Help YOUR community to be better prepared for emergencies

Are you prepared? This is the question we are asking our community as we kick start a new campaign coinciding with National Preparedness Month this September.

Kent and Medway Resilience Forum (KMRF) has produced a 5-step guide with simple actions that residents can take to be better prepared for emergencies that may impact them, such as severe weather, flooding or a utility outage.

Many local parish and town councils, including Ashford Borough Council, are creating community resilience plans to help support a voluntary community response to the local impacts of emergencies.

The new campaign, supported by the Kent Association of Local Councils (KALC) is designed to help parishes get the message out to residents about the ways that they can help themselves become more self-resilient too.

Please do your bit to help spread the word

The 5-steps guide has been created to share with local residents. You can do this is any of the following ways:

• Download and print the 5-steps poster to display on your notice board and around your community from the Kent Prepared website
• Include the 5-steps guide in your resident newsletter
• Use details of the 5-steps on your parish/town council websites
• Link to the Kent Prepared 5-steps campaign web page
• Organise a leaflet drop in your area with the 5-steps flyer
• Share on your community’s social media channels, including any Facebook, Nextdoor or WhatsApp groups

KMRF Community Resilience Group Chair, Leanne McMahon, said: “There are simple steps that everyone can take to be better prepared, from signing up to receive weather warnings and flood alerts, to checking whether you, a loved-one, or neighbour are eligible to receive priority services from your utility company in the event of a supply outage.

“Proactive measures, like checking your home’s flood risk, packing a grab bag should you need to leave home at short notice and developing an emergency plan, can increase your family’s safety and resilience should the unexpected happen.

“Local councils are ideally placed at the heart of their communities to get behind this campaign and their assistance to share these important, practical tips with residents is very much appreciated.

"We all have a role in helping to build more resilient, better prepared communities, so we urge other community groups to get involved too.”

Residents can learn more about each step by scanning the QR codes on the campaign posters or by visiting the Kent Prepared website.