When people talk about emergencies you may think of recent tragic events such as the attacks on London and Manchester, recent UK storms and flooding, the Nepal earthquake, the Indonesian tsunami or other global disasters. What if we told you that being prepared is not just for those head-line grabbing incidents? Power cuts, water main…
With the forecast suggesting warmer temperatures and while we look forward to summer, it’s important to remember that the effects of long spells of hot weather can be hazardous to health. This is especially the case with vulnerable groups, such as the very young, the elderly and the seriously ill. If there is an average…
Following an incident that occurred on the 5th of March regarding three improvised explosive devices which were sent by mail to transport hubs in London. Although it is highly unlikely that suspicious mail will be sent to residential houses, it is important that we all stay vigilant. Delivered items can include letters, packets and parcels…
The British Red Cross have launched a new initiative to help you support the response to emergencies in your local community. A Community Reserve Volunteer is anyone who wants to help their local community if a large incident should occur, but is perhaps unable to commit time to regular volunteering. No specialist skills are required…
Somerset Emergency Community Contacts are individuals identified by their local Parish or Town Council to be a point of contact in an emergency. Past incidents identified that some communities were unsure who to contact for help and that responding agencies would have benefited from some valuable local knowledge. To address this the Somerset Local Authorities’…
Volunteers’ Week is an annual event taking place at the start of June and celebrates the contribution made by millions of volunteers across the UK. It’s run by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations in partnership with Volunteer Development Scotland, Volunteer Now(Northern Ireland) and Wales Council for Voluntary Action. In Somerset, voluntary sector organisations come together…
Under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, Local Resilience Forums have a statutory duty to produce a Community Risk Register to enable the community to be better prepared to cope during an emergency and to recover more quickly. The Avon and Somerset Local Resilience Forum has now published the 2017 risk register which can be found…
Members of Dunster Parish Council have come together with volunteers and support from the Community Resilience in Somerset Partnership to establish the Dunster Community Flood Group. The group now has a Sand Store, an Equipment Store plus enough equipment to help the group to tackle flooding problems in the future and protect vulnerable parishioners. For more…
