Planning for emergencies
Our role in an emergency
We:
- support the emergency services in all areas of their work
- maintain essential services
- assist in returning the community to a state of normality as soon as possible.
Our aim is to prepare emergency plans and make arrangements to protect the people, property and environment of South Cambridgeshire and reduce the impact on them from an emergency. We prepare contingency plans and organise major-incident training and exercises to prepare for emergencies.
Our planning officer is responsible for assisting in the emergency preparedness of the council and providing assistance and guidance to businesses and the public. This can cover a wide range of emergencies such as floods, chemical leaks and gas explosions through to comparatively minor incidents. An emergency planning officer is on call at all times to deal with any emergency.
Current emergency status
You can access the current emergency status of a range of topics through the following websites:
Council-related emergency information will be posted on our website and via Facebook and Twitter. You are also encouraged to read the information on the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Prepared website.
Communities should also spread the word about the free Priority Service Register for elderly and vulnerable people who may need more support during a power cut.
Every resident over the age of 60 is eligible to join the register, as are residents with a disability, who are visually or hearing impaired, are chronically ill or dependent on medical equipment, or have young babies.
Business continuity planning
Effective business continuity planning is critical so that the essential functions of your business can carry on despite an emergency.
Many businesses will already have plans to deal with sudden commercial risk. These may include events such as the failure of critical suppliers, an unexpected bad debt, industrial action or the discovery of a serious fault in a product or process.
Planning for the aftermath of major incident whether this be fire, flooding or even a terrorist incident is very similar.
The government’s National Stakeholder Menu of Tactical Options outlines a set of options that the private sector and security industry can use to enhance their security at times of raised terrorism threat levels or in response to a terrorist incident.
Our business continuity handbook [PDF, 2MB]may also help in preparing for emergencies.