During a major emergency, the emergency services and other agencies responding to the incident will be stretched to capacity, they will need to prioritise their actions and they may not be able to reach everybody right away. It is therefore vital that individuals and communities take action to prepare themselves and their families for emergency situations.
Emergencies can happen quickly and without warning. It could mean the loss of basic services including water, gas, power and telephones. It may mean damage or threat of damage to your property by flooding, fire or blast. The emergency services may need to evacuate your home or indeed your whole neighbourhood or confine you to your property until the danger has passed.
The Government and emergency response agencies are working hard to ensure they are as prepared as they can be in the event of an emergency and it is important that you are ready too. By being informed and prepared, you can significantly reduce the risk to you and your families’ lives.
Planning ahead is something we all do in our everyday lives in case things go wrong or don’t turn out the way we expected. Emergency planning is much the same – its about being prepared for situations should they happen.
Incident specific advice
Power cuts and outages can be reported to Electricity North West
Telephone: 105
Are you a Priority Customer? Electricity North West operates a Priority Service for customers who may have additional requirements due to being disabled, elderly or having a chronic illness. Electricity maybe required by some residents to power life dependent equipment such as ventilators, oxygen concentrators and dialysis machines. By registering as a priority services customer, Electricity Northwest will inform you in advance of any planned interruptions and contact you proactively when they have an unplanned interruption to supply. For further information and to register either call the number above or please go to the Electricity North West website.
If you smell gas or have lost your supply contact the national gas emergency number
Telephone: 0800 111 999
To report an emergency with your water or wastewater contact United Utilities.
Telephone: 0345 672 3723
The effects of severe weather can impact on our daily lives and businesses and can cause huge disruption for many of us. The Met Office is a vital source of information to help prepare for severe weather incidents. Accessing weather warnings and helping yourself and other prepare for severe weather such as storms or gales helps increase our resilience to these events.
Live Met Office National Severe Weather Warnings
Met Office / Environment Agency Flood Warnings
- Severe gales
- Heavy rain
- Heavy snow and icy roads
- Thunderstorms and lightning
- Heat and sun
- Dense fog
Flooding brings serious dangers to both people and their communities. If the area that you live or work in is liable to flooding then often simple actions can help reduce the impact of flooding and reduce the burden on the emergency services when it occurs. If you develop an emergency plan then any precautions or actions that you need to take can also be built in to it. The Preparing for Emergencies in Lancashire booklet, developed by the Lancashire Resilience Forum (LRF), contains guidance on preparing a household emergency plan.
The council may assist in responding to a flooding event and there are plans in place that detail the roles and responsibilities of the organisations that may be involved. These are called Multi-Agency Flood Plans and come in two parts.
- The Multi-Agency Flood Plan Part One applies to coordinating events across the Lancashire footprint.
- Multi-Agency Flood Plan Part Two is specific to a local authority area.
Blackpool Council has developed a Multi-Agency Flood Plan Part Two, which provides a framework for response. A copy of this plan can be requested by sending an email to emergency.management@blackpool.gov.uk
Flooding advice and information
The Flood Hub has been designed to support communities to manage flood and coastal risk across the North West. It is a one stop shop for flood information and resources to support householders, businesses and communities in becoming more flood resilient. It pulls together multiple sources of guidance to produce a hub of information that gives an overview of flood resilience and it’s many related topics.
To find out if you are in a known flood risk zone contact the Environment Agency or visit their website to view the interactive map that identifies areas at risk from sea or river flooding: Environment Agency Interactive Flood Risk Maps
To sign up for the free flood warning service and for further advice on preparing for a flood visit the Environment Agency's Flood Advice page or contact Floodline on 0345 988 1188.
Met Office / Environment Agency Flood Warnings
It is an unfortunate fact of life that emergencies and disasters do occur. For everyone that has been caught up in a major emergency, the future will be different; people may find they need help facing it.
Emergencies affect individuals, families and communities in a wide range of ways. The unpredictable and tragic consequences of emergencies can involve substantial psychological and social suffering in the short term, which can, if not adequately addressed lead to long term mental health and psychosocial problems.
Crisis support team is a multi-agency support service provided to people affected by major incidents within Blackpool and residents of Blackpool affected by a major incident overseas.
In the aftermath of a major incident, many people will be affected. They may be survivors of the incident, relatives of the survivors, relatives of those who have died as a result of the incident or responders that may be affected by simply being involved in the response.
Some of these people will need trauma support in the immediate aftermath of such an incident but in a short time will recover significantly and readjust to some sort of normality. However, some people may require more intensive trauma support for some time after the incident and a few will continue to need support over many years.
We provide a range of social and psychological support services in the aftermath of an incident affecting residents and / or visitors.
Local authorities co-ordinate the provision of welfare support to the community, lead the establishment of key humanitarian assistance facilities and take the lead role in the recovery phase.
In the provision of a range of social and psychological support services in the aftermath of a major incident affecting residents and / or visitors, Blackpool Council will work closely with voluntary and statutory agencies so that the services we provide are complementary to those already available.
Where can I find help and support?
Speak to your doctor or contact the NHS on 111 (24 hours). Following a major incident, the NHS may also set up a website to direct people to help and support, details of which will be published at the time.
Other support groups and caring organisations you may find helpful include:
The Samaritans - Offers a 24 hour helpline for those in crisis. Telephone: 116 123
Cruse - Bereavement Care - Offers counselling, advice and support throughout the UK. Telephone: 0844 477 9400. Monday to Friday, 9.30am - 5.00pm
Disaster Action / Assist Trauma Care - Provides support and guidance to those people who are affected by disasters. Telephone: 01788 551919