Emergencies
Contents
Advice for businesses
Prepare your business for a major emergency
If you own or are responsible for a business or organisation, you should consider the impact of an emergency on your business.
We encourage all businesses and voluntary organisations to prepare business continuity plans. These will help you survive a disruption and return to normal activity as soon as possible following a major emergency.
How would your organisation cope with:
- a sudden significant reduction in staff?
- loss of building access?
- loss of mains electricity, gas or water?
- significant disruption to transport?
- disruption to the availability of fuel?
- loss of telecommunications or internet?
- loss or disruption to your computer systems?
- disruption which affects your key suppliers or partners?
- what if they go into liquidation?
Do you know:
- how you would contact your staff in an emergency?
- where you can find staff emergency contact details, including next of kin contacts?
- how long a major emergency affecting your premises might have an impact on your normal activities?
- if you have staff with additional skills which may help in an emergency?
- where to go for advice during an incident?
If you cannot answer these questions, and would like to seek advice, sign up to flood warnings. This will provide you with early warnings if flooding is likely.
Advice for parish and community groups
You and your community can help reduce the impact of an emergency both in the short and long term.
Emergencies happen. Local emergency responders will always have to prioritise those with greatest needs during an emergency, especially where life is in danger. There will be times when you may be affected by an emergency but your life is not in immediate danger. During this time, you need to know how to help yourself and those around you by becoming more resilient.
The first step to community resilience is to work with your local authority to produce a community resilience plan.
- Identify your community.
- Identify and assess localised risks.
- Assess community skills and resources.
- Identify key locations.
- Produce an emergency contact list.
Start by checking your local area and find out if you are potentially at risk.
Ask yourself:
- is my home at risk of flooding?
- what would I do if my house was on fire?
- have I identified alternative escape routes in the event of fire?
- do I live near industrial sites or a major transport route?
- do family members know what to do in an emergency?
- do I have neighbours that might welcome help during an emergency?
Page last reviewed: 24 July 2024