Protecting your COMMUNITY
Why prepare?
The emergency services have to prioritise those in greatest need during an emergency. Communities may need to rely on their own resources until professional help arrives.
Many communities spontaneously help one another in times of need. But communities who have prepared in advance are able to cope better and recover faster. Communities can help prepare through following the steps below, and creating a Community Emergency Plan.
If a community is prepared for possible risks, you can reduce the impact on your homes and businesses.
5 ways you can
Prepare for emergencies
1
Be aware of local risks
2
Make sure YOU are prepared
3
Get to know your community
4
Create a Community Emergency Plan
5
Share risk and preparedness information
1. Be aware of local risks
The first step of becoming a prepared and resilient community is to know the risks in the area. This website contains information on the very high risks across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
Have a look at the local risk pages and see if those could happen in your local area. For instance, if you live in Basingstoke, you won’t be impacted by coastal flooding, but if you live in Lymington then you may be.
When you are aware of the risks, you can plan and prepare.
2. Make sure YOU are prepared
To help your community be prepared for emergencies, you and your household need to be prepared. Read the risk pages to understand the risks in your area and then follow the advice in the households’ page.
When you and your household are prepared, you are ready to support your community.
3. Get to know your community
You may have been living in your community your whole life, or you may be new to the area, either way, it is good to make social connections. There are a lot of ways you can get involved in your local community, such as:
- Introduce yourself to your neighbours
- Join community groups on social media, such as Facebook
- Join local clubs and societies
- Volunteer for local charities
Being part of a community network is not only good for your wellbeing, but it is also an important step of becoming a prepared community.
When you have a good understanding of the risks in your area, and the people within your community, you can create a Community Emergency Plan.
4. Create a Community Emergency Plan
A community plan will help all volunteers know their roles when there’s an emergency. It can be shared with emergency services so that everyone can work together. There are lots of places to get advice on developing your community plan.
Using our template you can work with other members of your community to develop a Community Emergency Plan which will help your community to:
- Prepare for…
- Respond to…
- Recover from…
…emergencies in your area.
Use the resources and links below to learn more about developing a Community Emergency Plan.
5. Share risk and preparedness information
Think about people/households/individuals within your community:
- Do they know about the risks in the area?
- Do they need help preparing for emergencies?
- What can you do to help?
There are various ways you can help your community:
- Make sure you are prepared
- Be an active member of your community
- Share risk information
- Share the link to this website, such as the Households page
- Share the link to the Government’s Prepare website – Click here
- Share your Community Emergency Plan
- Share posters and leaflets around your community – download here
- Think of ways you can make your community more resilient to emergencies
Helpful links and resources
Prepare
Government advice on preparing your community to identify and prepare for the hazards and threats that may disrupt their lives.
CitizenAID
A charity that helps communities to prepare to save lives, when there is a risk to life.
