Be aware and prepared for incidents that may happen in your area. Know your community's emergency alerts and warning systems:

• sign up for flood and weather alerts - check the Met Office website for all weather risks
• stay up to date on road closures - check our roadworks, road closures and diversions page or the City of York Council's website
• check our road cameras page before you travel to view images of road conditions across North Yorkshire

Plan ahead

• follow the advice on the government website about being informed and preparing your home for emergencies
• sign up to the Priority Services Register - a free service that provides extra help during power and water cuts for those eligible such as the elderly, young children or those who rely on medical equipment
• sign up to receive flood warnings on the Environment Agency website

Make a home escape plan so you can get out quickly and safely.

• know how to turn off utilities
• confirm meeting points with members of your family in case you cannot return home
• test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
• keep insurance up to date
• keep a car emergency kit

 View our household emergency plan leaflet (pdf / 1 MB) so you're ready for an emergency.

Create an emergency grab bag to help you leave quickly. This bag should include the following essentials in case you have to spend a few days away from home:

• first aid kit and medication
• battery-powered or wind-up torch and radio
• spare batteries
• mobile phone and charger
• bottled water
• blankets
• notebook, pen or pencil
• non-perishable food and snacks
• warm clothes and waterproofs
• toiletries
• candles and matches
• cash
• insurance details

You may also need pet food and accessories, children's toys and activities, and alternative cooking equipment such as a camping stove.

Communities that plan ahead cope better and recover faster. Local knowledge and enthusiasm make a big difference, and a simple emergency plan can help.

Think about:

• a meeting point, such as a village hall
• safe places for people who can’t stay in their homes
• emergency volunteers
• useful equipment
• vulnerable people who may need extra help
• key emergency contacts

If your community already has a plan, or is working on one, speak to your parish or town council - they may need volunteers. 

If you want to start planning, then contact your local emergency planning team for support. Contact us.

Community emergency support

To support your plan we can:

• provide  a simple community emergency plan template (pdf / 3 MB) /  a simple community emergency plan template (docx / 4 MB) and  a condensed community emergency plan (pdf / 223 KB) /  a condensed community emergency plan (docx / 237 KB) and help tailor it to your community
• attend your parish or town council meetings to promote the scheme
• provide links to communities that already have plans
• help promote your plan within your community
• provide maps of your community or parish
• help promote personal and business preparedness

Make sure your community has an emergency grab bag prepared in case an incident affects your community. It could include:

• fluorescent tabards
• clipboards and A4 paper
• pens and stationery
• a wind-up LED torch
• wind-up AM/FM radio
• first aid kit
• rubbish bags
• emergency foil blankets
• anti-bacterial wipes or gel 

• know your risks, both locally and national
• identify critical activities - these are the services your business must keep running
• assess risks - how likely are the risks and how much impact they would have
• create and maintain a business continuity plan
• train and test your staff on the continuity plan to make sure everyone knows their role
• keep copies of your continuity plan - both physical and digital copies
• plan communications so that you know how you will update staff and customers
• call 999 if anyone is in immediate danger
• cyber attacks are a growing risk, visit our cyber attacks page for more information

A business continuity plan sets out how your business will keep going during an unexpected disruption. Plans typically include:

• a checklist of essential supplies and equipment 
• data backups 
• key actions to maintain operations

Use our business continuity plan template to create a plan tailored to your business. The template includes examples, shown in red italics, to help you think about what actions you might need. You can adapt these to suit your business.

• call 999 if anyone is at risk
• stay calm and activate your business continuity plan
• take photos or videos of damage for insurance purposes
• keep staff, suppliers and customers informed
• decide what business activities can continue and what needs to be put on hold

After an incident you should review what happened - what worked and what didn’t and update your business continuity plan based on the lessons learned.