Preparing your home for emergencies

It is important to prepare for emergency situations in order to minimise the effects to yourself.

5 steps to take now

• make a list of important contact numbers
• consider creating emergency procedures for your household
• know how to turn off your gas, electricity and water supplies
• tune into either BBC Radio Sheffield (88.6, 104.1 and 94.7FM), Hallam FM (97.4, 103.4 and 102.9FM) or Rother FM (96.1FM)
• learn some basic First Aid

Emergency kit

An emergency kit can be tailored to your own needs, however you should have:

• a torch with spare batteries
• portable radio with spare batteries (or a wind-up radio)
• First Aid kit
• blankets
• tinned food
• bottled water

You should also make sure you have similar provisions in your car.

Evacuation

If necessary you may be asked to evacuate your home by the emergency services or a council representative, if this happens you should:

• follow any instructions given by an official source
• collect your emergency kit
• secure your property
• gather pets together
• report to allocated Emergency Reception Centre or inform the police or local authority if you plan to stay elsewhere