the following:

• Photocopies of important documents (such as passport, insurance certificates, driving licence, pet vaccination certificates)
• A list of current medication (or spares so long as they do not go out of date)
• Household emergency plan with contact details of members of the family you will need to inform, local doctors number etc
• A change of clothes per person or an emergency blanket
• Torch (with spare batteries if not wind up)/Candles and matches
• Radio (with spare batteries if not wind up)
• Bottled water (to be changed regularly as noted on best before dates)
• Sanitary items and toiletries
• In date tinned food and tin opener/long life snacks
• First aid kit
• Mobile phone and wind up or battery powered charger.

You may also want to consider including:

• Antibacterial hand wipes/gel
• Checklist of items in the kit
• A basic tool kit.

What to do if required to evacuate your home

If you need to evacuate your home in the event of an emergency then:

• Listen and comply with instructions from the emergency services
• Account for all family members
• Get your pets together with leads, cages, etc
• Take any important items you may need with you, such as mobile phone, credit cards, medication, ID, etc
• Get your ready bag
• Find out, where safe to do so, if neighbours need any assistance.

It is a good idea to consider now where you might go in case you are asked to evacuate your home. If lots of people have to leave their homes then the local authority will provide temporary emergency accommodation. However, you may want to go to a relative or friend who lives outside the evacuation area instead. It may be worth checking your home insurance policy as some providers cover for alternative accommodation.

We want to hear from you

If you or your community group would like further information on how you can help increase the resilience of your community, please contact the Nottinghamshire County Council Emergency Planning Team.