Archive Website of the UK government

How to find out what emergencies might affect you

Understanding the different risks you face and how they would affect you can help you become more prepared for dealing with an emergency.

Risks affecting you in and around your home

Everyone can look out for risks in and around the home. For example, you could identify things that could cause a house fire or look at how to prevent accidents with household chemicals or tools. There are also ways you can check to see if your home is at risk of flooding.

• Advice on preventing different types of emergencies

• Flooding in your area

• Chemical safety in the home

Risks affecting your local area

Your area’s ‘local emergency responders’ (eg fire, police and ambulance services) meet regularly as a group at a ‘Local Resilience Forum’. This group looks at the risks and works out the planning for emergencies which could affect your area.

Each Local Resilience Forum publishes a Community Risk Register. You can read this to become more aware of the risks in your area and how they might affect you and your community.

• Local resilience forums in England and Wales Opens new window

Risks affecting the whole of the UK

The government regularly assesses the natural hazards and manmade threats that could affect the UK. These are published in the National Risk Register, which explains the likelihood of a risk occurring and possible effects of an emergency if it happens.

• National Risk Register on the Cabinet Office website Opens new window

Local and central government preparations for emergencies

Your area’s local emergency responders are well equipped to deal with emergencies of all kinds and take part in training exercises throughout the year. Your area’s local emergency responders are the fire, police and ambulance services, as well as your local authority and other organisations. These exercises practice the response to a range of incidents by testing emergency plans (which exist in all areas of the UK) and preparedness.

• Emergency plans in the UK - Cabinet Office website Opens new window

Central government programmes

Government programmes are in place to improve the response to emergencies that might affect the UK. They help make sure that emergency responders at all levels can respond to emergencies. They also ensure that essential services (like food, water, transport, health, and financial services) keep working. You can read the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review on the Cabinet Office website. This sets out the government’s priorities.

The UK’s counter-terrorism planning involves thousands of people. Police and intelligence officers, local emergency responders, businesses, voluntary and community organisations and governments all work together across the UK. You can read about the UK counter-terrorism strategy (CONTEST) on the Home Office website.

• UK counter-terrorism strategy – Home Office website Opens new window

• National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review - Cabinet Office website Opens new window

Getting involved in emergency planning in your community

Community resilience is about communities and individuals working together to use local resources and knowledge to deal with an emergency, in a way that works with emergency services.

Many communities come together in times of need. Those who have spent time planning and preparing are often better able to cope with, and recover more quickly from, national and local emergencies. Local voluntary organisations – for example, faith groups - may already have resilience plans in place.

You can ask your local council if anyone in your area has created a Community Emergency Plan. This is where volunteers from your local area may have put in place arrangements to support the work of local emergency responders. You can find out more about how to create a Community Emergency Plan from the Cabinet Office website.

You can also find information and tools for individuals, communities and voluntary organisations to prepare for emergencies and disasters on the Informed.Prepared.Together website.

You can get involved in your community by becoming a volunteer with organisations that support both local and national emergency response.

• Get emergency planning information from your council website Opens new window

• Community Emergency Plan Toolkit and community resilience information from the Cabinet Office website Opens new window

• Community emergency planning resources and tools - Informed.Prepared.Together website Opens new window

• Becoming a volunteer

Useful contacts

There are a number of community and volunteer organisations that help plan for and respond to emergencies.

British Red Cross

Tel: 0844 871 11 11

Get information on preparing for emergencies, volunteering and learning first aid.

• British Red Cross website Opens new window

WRVS

Tel: 0845 6014670

Find out about WRVS services for older people and how to volunteer.

• WRVS website Opens new window

St John Ambulance

Tel: 08700 104950

Get information about learning first aid and becoming a volunteer.

• St John Ambulance website Opens new window

The Radio Amateurs’ Emergency Network (RAYNET)

Find out about services and joining RAYNET, the UK’s national voluntary communications service provided for the community by licensed radio amateurs.

• RAYNET website Opens new window

More useful links

• Get more information about community resilience from the Cabinet Office website Opens new window