Emergency Planning
Below you can find out about how Hackney Council prepares for emergencies and what you can do to prepare for one too.
In this section of our website you can also find:
- information on how businesses can prepare for an emergency
- useful emergency planning links
- information on how to prepare for the winter months
- information about floods and how to be prepared for one
- Heatwave advice
What is an emergency?
The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 defines an emergency as: "An event or situation which threatens serious damage to human welfare or the environment; or war or terrorism which threatens serious damage to the security of the United Kingdom." For example:
- a fire
- a burst water main
- severe weather (heavy rain fall, extreme heat, snow)
- a building collapse
- an infectious disease outbreak
- a train crash
- a plane crash
- public demonstrations
- terrorism
- crime.
Emergencies pose a threat to everyone and can cause:
- loss of utilities (water, electricity, gas, telephones)
- damage to buildings
- evacuation (or conversely invacuation) for an extended period of time
What is emergency planning?
Hackney Council has the same responsibility for dealing with emergencies as organisations such as the Police, the Fire Brigade and the Ambulance service.
Our mission statement is: "We are dedicated to the care, welfare and support of the People of Hackney in an emergency."
We therefore work closely with other agencies and departments within Hackney to prepare plans to be used in an emergency. These plans enable us to:
- support the emergency services
- support those affected by the incident
- provide mutual aid to others
- continue to provide normal council services
- aid recovery from the incident.
Here are the links to our Emergency Plan and the Risk Register.
What is your emergency plan?
It is important to consider how you can prepare yourself, your family and/or business for an emergency. To help you do so, we recommend that you visit the Government's Preparing for Emergencies website.
It contains information on how you can help yourself and others in emergencies. A lot of it is based on common sense advice which may seem obvious or familiar to you, but it has helped to save lives in the past.
If you run a business, you should read about business continuity management.
Page updated: 2 Jun 2011
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