Emergency planning and community resilience

1. 30th October 2013 Emergency planning and community resilience Edward Shaw Emergency planning officer

2. Aim • To describe how parish and town councils can support their community and other organisations during an emergency.

3. Preparing for emergencies • Civil Contingencies Act 2004. • Rushcliffe Borough Council and Nottinghamshire County Council will provide as much support as possible to affected communities. • Parish and town councils can play an important role in alleviating the impact of an emergency.

10. Preparing for emergencies • Parish and town councils can help to: • Provide emergency responders with local knowledge • Identify suitable places of safety for evacuees • Identify important premises, assets or infrastructure • Identify people that may be particularly vulnerable • Provide welfare support to affected residents • Communicate with residents.

11. Preparing for emergencies • Community emergency plans. • Community resilience schemes specific to flooding: • Resilience stores • Flood warden schemes • Road closure schemes. • Parish / town councils are responsible for the implementation of these schemes but support is available from other organisations.

12. Community emergency plans

13. Community emergency plans • Used to co-ordinate the community’s emergency response. • Community emergency plans should be tailored to local needs, but they typically include: • Emergency contact details for volunteers and organisations • Arrangements for supporting people that may be particularly vulnerable during an emergency • Procedures for activating a place of safety (e.g. village hall) in the event of an evacuation • Procedures for resilience stores, flood warden schemes or road closure schemes.

14. Community emergency plans • Guidance and templates are available from: • www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/caring/emergencies/emergencyplanning/communityemergencyplan/

16. Community emergency plans Nottinghamshire Police / Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service Nottinghamshire County Council Rushcliffe Borough Council Parish and town councils Environment Agency

17. Resilience stores

18. Resilience stores • Resilience stores are designed to complement the local authority response to flooding. • They contain flood protection products and equipment that can be deployed quickly to vulnerable properties by volunteers.

19. Resilience stores • Resilience stores vary in size, depending on the requirements of the community they are intended to serve.

20. Resilience stores • Similar schemes have been adopted by parish and town councils within Newark & Sherwood and Bassetlaw. • Residents should still be encouraged to purchase their own flood protection measures: • www.nationalfloodforum.org.uk • www.bluepages.org.uk • www.rushcliffe.gov.uk/flooding

25. Flood warden schemes

26. Flood warden schemes • Flood wardens act as a link between the Environment Agency, local authorities and the community. • Their main role is to provide information and advice to residents. • Flood wardens are not expected to help residents move furniture, evacuate people or operate flood defences / drainage assets.

27. Flood warden schemes • Roles include: • Observing and reporting instances of flooding to the Environment Agency • Liaising with the Environment Agency, emergency services, local authorities about local conditions and needs on-scene • Visiting people at risk to ensure that flood warnings have been received • Requesting assistance for people who are struggling to carry out essential actions to safeguard themselves or their property.

30. Flood warden schemes • Flood wardens need to: • Be reasonably fit and mobile • Be personable and able to explain information to residents in a clear and friendly manner • Have an interest in serving their local community • Have good local knowledge of the area • Preferably live close to the area at risk of flooding • Be willing to attend annual flood warden liaison meetings with the Environment Agency (arranged at convenient times).

31. Road closure schemes

32. Road closure schemes • Driving through floodwater can cause water to surge across pavements and into properties. • These surges are often known as ‘bow waves’.

36. Road closure schemes • The road signage scheme enables flood wardens (or other volunteers) to erect signage on roads when properties are at risk of flooding. • Volunteers must inform Nottinghamshire County Council before erecting the signage. • Once the floodwater has subsided and there is no longer a threat to property, the signage must be taken down immediately and placed back into storage.

37. Road closure schemes • Signage can only be erected by authorised people at pre-agreed locations and when pre-identified triggers are met. • Volunteers must attend the following training courses: • Manual handling training • Floodwater safety training • On-site road signage training. • Parish / town councils will need somewhere to store the equipment.

38. Further information

39. Further information • A community resilience guide is available at: • www.rushcliffe.gov.uk/environmentalhealth/emergencyplanning/ • Further information on flooding is available at: • www.rushcliffe.gov.uk/flooding • Rushcliffe Borough Council will be sending information about these schemes to parish and town councils.

40. Further information • Rushcliffe Borough Council • Tel: 01159 148 399 • Email: eshaw@rushcliffe.gov.uk • Nottinghamshire County Council • Tel: 01159 773 471 • Mob: 07802 338 202 • Email: edward.shaw@nottscc.gov.uk

41. Questions