From time to time emergencies occur which require special measures to be taken by the Council. Local Authorities have clear legal obligations and duty of care to provide an effective and robust response to a broad range of emergencies.
The Council works in partnership with other organisations as part of the Kent Resilience Forum working together to improve the resilience of Kent and to ensure a co-ordinated response to emergencies.
An emergency can be described as ‘an event or situation which threatens serious damage to human welfare, the environment, or security of a place in the UK.’
This could include loss of life, illness or injury, homelessness, damage to property, disruption to property, supplies of money, food water, energy, fuel, communication systems or health services, or the contamination of land, water or air.
In the past few years Council officers have been called on to deal with a variety of incidents including floods, fires, evacuations, severe weather and off shore incidents.
No matter how well the statutory agencies plan their responses to potential disasters you should also prepare for a emergency. If an emergency does happen you can minimise the impact it has on you, your family and your home.
5.2 million people in England an Wales are deemed to be at risk of flooding and many of those at significant risk are unaware.
If you live in a flood risk area you should make your own plans to protect your property and valuable possessions.
Even if you don’t live in a flood risk area flooding can occur during heavy rainfall from surface water or problems with water mains or sewers. Being prepared for flooding can help to keep you safe. Through the Kent Resilience Forum the Council works closely with other organisations such as the Environment Agency to make sure that arrrangements are in place to deal with a major flooding incident.
Check if you are at risk of flooding
Flood and coastal erosion risk management policy statement
PermalinkWith emergencies happening at any time and usually without warning, we need to be prepared for them.
Our Major Emergency Plan details the structure and management of our emergency response as well as specific departmental plans dealing with:
- temporary shelter and homelessness
- media and communications
- emergencies at our ports and harbours
- flooding response
- oil pollution
- environmental health emergencies
Under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 local councils must provide free generic advice and assistance on business continuity to commercial and voluntary organisations.
Any incident, large or small, can cause major disruption to your business. However, by planning in advance you should be able to resume your day-to-day business sooner.
This is where Business Continuity Planning (BCP) comes in. It’s purpose is to help you to prepare strategies to cope with disruptions so that you can continue to deliver your business critical activities and reduce potential harm to staff.
By understanding the risks facing the everyday running of your business, you are better able to forsee problems and guard against them developing into serious disruptions.
Why have a Business Continuity Plan?
It is important to plan for unforseen circumstances. Some hard decisions will have to be made and quickly for instance:
- What do you do with your staff?
- How do you tell the community/customer that you cannot provide business as usual?
- How do you meet important deadlines?
Without a Business Continuity Plan you will have to rely on an ad-hoc approach to deal with the issues as they arise.
For further information view the Business Continuity Management Toolkit on the GOV.UK website.
The Kent County Council Business Continuity Plan template may also help your business.
Useful Links
Kent County Council Emergency Planning
PermalinkSmell gas? call free – 0800 111 999
Southern Water – emergencies what to do
Report a power cut – 105 (calls are free and you will be put through to your local electricity network operator)
Floodline – 0345 988 1188 (24-hr service)
Highways England – Traffic Information
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