Preparedness for when

meme30

I spoke to a very bemused lady at Durham County Council today. When asked about their plan for emergencies she said yes they had one but could not give details because they would need to know emergency first! This was the Civil Contingencies Unit.
Schools would be evacuated to safe area in school and then buses if needed. All schools have their own plan! No details of evacuation/assembly area though.
All enquiries in emergencies were to handled by the police....they could be slightly over worked, me thinks!:D
Yes listen to local radio, "Which ones?" Well I will phone someone and find out for you!
She has phoned back and apparently this is a 'hot' topic at the unit at the moment.:eek:
They say listen to Radio Newcastle, 'Star' which used to be Durham fm and keep an eye on the Northern Echo's website.
Pleased I phoned, I don't think they were prepared for such an enquiry and I may get some better answers in the future!

fuddle

meme30 wrote: »

I spoke to a very bemused lady at Durham County Council today. When asked about their plan for emergencies she said yes they had one but could not give details because they would need to know emergency first! This was the Civil Contingencies Unit. I knew I wasn't cracking up when I couldn't find much in the way of info online
Schools would be evacuated to safe area in school and then buses if needed. Huh? The same old go stand in the yard thenAll schools have their own plan! Makes sense, I'll check with the school for definiteNo details of evacuation/assembly area though.
All enquiries in emergencies were to handled by the police....they could be slightly over worked, me thinks!:D How many schools in county Durham :rotfl:
Yes listen to local radio, "Which ones?" Well I will phone someone and find out for you!
She has phoned back and apparently this is a 'hot' topic at the unit at the moment.:eek:
They say listen to Radio Newcastle, 'Star' which used to be Durham fm should make sense but I find the most comprehensive and up to date with school closures in the winter is Metro FM. The council needs to inform each and every school in the county to update via one radio station BUT then that 1 radio station will have a stupidly long list to report.and keep an eye on the Northern Echo's website.
Pleased I phoned, I don't think they were prepared for such an enquiry and I may get some better answers in the future!

Thanks meme... it was a miracle you got to the correct department :rotfl: I really don't like phoning county hall.

valk_scot

This has actually reminded me of an incident that happened here nine days ago. It might prove relevant to the discussion because though it all came to nothing in the end, it was a good example of the kind of disruption that could happen anywhere to any one of us without warning.

There was a major gas leak about a mile away from my house when a gas mains was fractured and the surrounding area had to be evacuated for several hours. That caused a lot of problems because the leak was next to our huge Tesco Extra, there were a couple of hundred cars in the car park and the main problem (according to my friend who works there) many people were refusing to leave without their cars. There was a major police presence of course, road blocks were set up to divert traffic and half the area was gridlocked during rush hour from other traffic going round peripheral routes. But even then, there were thirty or forty police up in the supermarket totally occupied with stopping people sneaking off to try to drive away or refusing to leave without them, complaining that they needed to do pick-ups, be at work, no contact with family members, couldn't use other transport etc. The local health centre had to be evacuated together with many patients, some of whom had disabilities, the mother and baby clinic was running, the breast screening clinic...all were evacuated, including people with mobility problems being carried out by the rescue services. There was a central cordon, a peripheral cordon and then outside this were the police going door to door to suggest we shut the front curtains and kept to the back of the house, just in case an explosion shattered the windows.

That was it, in fact they got the gas main sealed within about five or six hours and it took another two or three to sort out the general chaos and open the car park again. then Tesco opened up again at about 9pm.

Now, imagine you'd been in Tesco at that time. You need a big shop, you've just come home from a week away and there's no food in the house. You have the baby with you but your two older kids are at the swimming pool two miles across town and you'll pick them up after you'd finished shopping. Your OH is back at work, forty miles away. Your house is a three mile walk in the opposite direction.

Half way round your shop the tannoy tells you to leave your trolley and proceed to the emergency exits NOW, do not go to your car, take your belongings with you. You try to take the trolley with the baby in it but you can't of course, there are too many people so you pick up your 20lb son and purse and get outside. when you get there you find you can't go to the car park to get the buggy. All around you there's general chaos, the baby is screaming because he's upset and thirsty and you suddenly realise you've left your phone on the charger in the car.....

So, what do you do now?

ginnyknit

Meme if you google 'Durham county council emergency plans' it gives you details of what is in place for 'if and when' Looks quite good actually. Im guessing all counties have these plans in place but then again you never know

fuddle

meme http://www.durham.police.uk/lrf/whatwedo/index.php Durham police

[Deleted User]

Wasn't there a "preparing for emergencies" booklet posted out a while back? I think the advice was pretty much 'duck and cover' but still...

I have found my local councils emergency handbook for local authority workers. Its depressing stuff, talking about where to set up temporary mortuaries ect.

Gigervamp

I've had a look on my council's website and saw this leaflet "Preparing for an emergency". Apparently, there's also a government booklet called Preparing For Emergencies. I've found this on the DirectGov site.

rosieben

the government is advising grab bags too - http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/InYourHome/Dealingwithemergencies/Preparingforemergencies/DG_177092 (sorry if this has been mentioned already

D&DD

Sorry can't get on much as the kids are off but realised the other day I hadn't posted my animals lists for their BOBS

The cats each have theirs stored in their plastic carriers..
On a laminated tag attached to the handle and written in Sharpie inside
Name and age plus a small pic for I.D
Address
Vac records and chip numbers
Brief history and vet details

In ziplock bag food,bicuits and water for 3 days.

Blanket

Pooh bags and small amount of litter.

Spare collar with tags

Toy

Rosies bag is a small backpack for now until I train her to carry her own

Has the same tags

Food and water for 3 days

Treats and toy and a ball

pooh bags

Collapsable water bowl but she is trained to drink from a lucozade bottle lol

Small shampoo bottle can use for cats and dog

Spare leads and a training line

Pack of various first aid wipes

Byatt

Thanks Ginny, I was looking at my local council (which has nothing) not the county council (which has loads of info!).

Drinkup, I'm adding Bourbon and Corona beer to my supplies.

Valk, your true scenario has made me realise that in my "brain fog" moments that I would either be blank or super efficient. I'm in a brain fog moment today so can't even think what would be a good solution other than running around like a headless chicken.