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What is your plan?


 Like many of you I have had conversations with my wife about what is our plan if 'this' was to happen or where would we go if that happened. These talks would last all of about five minutes before one of us gets distracted by something that needs doing or one of the kids comes in demanding a snack. Also like many of you I have some equipment and stocks to utilise in the event of an emergency. 

I cant help but think I have all the gear (not quite) but no idea. What will we do? What will we need? Where will we go? At what point do we decide now is the time leave? These are all valid questions and while we make attempts at answering them, we wouldn't be able to remember what course of action we agreed.

There are so many variables in my family that It cannot be left to chance or luck. Your family dynamic will be unique to you so there is no one size fits all plan. However, we can share ideas and we can find templates to start us off.

Within each county there is something called a local resilience forum who is a collaboration of the local authorities, emergency services, health partners, environment agency, amongst many others. It is handy to know this as they produce a risk register based on the hazards in your area. Each county council should also information for the general public to assist them in preparing for emergencies. For my local council they have produced a In Case of Emergency document which has some pre-filled information as well as areas for you to add details. Take a look or search for your own local preparedness page within your county council.

I find this document very useful and brings together everything we may need to sort out if the worst was to happen. In addition to this document I would add a variety of scenarios such as a flood, wildfire, public disorder and relate it to your local area and clearly detail what would be your plan A, B and C. 


Involve your family members, children included so everyone knows what to do in an emergency and try to make it fun. The above poster is from the US and I think you would agree that it is much more visually pleasing for a child to read. 

Give it some consideration, have the discussion and see where it leads you and whether you feel more prepared than you did before. Let me know your thoughts.


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