As promised, this week I’ll speak to what you can do when you are unable to get home in Civil Defence emergency.
Most likely you will be at work; therefore each business ought to have a plan. These should include:
- Emergency procedures for fire, earthquake, tsunami and other hazards.
- Assembly points, wardens and first aid training.
- How to contact staff, suppliers, clients and insurance providers.
- Alternative arrangements if you are unable to access your premises, files, etc.
- Talk to disabled staff. Find out what support they might need if there’s an emergency. Also think about how you might need to help any visitors who have a disability.
Employees may be unable to travel home. They may have to shelter at work and will need supplies, they will also have great concern for loved ones and pets that they cannot contact. Plans need to made on how to accommodate for this.
If you are trapped in your vehicle, do you have an emergency kit? An emergency kit should contain at least a torch, batteries, some form of shelter and ideally some basic food and water and be easily accessible within your vehicle.
During a Civil Emergency, news updates will be provided regularly on the main news/radio channels. It is important to monitor these channels. The information provided will be the same messaging to ensure consistency of information. This can also be accessed online through Civil Defence’s Facebook and Twitter feeds.
