Preparing for a major incident
Thankfully major emergencies don’t happen every day and the chances of you or your family being caught up in a major incident are low. However, emergencies can happen very quickly with little or no warning.
You may be asked to evacuate or to stay in your home. Gas, electric and water supplies may be affected. You may be separated from your family, your children might still be at school, other family members might be at work, out shopping or visiting friends.
The council have plans and procedures in place to ensure we can respond effectively to emergencies affecting the borough whatever the incident. These plans are tested through real-life exercises, and people are trained to carry them out. In the event of an incident, the emergency services, council and utility companies will be at the scene, but they cannot reach everyone straight away.
If you are prepared for an emergency you will know what to do and can help yourself, your family and others in your community.
The government provide advice and information in an easy to read guide: Preparing for emergencies - What you need to know (external link)
Preparing your community
Community resilience is about communities and individuals using local resources and expertise to help themselves in an emergency situation.
Local emergency responders will always have to prioritise those with the greatest need, especially where life is in danger, so you may need to help yourself and those around you.
Being aware of the risks you might face, and who in your community might need your help, could make your community better prepared to cope with and recover from an emergency.
Preparing your business
If you have a business it is important to have a business continuity plan to make sure your business can survive an emergency and continue to operate once the emergency is over, we can help you develop a business continuity plan.
Personal emergencies
If you have a sudden illness or accident you can be prepared by using the Message in a Bottle scheme. You can keep your medical and contact details in a special container in the fridge so that emergency services know where to find them.
If you have need help raising an alarm in an emergency, a personal pendant alarm can help you. Simply pressing the button sends an alarm to a control centre where staff can arrange for you to get the help you need immediately.
Risk register
It is important to know what things pose the greatest risks to us locally, so that we can reduce those risks if possible and to plan for if they do happen.
Central government publishes a National Risk Register each year setting out the risks. Working from this, with the emergency services and local authorities across Greater Manchester, we develop a Community Risk Register. The Greater Manchester Community Risk Register is available from the Greater Manchester Prepared (external link) website.