Category Archives: Preparedness: Individuals

Preparedness for Individuals: self reliance, self sufficiency, resilience

Forgotten disasters: the 1935 London fire that sparked the world’s first 999 emergency phone line

HAPPY BIRTHDAY – the world’s first 999 emergency phone service celebrates its 80th birthday!

Something has just gone badly wrong and you pick up the phone and dial 999 in a real emergency. How simple and brilliant is that! Take a moment to actually just think about this. When you are in real need, the emergency services will respond. They save the lives of countless people every day. It’s just become ‘normal’ and so it’s easy to forget that it wasn’t always so: turn back to clock to a …

Forgotten Disaster: 1935 Wimpole Street London

A fire breaks out on the ground floor at a doctor’s house in 27 Wimpole Street, Marylebone – incidentally the same address (27A) made famous in George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion (1913, characters Professor Higgins, Eliza Doolittle).

source CC: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/5c/42/43/5c424310be25d195293c5dd9a541d0aa--fire-dept-fire-department.jpgHowever, on that fateful early morning on November 10th, drama turned to tragedy when help arrived too late for those trapped in the upper rooms.  A milkman on his rounds noticed dense smoke and ran to the nearest street fire alarm, smashing the glass and pulling the alarm.  Running back he stood by helplessly as an elderly woman leaned out from the window shouting “for God’s sake get the fire brigade” before disappearing amid smoke and flames.

A neighbour attempted to dial through to the local telephone exchange and was unable to reach an operator. Eventually the fire service did arrive but sadly too late for the victims Mrs Franklin, wife of the doctor, Miss Brook her nice and a cook, a housemaid and a kitchen maid. Also remembered must be the hero of the tragedy, a fireman by the name of Leonard Tobias who carried on searching the smoke-filled building ‘long after his men had collapsed’. He was later killed in the line of duty.

Take a look at how the incident was reported in widely different ways, for example in The Spectator and on the other side of the globe in The Courier-Mail, Brisbane:

999 history SPECTATOR

999 history courier brisbane

 

But the story does not end there, thankfully.

The caller, Norman Macdonald, a dentist living in the house opposite who had been held in a queue by the Welbeck telephone exchange was so outraged that he wrote a letter to the editor of The Times1. In response to the letter and public outcry, the Government set up a committee to establish a dedicated emergency service. At the time when there were only 3 million home telephones and most people would use coin-operated red telephone boxes, the number 999 was chosen because it was easy to dial.

For a real look into what actually happens today when you dial 999, take a look at this video from Northants Emergencies

And please THINK before you dial 999

 

THANK YOU emergency services and HAPPY 8oth BIRTHDAY 999.

Monika

 

 

1. “It all started with us” The Times (archive)

For more Resilience Blog simply use the right hand navigation. For emergency kits and practical resources use the top navigation. For more on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness head over to our FREE resources at the Preparedness Hub and find out why we use humour. If you like this post, please share it to help raise awareness for Emergency and Disaster Preparedness. 

 thank you for sharing!

Find EVAQ8 on social media, like and follow us!

follow EVAQ8.co.uk on facebook  follow EVAQ8.co.uk on twitter  join EVAQ8.co.uk on google+  discover and share EVAQ8.co.uk on pininterest  explore EVAQ8.co.ok on You Tube

 

Heatwave – beyond Heat Health Watch to Personal Preparedness

What an amazingly beautiful HOT weekend we’ve just enjoyed and are promised much more to come the rest of this summer! Yet a heatwave can have quite serious consequences some of which are perhaps well less known. Mostly people talk about health effects and there is a so called Heat Health Watch, for example

 

 

With regards to national preparedness, the Heatwave plan for England kicks in every year on the 1st June and runs to mid September. But what about personal preparedness?

Heatwaves affect anyone says the British Red Cross, especially older people, children and babies and people suffering from certain chronic conditions. Yet heatwaves not only affect health.  Our Preparedness for Heatwave page explains like this tweet:

So in addition to health, you need to be better prepared for power cuts such as brownouts and blackouts. Thankfully, power is usually restored pretty quickly. However, if you suffer an extended power cut the numbers to remember for food safety are 2 hours and 5°C. Fresh food left at above 5°C for 2 hours may spoil and in the most severe cases may lead to food poisoning. Also see guidance on refrigerated food and power outages and frozen food and power outages and check out our blog on Modern Emergency Food Storage which is ideal as preparedness measures. But enough about food! In this heat you’ll probably focus less on food but simply on how to cope in hot weather (and hopefully won’t get stuck in elevators or worse!). Dehydration symptoms can quickly sneak up on you so be aware and drink plenty of cool water even if you’re not feeling thirsty. Drinking plenty of water keeps your system going but you may still find you’re feeling uncomfortably hot, especially if like all of us you want to or have to keep active. So here is a quick cheeky fix, a bit of personal preparedness on the fly on how to stay cool

Be cool – stay cool! #prepared  :-)

Monika     .. and heatwave preparedness is for pets too:

 

 

For more Resilience Blog simply use the right hand navigation. For emergency kits and practical resources use the top navigation. For more on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness head over to our FREE resources at the Preparedness Hub and find out why we use humour. If you like this post, please share it to help raise awareness for Emergency and Disaster Preparedness. 

 thank you for sharing!

Find EVAQ8 on social media, like and follow us!

follow EVAQ8.co.uk on facebook  follow EVAQ8.co.uk on twitter  join EVAQ8.co.uk on google+  discover and share EVAQ8.co.uk on pininterest  explore EVAQ8.co.ok on You Tube

The Guardian 21June2017 UK heatwave brings hottest June day for 40 years

Emergency Preparedness UK: security and safety update June 2017

Wow! Two really good things happened this week for emergency preparedness, addressing both safety and security. First, the @EPCollege published @HasisD ‘s  report on what the UN Disaster Risk Reduction Sendai Framework means for (local!!) UK practitioners which really opens up the debate (PDF)

… and today, just four days after the London Bridge attack, the National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO) issued new official safety guidance for crowded places which includes a substantial section on personal safety.

 

In their guidance, NaCTSO writes

“No-one has more responsibility for your personal security than you.”

Naturally, security and safety go hand in hand and so in my view this statement applies across the board to include all risks, not just terrorism. Actually, the risk from terrorism, viewed objectively and rationally, plays just a very small role. Consider:

“On an average day, terrorists kill 21 people worldwide. On that same average day, natural or technological disasters kill 2,200 people – or more than 100 times as many.”

The more ‘clear and present danger’ lies elsewhere. As my earlier post Prepare for a world that’s more than 2° C warmer discusses, there is a different elephant in the room. A new study that assessed potential future climate damage to major European coastal cities projects that annual economic losses may range up to 40 billion $ by 2100 (based on worst emission scenario, which we’re heading into rather fast).   For the UK, sadly, this will continue to look more and more like this:  

So, what is to be done? Well, actually there is a lot that anyone can do. In this blog, we specifically talk about personal and community preparedness, capabilities which means skills and training and capacities which means practical tools and equipment. Key posts here to look at are:

Disaster Preparedness – what disaster, why preparedness?

Resilience and Preparedness Roadblocks: what stops us?

Community Resilience Building Blocks – it all starts with prepared individuals

Be prepared – not scared!

Monika

edit to add: also just out now is the JRF’s report: “Present and future flood vulnerability, risk and disadvantage: A UK scale assessment” This report is of particular interest to community resilience. It highlights how flood risks interact with social vulnerability across the UK to create flood disadvantage, an issue which will be exacerbated by climate change. Today some 6.4 million people live in flood prone areas, with around 1.5 million of these people living in vulnerable neighbourhoods (which include people on low incomes, with poor health and other factors that means floods are likely to have more negative impacts…

 

For more Resilience Blog simply use the right hand navigation. For emergency kits and practical resources use the top navigation. For more on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness head over to our FREE resources at the Preparedness Hub and find out why we use humour. If you like this post, please share it to help raise awareness for Emergency and Disaster Preparedness. 

 thank you for sharing!

Find EVAQ8 on social media, like and follow us!

follow EVAQ8.co.uk on facebook  follow EVAQ8.co.uk on twitter   discover and share EVAQ8.co.uk on pininterest  explore EVAQ8.co.ok on You Tube

ABC of Emergency Preparedness

One way of engaging with emergency preparedness is to create an ABC. It’s a fun activity for adults and kids alike to get thinking about the important topic of how to be better prepared for an emergency or disaster, what that entails and means. Here is one such ABC of emergency preparedness, focusing on household preparedness and family in a general setting. Examples are drawn internationally because the same fundamental preparedness principles apply irrespective of where in the world you are. I hope what follows will inspire you to come up with your own version of your ‘personal’ ABC of Emergency Preparedness.   [this post is also accessed by https://evaq8.co.uk/blog/abc-of-emergency-preparedness/]

A  for ATTITUDE  | ABC of Emergency Preparedness

No matter what kind of emergency, staying calm and keeping a positive attitude is essential. Do not panic. Get your breathing under control to clear your mind so that you can assess the situation appropriately.

Connected to attitude are beliefs and here drawing on faith for strength is useful irrespective of exactly what kind of ideology you follow. In addition, check out the post on how to achieve realistic confidence in the face of crisis.

   

B  for BE BETTER PREPARED  | ABC of Emergency Preparedness

That means being PRO-ACTIVE rather than just re-active. Planning ahead, getting equipped and informed is your best bet. Preparedness means you are likely to better manage in an emergency or disaster. Up your chances by upping your capacities (kit, supplies, tools etc.) and capabilities (knowledge, training, skills etc).

 

C  for COMMUNICATE | ABC of Emergency Preparedness

Emergency preparedness is a ‘group sport’ so to be able to communicate effectively before, during and after a crisis is vital. The word ‘preparedness’ implies being better prepared BEFORE something happens. Planning your communication is as important as communicating during your planning stage: it sets everything up and keeps everything going. That also means when you make your household emergency plan, check your assumptions: don’t just think you know but find out, update and verify, talk to reliable people in your communities as well as emergency planning professionals such as via your Local Resilience Forum. In addition, keep in mind that communication is more than just giving and following advice or instructions and staying in touch. It’s also about signalling for help, coordinating emergency plans beyond immediate family to other groups of people, locating the missing or lost, organising support and new supply chains etc. Some questions to explore include where do you find the right information? How and what do you communicate to your loved ones when you’re setting up your plan? What does communication look like during a crisis and in the aftermath in how to receive help or in how to assist? How can you communicate effectively under potentially extreme situations? What will you need to be more self-reliant?

 

D   for DEVICES | ABC of Emergency Preparedness

Tech is great – when it works. Problem is it often doesn’t during a real crisis or disaster situation. No power, limited battery life, network failures… in short, you need additional kit as well as independent low-tech solutions. Good examples here are solar chargers for your gadgets, hard copies of local maps as well as your ID’s and insurance documents, pocket guides for first aid and survival etc.

 

E    for EVACUATION  | ABC of Emergency Preparedness

Do you stay or go? In some situations the best option is safe evacuation, getting out of harm’s way quickly, returning once the all clear has been given by authorities. Evacuation can happen for many reasons and can be temporary, lasting just a few minutes or hours or expand to more medium or even long term shelter-in-place situations away from your home. Most evacuations are self-evacuations when you get right down to it.  So what exactly does safe self-evacuation look like?

 

F  for  FIRST AID | ABC of Emergency Preparedness

First aid is an essential life skill and the more training and knowledge you have the better off you are in an emergency situation. It’s that simple. However, it’s no good knowing a lot and then not having the tools and resources when and where you need them so a well-stocked first aid kit or medical kit is an absolute must, kitted to your abilities and needs.

 

G  for GO-BAG | ABC of Emergency Preparedness

All essentials packed in one sturdy grab bag ready to go at any time, that’s a GoBag. Find out how to build your own emergency kit and check out our preparedness hub for even more free resources.

 

H for HYGIENE  | ABC of Emergency Preparedness

Hygiene contributes to health. Absence or insufficient hygiene in the aftermath of a disaster can have very serious consequences. Water purification is an important element as is travel hygiene, i.e. during an evacuation and shelter-in-place situation.

 

I  for  IDENTIFICATION | ABC of Emergency Preparedness

Your GoBag must contain paper copies of documents that can prove your identity and address as a minimum. Additional documents and USB backups of i.e. personal photos, contacts list, insurance, inventory accounts etc. are highly recommended.

 

J  for JUNK  | ABC of Emergency Preparedness

Everything but the kitchen sink, it might come in useful. No! Leave unnecessary items behind. Make the right choices in what to take with you and how to secure the belongings you leave behind. Your GoBag must be comprehensive enough to last you 72 hours yet must be light enough that you can carry it comfortable for extended periods of time. Loading up your car with tons of stuff does not mean you are better prepared. Less is more. Get the right kit; don’t simply make do. Your life may depend on it. And whatever you do, NEVER leave your pets behind!

 

K  for KEEP FOCUSED | ABC of Emergency Preparedness

Emergencies or disaster can be confusing and scary. Understanding fear is important as it can be your best ally. What do you need to help you keep focused and maintain a positive attitude? Short-term energy food and drinks help as well as frequent morale boost. What works for you and how will you build this into your emergency plan to be better prepared?

 

L  for LOCAL MAPS | ABC of Emergency Preparedness

Having accurate information about your local environment is key: roads, bridges, rivers, lakes, woods, towns etc. Don’t rely on tech alone which may stop functioning in an emergency or disaster. Know several ways to get to safe shelter locations. Also, knowing about your flood and other risks based on local maps is crucial.

 

M  for MEALS-READY-TO-EAT aka MRE  | ABC of Emergency Preparedness

If your car runs out of fuel, it stops and if YOU run out of fuel so will you. Maintaining energy levels during a crisis means that you can continue doing what you need to be doing. The last thing you want to worry is about cooking your next decent meal. MRE’s have been used by the military for many years and there are many reasons why they work so well for emergency preparedness: delicious, nutritious, long-shelf life, space and cost effective. So, check it out and also see our survival food page. What’s your favourite menu?

 

N  for NOURISHMENT | ABC of Emergency Preparedness

Quality emergency and survival food is one aspect but there is also mental and emotional nourishment. As mentioned earlier, maintaining attitude and the ability to keep focus is crucial to being better prepared for emergencies. Once the initial urgent phase has passed there needs to be time to process, coming to terms with events and finding silver linings, giving and finding support on all levels: physical, mental and emotional – perhaps sometimes using ‘unusual’ tools  ;-)   ….

 

O  for ORGANISE | ABC of Emergency Preparedness

Without ‘organising’ you are toast in an emergency or disaster situation, it’s that simple. Get cracking, it’s easy and even fun to do so. Make emergency preparedness plans for work and private life:  a personal emergency plan, a family emergency plan, a community emergency plan, a fire safety plan, an evacuation plan, a shelter-in-place plan, a travel emergency plan ….any and all that make sense and are needed in your particular sets of circumstances. To start, head over to our emergency preparedness hub with lots of free resources and downloads.

 

P  for PETS | ABC of Emergency Preparedness

Leave no one behind in an emergency or disaster and this also goes for your pets or animals. We have a special page for Emergency Preparedness with Pets so head right over.

 

Q  for QUESTIONS   | ABC of Emergency Preparedness

Never stop asking questions about emergency planning and emergency preparedness. Update and upgrade your knowledge, organise and be better prepared. Be selective in the resources you trust – there is a lot of information out there and not everything is good and valid. Local is massively important so a dig through the history of your area for clues of past major incidents is a good idea as is finding out information from your Local Resilience Forum and other trustworthy specialists.

 

R for RELOCATION POINT | ABC of Emergency Preparedness

Where will you go if you have to evacuate? Not just an assembly point but an alternative safe location in a more medium-term or perhaps longer term where you can find shelter and support. What do you know about evacuation shelters near where you live or work? Are there any and how well equipped are they?What are your self-reliance options? Check out the post on mass evacuation.

 

S  for SAFETY | ABC of Emergency Preparedness

Always think safety first. Don’t take unnecessary risks. This is especially important in a family or small group settings that have to rely on all members. Stay alert during emergencies and always be aware of your surroundings, watching out for potential dangers. Know the difference between risk and hazards. What are likely sources of risks and hazards and how do you plan to deal with them? It’s all part of your emergency plan.

 

T  for TRAVEL  | ABC of Emergency Preparedness

Travel may become necessary before or in the aftermath of a disaster. Know your relocation point and how you will get there. Have your GoBag and other supplies ready. Be organised and be better prepared, have a positive attitude and keep focused. As part of your emergency preparedness plans, create checklists of items, streamline necessities and avoid junk. If you travel by car, always carry a Car Emergency Kit in addition to your other supplies.

 

U  for UNSURE | ABC of Emergency Preparedness

Unsure about something? Doubt is excellent for it represents an open door, an opportunity to find out the right information from the right sources. Investigate, never stop asking questions when it comes to emergency preparedness.  Continue to upgrade and update your knowledge every day. Preparedness becomes simply part of who you are.

 

V  for VARIOUS NEEDS | ABC of Emergency Preparedness

Children at different ages have different needs from young adults, the middle aged or seniors so you will have to think carefully what capacities and capabilities your emergency preparedness has to cover under which circumstances. It’s not as daunting as it sounds, however. There is already a lot you know and much you have and can do. Visit our preparedness hub for resources and downloads and get started.

 

W  for WEATHER | ABC of Emergency Preparedness

Being weather aware means you will see it coming and can plan and act accordingly. Early warning systems are pretty good these days for major weather events depending on where in the world you are. Simply keeping an eye on the news or your favourite weather app will keep you in the loop. In addition, include diverse weather (not just severe storms) in your safe evacuation scenarios for it’s an entirely different matter in midsummer heat, deep winter snow freeze or during heavy rains or storms.

 

X   for Xerox copy | ABC of Emergency Preparedness

Vital information such as IDs, insurance, inventories, accounts etc. should always have one or several hard copies in safe places as well as digital backups.

 

Y  for YOU CAN DO THIS!  | ABC of Emergency Preparedness

If you feel you are becoming overwhelmed remind yourself that you are capable of doing extraordinary things.  Focus on the next minute, the next five, the next hour and just keep going.  Most importantly BE PREPARED! Join the race where everyone wins:

    … and finally …..    

Z  for ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE | ABC of Emergency Preparedness

Yes, you heard right! The joke goes that if you are better prepared for a ‘zombie apocalypse’ then you are pretty much prepared for anything.

source: https://www.cdc.gov/images/campaigns/emergency/zombies2_300x250.jpg

If it takes that kind of Hollywood fantasy to create interest in emergency preparedness then why not? Let’s go for it. After all, this particular notion even exercises serious scientists who study how disease spreads. Take a look yourself and have a go at ‘Zombietown’ a disease dynamics simulation by physicists Alexander Alemi, Matthew Bierbaum, Christopher Myers and James Sethna of Cornell University and  take a look at Leicester University or get stuck in with the CDC:


I hope you enjoyed this ABC of Emergency Preparedness. Happy Easter and good luck with your personal plans for being better prepared. 

Monika   

For more Resilience Blog simply use the right hand navigation. For emergency kits and practical resources use the top navigation. For more on Emergency+Disaster Preparedness head over to our FREE resources at the Preparedness Hub and find out why we use humour. If you like this post, please share it to help raise awareness for Emergency and Disaster Preparedness. Thank you!

 thank you for sharing!

 

For more EVAQ8 blog simply use the right hand navigation. For emergency kits and practical resources use the top navigation. For FREE resources head over to our Preparedness Hub and find out why we use humour. If you like this post, please share it to help raise awareness for Emergency and Disaster Preparedness. Thank you!

Find EVAQ8 on social media, like and follow us!

join EVAQ8.co.uk on facebook  follow EVAQ8.co.uk on twitter  discover and share EVAQ8 on pininterest  explore EVAQ8.co.ok on You Tube

Modern Emergency Food Storage – Household Preparedness for everyone is as easy as 1 – 2 – 3

Sometimes it’s easier to simply show rather than tell and so before I get a bit deeper into what modern emergency food storage looks like and why it makes sense for everybody here are some context images from our twitter feed:

My earlier What Disaster –Why Preparedness post explains that while defining what exactly a ‘disaster’ is not so straight forward, preparedness (see 5Ps and 5Cs) on the other hand is. Naturally, modern emergency food storage is part of preparedness and taps into food security which is not only a topic for developing countries but for anyone faced with increasing natural and man-made emergencies and disasters that impact our supply chains (see see Prepare for a world that’s more than 2° C warmer). Do have a good look at the food security page because it gives a lot of detail information from which to build your own emergency food storage strategy – and what exactly is that? Just like there is a preparedness 1 – 2 – 3 : get a kit, make a plan, be informed, there is  

Modern Emergency Food Storage Strategy is as easy as  1 – 2 – 3

Everyone is different and everyone’s needs and wants are different. Therefore your modern emergency food storage strategy starts with an appraisal and analysis: 

1 Emergency Food Strategy: How many ? That’s people and animals

Covering for just two or an extended family or even neighbourhood makes a difference not only in how much you will have to store but also affects your purchasing power to buy more advantageously in bulk. Preparedness for pets is a whole other story.

2 Emergency Food Strategy : What nutritional needs?

Age and health status affects your choice of how much and what kind of emergency food you want to store. The Food Security page has a United Nations table as a guideline but keep in mind that these are minimum requirements to survive, not necessarily thrive.  Preparedness for the elderly is a separate topic also looked at in the post Preparedness and older people as is caring for the very young.

3 Emergency Food Strategy : How long? Hours, days, months; staying in one place or several locations?

 

Short-term emergency food storage

…typically means 72 hour self-sufficiency as is typically recommended i.e. for your GoBag or so called emergency grab bag in case of emergency evacuation. For shelter-in-place situations most households can usually cover this without many problems. While you may suffer fridge and freezer food losses due to prolonged power outages,  most households contain dry goods that can be prepared without gas or electric and eaten even if your access to clean water is compromised (see water purification). If you’re interested  to ‘upgrade’ in this area take a look at the self-heating meals.  They are particularly well suited giving you maximum output with minimum effort on top of being relatively lightweight for transport as well as compact for food storage.  


Medium-term emergency food storage

… can be several days to many weeks. Here you need to seriously start looking at energy and nutritional quality requirements. You also need to consider activity levels and climate as well as special dietary requirements, i.e. gluten free survival food. Again, a starting point is the United Nations table on the Food Security page but you must take your analysis further and look at your specific circumstances.

 

Long-term emergency food storage

… typically covers a number of months, sometimes years. If you bulk buy and stock dry goods for several months this is, in a sense, your long-term supply.   Modern emergency food storage, however is different because of

      • balanced nutrition
      • easy food preparation
      • minimal and compact storage
      • extended shelf life for up to 25 years

 

  … which means that all these factors together compared to ‘regular’ food makes it so that

modern emergency food storage is highly cost-effective: it makes a lot of sense!

 

The Storage for Emergency and Survival Food page gives more information but here I just want to highlight the basic math:

a 3 months 100+servings supply of emergenct food costs just £15 per year

that’s pretty awesome so check it out via the Survival Food Rations page. Now, before I go, Emergency Food as described above is not only brilliant for emergency preparedness but equally for outdoor adventures and travel: lightweight, nutritious and delicious. No wonder we have plenty of satisfied customers:

I hope this was useful. Have a great week and have fun choosing the Emergency Foods that work best for your Emergency Food Strategy.   

Monika   

For more Resilience Blog simply use the right hand navigation. For emergency kits and practical resources use the top navigation. For more on Emergency+Disaster Preparedness head over to our FREE resources at the Preparedness Hub and find out why we use humour. If you like this post, please share it to help raise awareness for Emergency and Disaster Preparedness. Thank you.

 thank you for sharing!

Find EVAQ8 on social media, like and follow us!

join EVAQ8.co.uk on facebook  follow EVAQ8.co.uk on twitter    discover and share EVAQ8 on pininterest  explore EVAQ8.co.ok on You Tube

Safe evacuation – tall buildings, tower blocks: why Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans and Emergency Preparedness tools are essential

This continues the series on safe evacuation: what exactly does safe self-evacuation look like and on mass evacuation (tip: follow the ‘Safe Evacuation’ blog category). / post updated 11July2017

Skyscrapers, tall buildings, tower blocks – they’re not the same in many respects1 . Each fire is unique. Yet here I generalize, looking at it from a residents or visitors perspective which is not so different both today and in the past. The basic impact on people is the same: they need to

GET OUT – STAY OUT – CALL FOR HELP

…and be able to receive it in a timely and effective manner…

 

Absolutely tragic (14June2017) #GrenfellTower, London

 

Are you a resident or visitor to tall buildings? Then knowing (not assuming you know!) the buildings (and your own!) fire plan and safe evacuation procedure is key ….

 

 … for consequences can be tragic as illustrated by the UK’s worst tower block fire  2013, Lakanal House in Camberwell which was caused by a faulty television set killing six people. A few years later a faulty tumble dryer caused a massive blaze in another tall building, this time in Shepherd’s Bush:

Thankfully no one was seriously hurt thanks to the quick action by the Fire and Rescue Services and campaigns are underway to identify hazardous goods and pull them off the market. Yet more could be done and that’s where promoting Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans and having the right preparedness tools comes in. This affects not just London; tall buildings are many in the UK and with many more to come. Sadly the above is now outdated as the worst disaster now is #GrenfellTower in Kensington and Chelsea, 13/14 June 2017.   

  While we wait for standards and regulations to change…..

Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans and Preparedness Tools make a lot of sense

Did you know that there are a lot of useful free templates out there that you can use to develop your own Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan? In the UK, by law such so called PEEPs must be issued by employers2  but they are equally useful irrespective of dis/ability.  Evacuation may happen because of security issues as well as ‘natural’ causes but for the moment let’s stay with the fire safety theme. Picture yourself on the 14th floor (or make that 42nd floor if you want or need to notch it up), there is a rapidly spreading fire and you must get to a place of safety but can’t take any lifts, there is smoke, alarms and sirens are going off and there are lots of other people (family, friends, neighbours, strangers), chaos and panic.

What are you going to do? How are you going to get out from a tall building and what do you need to do so safely?

Can you simply walk out or would an evacuation chair or a so called Patient Transport  Evacuation Sheet be useful? A home emergency kit  or so called GoBag you take with you is a good idea as is having a basic Home Fire Safety Pack as a minimum. Specialised first aid for burns is another key topic you will want to look at as it is not usually included in ‘regular’ first aid.  Don’t go overboard though and match the tools you chose to the skill set you have. Upgrading your first aid training is highly recommended as is actually practising your personal emergency evacuation plan. Dry runs are not only fun, but help you prepare in a very active way, showing you what works and what needs improving. After all, your life may depend on it.

Emergency Preparedness is the ultimate confidence builder and a race where all win. Start today! TallBuildingEvacuation_EVAQ8Have a great week and thanks for stopping by.

Monika

For more Resilience Blog simply use the right hand navigation. For emergency kits and practical resources use the top navigation. For more on Emergency+Disaster Preparedness head over to our FREE resources at the Preparedness Hub and find out why we use humour. If you like this post, please share it to help raise awareness for Emergency and Disaster Preparedness. Thank you!

Find EVAQ8 on social media, like and follow us!

join EVAQ8.co.uk on facebook  follow EVAQ8.co.uk on twitter   discover and share EVAQ8 on pininterest  explore EVAQ8.co.ok on You Tube

1 terminology varies widely all depending on who you ask.  For example, the Emporis Standards Committee,, a leading database for building information worldwide, defines a high rise building as a multi-story structure between 35-100 meters tall and a skyscraper as a multi-story building with an architectural height of at least 100m. A tower block on the other hand can simply be a ‘tall modern building containing numerous floors of offices or flats according to the Cambridge English Dictionary Neither what happens to the underground portion of tall buildings nor the multi-purpose nature of many modern tall buildings and the respective challenges this produces  is  touched upon 2 if their Fire Safety and Health and Safety assessments have identified persons with special needs under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005

Welcome to 2017 – be prepared, not scared

Be prepared, not scared. No kidding!

image: huffingtonpost (https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5865938f1500002c0091668c.png?ops=scalefit_630_noupscale)And I’m being entirely practical, not sarcastic (and truthful) like the BBC’s Charlie Brooker’s 2016 wipe  nor pragmatic (and accurate) like the Guardian’s  Climate change in 2016: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

If I were to answer Sarah Marsh’s appeal What is giving you hope for 2017 then I would say that:

finally, emergency preparedness is going mainstream in the UK

No, I’m not talking ‘prepper’, they’ve been at it for many years and are mentioned in this blog elsewhere (use the search function if you’re interested). I’m talking main stream embracing emergency preparedness: regular households, small and medium sized businesses, schools and other communities, even places of worship.  That is, truly, encouraging and very timely.

Today, the BBC highlighted that Terrorism ‘first-aid training [is] needed’ , mentioning the

launch of a new app called CitizenAid

It aims to be a guide for ‘Public Immediate Actions for multiple casualties from shooting, stabbing or a bombing’. In other words, a practical extension for everyone and following on from last year’s ‘run, tell, hide’ campaign by the government. For more on that see “what are invacuation, lock-down and shelter in place” (not just for business). Other highly useful UK preparedness apps include the Met Office weather app and the British Red Cross Emergency app. FloodAlerts is not an app just yet but you can bookmark it in your phone’s browser. But back to Citizen Aid and their app which works even offline

Their brand new website asks an excellent question at this time of the year:

Why not start 2017 with a resolution to be prepared?

Needless to say, I think that’s a very good idea so do download their and the other apps but don’t stop there. If you’re reading this then you certainly are in the perfect place to start properly with emergency preparedness. It’s easy: simply begin at our preparedness hub and browse from there. You will find lots of very useful free resources as well as reliable, cost-effective products that help you get equipped and be better prepared. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, well, we specialise in custom kits so check that out. Follow us on social media and keep updated (facebook, twitter). That’s your preparedness sorted. As for me, I’m particularly excited this year to contribute designing a much bigger and better ‘September is Preparedness Month’ campaign ‘30days30waysUK’ which is beginning to take shape as I write this as well as piloting a brand new ISO/British Standard on Business Preparedness; more on all this later. For now, I leave you with my best wishes for safe and happy New Year and an

easy solution to your New Year’s resolution to be better prepared:

get a kit – make a plan – be prepared; start today!  

Monika  

 thank you for sharing, raising awareness for Emergency Preparedness!

 

Emergency Preparedness Cartoon EVAQ8 Jan 2017For more EVAQ8 blog simply use the right hand navigation. For emergency kits and practical resources use the top navigation. For FREE resources head over to our Preparedness Hub and find out why we use humour. If you like this post, please share it to help raise awareness for Emergency and Disaster Preparedness. Thank you!

Find EVAQ8 on social media, like and follow us!

join EVAQ8.co.uk on facebook  follow EVAQ8.co.uk on twitter  join EVAQ8.co.uk on google+  discover and share EVAQ8 on pininterest  explore EVAQ8.co.ok on You Tube

The 2016 National Flood Resilience Review for the time-pressed: UK Flooding, what you need to know

updated 02/11/2016

“We need to recognise that there is a non-negligible chance that we will see further events (flooding) of a similar, or maybe even greater, scale over the next decade.” (Executive summary)

Sadly, awareness of the seriousness of flooding is very thin on the ground. Just 6-8% of people actually living with flood risk know they are vulnerable, a figure that has not changed much since 2014 according to the Environment Agency’s @johncurtinEA.

That was households. What about business? For small businesses that make up 99% of the UK economy, it turns out that SME’s ‘prefer’ to react rather than pro-actively engage in business continuity and business preparedness as discussed recently during @TheFloodExpo . Dr Jessica Lamond (CFCR UWE)  showed that, sadly, SMEs are not pro-active (despite this making a lot of business sense), taking active steps only after having been flooded – twice! Even after measures are taken, actual preparedness is just at 60%. These are stark figures.

 

In September  the @cabinetofficeuk with @DefraGovUK under the leadership of  @andrealeadsom and with input from @uksciencechief published the National Flood Resilience Review. It charts the immense work undertaken by @EnvAgency and @metoffice in the wake of the devastating 2015/16 floods, lessons learnt and ways forward for better resilience nationwide.

For those of you who are time pressed or disinclined to read the full report, here are some key points important for household and business preparedness:

UK Flooding: money matters

  • £2.3 billion will be spent over the next six years from 2015- 2021 to strengthen flood and coastal defences with a particular focus on better protecting 300,000 homes
  • recovery packages handled by local authorities are currently in place for homes, businesses and farms in areas of Northern England affected by the 2015/6 floods
  • Flood Re has been established to ensure that households can continue to obtain affordable flood insurance (schemes for small business are being discussed; source: FloodExpo)

UK Flooding: severe weather and more frequent, stronger storms

  • the intensity of recent storms is unusual, but not unprecedented
  • a comprehensive study of trends (1871-2010) shows a robust signal of increasing numbers of strong winter storms and with increasing intensity for the high latitude North Atlantic; further south over the mid-latitude North Atlantic (ie the path of the storms that affected the UK in winter 2013/14) signal are more complex. Although the number of strong winter storms has not increased since 1871, storm mean intensity has increased. Notably, for very strong storms, the mean intensity has increased significantly. However, results are not conclusive and there remains substantial scientific debate about the behaviour of the North Atlantic jet stream and the storms that form along it.

UK Flooding: extreme rain fall, extreme tidal scenarios, sea level rise

  • rainfall depends on geography, the west receiving ten times more rain than the east of the UK; England and Wales is divided into six climate regions
  • based on robust analysis, the Met Office concludes that winter monthly rainfall totals could plausibly be 20% higher than recent past extremes in some parts of the country and up to 30% higher than recent past extremes in other parts
  • seasonal variability: winter flows have increased in upland, western catchments; autumn flows have increased in Central England and parts of Eastern Scotland. There is no apparent pattern of change in summer flows across the UK
  • high winter flows have increased over the last 30 years and there has been an increase in the frequency and magnitude of flooding over the same period, particularly in the West and North.  However, as with rainfall, longer records demonstrate that there are flood-rich and flood-poor periods in the hydrological record. Reconstruction of floods from sediment records suggests some very large floods in the 18th and 19th centuries
  • sea level along the English Channel has already risen by about 12cm during the 20th century; this is over and above the increases associated with sinking of the southern part of the UK due to isostatic adjustment from the last Ice Age; this increases the risk of coastal flooding and tidal locking. A further overall 11-16cm of sea level rise is likely by 2030, relative to 1990
  • the Environment Agency’s Extreme Flood Outlines (EFO) have been stress-tested and found to be a reliable way to identify areas at risk from extreme river and coastal flooding over the next ten years
  • the risk of extreme river flows resulting in a severe flood are not unusual but the probability of this occurring is low
  • the 2016 National Risk Assessment (confidential document) for the first time differentiates fluvial and surface water flood risk in place of a single ‘inland flood risk’, allowing a better targeted approach to planning and management (NRR Civil Emergencies)

Limitations of scientific models

  • statistical analysis used to produce the report assumes that the probability of flooding has not changed significantly over time, for example because of  changes in land use, climate change or other climatic variations
  • interestingly climate change was not identified as a factor, so called ‘natural variability’ dominating extreme rainfall scenarios ; but there was consensus that the techniques used should be developed further to explore a fuller range of possible events
  • the variable nature of regional/local weather and rainfall plus the complexities of terrain and catchments mean that any results are indicative only and cannot describe all settings
  • the next set of UK Climate Projections due to be published in 2018 (UKCP18)

 

UK flooding: critical national infrastructure and the private sector

We depend on a secure supply of services such as electricity, telecommunications, water, healthcare and transport. Many are delivered by the private sector. Government, sector regulators and industries are working together to ensure security of supply across the 13 CNI (critical national infrastructure) sectors (more, see CPNI). The loss of local services during the winter floods 2015/6 meant that, for the first time, individual sector-by-sector assets at risk from flooding were identified.   The complex inter-dependencies between sectors continue to be investigated.

  • 1640 potentially vulnerable national infrastructure asset sites serving a (pragmatically determined) population threshold range from 10,000 to 25,000 have been identified, most  of which were deemed ‘defended’
  • 530 key infrastructure sites around the country are currently vulnerable to flooding (again within the 10,000-25,000 threshold)
  • infrastructure sectors are at different stages in the resilience building process, some have yet to complete their analysis. Losing electricity or hospitals are particularly acute ‘worst case’ scenarios impacting communities
  • the electricity industry will invest £250 million (2015-2021) to protect the network against flooding; sites serving more than 10,000 people which are not protected against an extreme flood have been surveyed and have a plan in place to deploy temporary barriers if required and feasible
  • work with the water industry to extend analysis to cover all relevant water assets (clean and waste) serving more than 10,000 people continues
  • transport is vulnerable, investments are under way
    • Network Rail is planning to spend £900 million over the next three years
    • Highways England plans to invest £78 million over the next five years to reduce the risk of flooding on major roads, and a further £300 million as part of its Road Investment Strategy
    • Gatwick Airport following flood-related disruption in December 2013, commissioned an independent review of its vulnerability to flooding and is allocating a further £10 million above and beyond the original £20 million investment in flood resilience over the next 2 years
    • the Department for Transport promote closer working between ports and Local Resilience Forums to improve overall awareness of, and preparation for, severe flooding and port resilience groups are being set up along the East Coast

(thankfully health and safety is much stricter in the UK)

UK flooding: temporary flood defenses

Permanent flood defenses are clearly preferable to temporary defenses. In some instances, however, permanent solutions either do not offer value for money or cannot improve the situation before next winter. Therefore temporary defenses play an immediate role in strengthening the resilience of local infrastructure: temporary barriers do not provide the same level of protection as permanent defenses; failure rates typically are 20-30%, although this can be reduced by good advanced planning

      • no type of temporary barrier is universally deployable in all situations, and generally they cannot withstand large wave action. All leak to a certain extent and therefore need to be supplemented by pumps (annex 8 illustrates a range of temporary flood defenses such as tube, filled container, frame barrier, flexible free standing and rigid free standing)

 

      • once installed, successful ongoing deployment requires additional support including security against theft and vandalism as well as health and safety measures such as lighting and access maintenance to surrounding homes and businesses

 

      • thorough site-specific pre-planning as well as the availability of sufficient numbers of trained staff or volunteers is critical to success (as are training exercises)

 

      • engineered hard flood defenses can only ever be part the solution. Benefits of natural flood management has been seen ie in Pickering, North Yorkshire and Holnicote in Somerset. The Government’s future 25 year plan for the environment will look at strengthening the role of local partners, bringing them together to integrate flood management with water planning at a catchment level.

 

 

UK flooding: improving incidence response

  • £12.5 million are being invested through the Environment Agency in temporary flood barriers, mobile water pumps and incident command vehicles – stored in strategic locations across the country for fast response
  • £0.75 million are being invested to provide maintenance grants to enable nationally deployable flood rescue teams to maintain their equipment
  • a single register of national flood response assets will be kept up to date and will be viewable through ResilienceDirect; developing new capabilities in line with responders’ requirements.
  • an operations centre will be established (as identified in the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015) bringing together relevant organisations, including the armed forces
  • Defra in collaboration with other government departments will establish a standard operating model for local responders and the Environment Agency will work with Local Resilience Forums to identify opportunities to embed good practice in their flood response plans

 

UK flooding: flood defense and urban development

  • ultimate aim is to deliver flood defense levels for the Core Cities similar to that of London, Sheffield is the pilot project which, if successful will be broadened to the other core cities

 

The National Flood Resilience Review also contains interesting case studies in annex 4 which you may be interested to read especially if you are in or near to Carlisle, Calder Valley, Oxford, Exeter, Great Yarmouth, London (Teddington to Thames Barrier).   References

Much excellent work continues across the country including the setting up of local Flood Action Groups, Community Resilience Projects (i.e NYLRF) and flood prevention excercises such as

However, it also pays to be better prepared.There is a lot that can be done. If your’re an individual start at our preparedness hub, if you’re a small business start at business preparedness. Addition: EFRA report, Future flood prevention; Second Report of Session 2016–17

Be prepared, not scared.

Have a good week.

Monika     thank you for sharing, raising awareness for Emergency Preparedness!

For more EVAQ8 blog simply use the right hand navigation. For emergency kits and practical resources use the top navigation. For FREE resources head over to our Preparedness Hub and find out why we use humour. If you like this post, please share it to help raise awareness for Emergency and Disaster Preparedness. Thank you!

Find EVAQ8 on social media, like and follow us!

join EVAQ8.co.uk on facebook  follow EVAQ8.co.uk on twitter  discover and share EVAQ8 on pininterest  explore EVAQ8.co.ok on You Tube

Safe Evacuation: ‘mass’ evacuation and why ‘self’ evacuation preparedness makes a lot of sense

updated 24/06/2017

Mass evacuation is (mostly) self-evacuation – what you need to know.

Part 2 of  ‘Safe Evacuation – what exactly does safe evacuation look like?’  and ‘Safe Evacuation: tall buildings, tower blocks: why Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans and Emergency Preparedness tools are essential’ (tip: follow the blog category ‘Safe Evacuation’ on the right hand navigation).

The first post in this series looked at what an evacuation is (the immediate and urgent movement of people out of harm’s way to a safe location) and under what circumstances it may occur. It stayed pretty much within the familiar bounds of small scale evacuations from a home or a building of ‘regular’ size. Now I want to begin tackling another fascinating aspect which is ‘mass evacuation’. Timely and ironically perhaps I post this at the very moment a mass evacuation is actually under way in Florida and the Carolinas CNN Hurricane Matthew mass evacuation

 

Mass Evacuation: not relevant in peace-time UK ? Think again.

Other than the ‘regular’ emergency evacuations usually inconveniencing relatively small numbers of people because of suspicious packages (ie airports, train stations, high street, shops, shopping centres, and offices etc), sudden finds of unexploded WW devices (Southwark) and even sinking ferries you may remember these two major incidents:

      • 2005 Birmingham evacuates approximately 20,000 people following a security alert

 

       Neither, however, actually classifies as ‘mass evacuation’. According to the Mass Evacuation Framework (2014) by the London Resilience Partnership, evacuating 5,000 or 20,000 people is still ‘just’ a so called ‘medium scale evacuation’. Nevertheless, the Holbon electrical fire on 01 April 2015 is a good example and here is why. In the words of Gary Squires from the London Fire Brigade (BBC)

 “lots of people had “self-evacuated” from nearby buildings and it was only the ones on Kingsway that had been evacuated by the authorities.”

This illustrates the point I’m making about the importance of self-evacuation and the need for better preparedness. Why? Because many workers and students were unable to return for several days (36 hour blaze), having left behind wallets, phones, keys and other important personal items in their hurry to get to safety. Thankfully no one was hurt and the incident happened on a relatively fine spring day, not in the middle of rush hour or during severe weather. It would have been a different story.

I also want to mention the 7/7 bombing. Police estimate  4,000 people were caught up in the blasts in some way, many forced to self-evacuate. One of those people was my colleague Ben who has written here on school emergency preparedness. He will talk about his experience in a separate post. For now, I simply wish well all those currently caught up in the events of Hurricane Matthew and stress that preparedness is important and actually quite easy and straight forward where ever you are in the world.

UK organisations and businesses I urge to very seriously consider expanding your capacities and include Workplace Emergency Kits in your Health and Safety, Security and Business Continuity planning.  Considering how much such a simple and cost-effective step reduces your risks it is well worth the minor investment. A small item like a Personal Evacuation Pack to which items relevant to the individual have been added can make a real difference.    

Monika    

This post is also accessed by bit.ly/MassEVAC. 

 thank you for sharing and raising awareness for Emergency Preparedness

 

 

For more EVAQ8 blog simply use the right hand navigation. For emergency kits and practical resources use the top navigation. For FREE resources head over to our Preparedness Hub and find out why we use humour. If you like this post, please share it to help raise awareness for Emergency and Disaster Preparedness. Thank you!

Find EVAQ8 on social media, like and follow us!

join EVAQ8.co.uk on facebook  follow EVAQ8.co.uk on twitter  discover and share EVAQ8 on pininterest  explore EVAQ8.co.ok on You Tube

Safe Evacuation – what exactly does safe self evacuation look like?

Part 1 – Self-Evacuation (home)

What exactly is a ‘safe evacuation’? That depends of course on circumstances but the short answer is:

know your safe evacuation route, grab your Emergency Kit, get out – stay out – call for help

The long answer is a bit more complicated but actually quite interesting. So, let’s start at the very beginning with

What is an emergency evacuation and when does it happen?

An emergency evacuation is the immediate and urgent movement of people out of harm’s way to a safe location, away from threats or hazards (more see hazards and risks – what’s the difference).

Examples of emergency evacuations range from a small scale building evacuation to the large scale evacuation of an entire town or district. Reasons for an emergency evacuation include small and large incidents that may trigger fire or a spill, attacks or other security violation such as bomb threats. In addition there are disasters such as severe weather, storms, flooding, earthquakes, tsunami, volcanic eruptions, wildfires and also health related incidents such as an epidemic or pandemic.

Fire Drills and small scale Emergency Evacuation

First, a bit of comedy with Fa-fa-fa-fire! – Fawlty Towers

With the above in mind, Alex Gleeman has an excellent article titled Five ways to avoid the Fawlty Towers fire drill debacle in Health and Safety News which I encourage you to read but in this blog I want to focus on the ‘safe evacuation’ bit – or rather, complete lack thereof.

In the clip, Basil apologetically orders his returning guests to assemble in the lobby because “..something I ought to mention” which after escalating confusion eventually turns into raising the alarm ‘fa-fa-fa-FIRE!” causing the two elderly ladies to almost jump out of their skins, Polly subsequently ushering everyone out. Everyone? Going where exactly and for how long? What happens next to the evacuees? Thankfully it’s a pleasant day judging by the sunshine visible beyond the entrance and everyone’s fair weather attire. Perhaps they all simply wander down to the local pub and fortify themselves while all this blows over and they can return to their rooms at Fawlty Towers.

If you are a guest staying at a hotel, do you check and memorise your safe evacuation procedure? How about at your place of work or at home? Would you know how to safely get out by two different routes, your primary and secondary escape paths? Day 5 of this year’s September is Preparedness Month 2016 campaign #30days30waysUK was on #PlanYourEscape.

Day14 #30days30waysUK discussed that emergencies not only happen during the day. You may need to evacuate in the middle of the night. There may be hazards such as smoke, broken glass, debris or rubble you may only dimly be aware of. There may be a power cut.

 

It makes sense to be better prepared for ‘self-evacuation’

  • make your home ‘safe evacuation plan’ with primary and secondary escape routes from every room and share it with everyone in your household
  • under your bed, put a pair of sturdy shoes and a torch
  • have an emergency kit (i.e. GoBag) for safe evacuation that you can grab at a moment’s notice
  • practise your plan

And before I leave you, here is an excellent video from Canada that demonstrates the importance of a fire escape plan.

Self-evacuation is not just important at home but also at your place of work or study; more about that next time.

Have a great week. Be prepared, not scared.

Monika

The ‘evacuation’ series continues with posts on mass evacuation and a special look at tall buildings evacuation. Follow blog category ‘Safe Evacuation’ on the right hand navigation.

 thank you for sharing!

For more EVAQ8 blog simply use the right hand navigation. For emergency kits and practical resources use the top navigation. For FREE resources head over to our Preparedness Hub and find out why we use humour. If you like this post, please share it to help raise awareness for Emergency and Disaster Preparedness. Thank you!

Find EVAQ8 on social media, like and follow us!

join EVAQ8.co.uk on facebook  follow EVAQ8.co.uk on twitter   discover and share EVAQ8 on pininterest  explore EVAQ8.co.ok on You Tube