Emergency Planning - Frequently Asked Questions

1. Q. What is an emergency?
   For the purpose of this website an emergency is defined under the Civil Contingencies Act (2004) as:
   
   An event or situation that threatens serious damage to:
   
   
   • Human welfare.
   • The environment.
   • Security (effectively war or terrorism).
   
   According to Emergency Response and Recovery (published by HM Government, 2009) in order to constitute an emergency, an event or situation must additionally require the implementation of special arrangements by one or more category one responders.
   
   
2. Q. What is a hazard?
   A. A hazard is a phenomenon either natural or human-made that has the potential to cause harm to society or  pose a threat to the normality of daily life.
   
   
3. Q. What is risk?
   A. Risk is a function of the likelihood and impact of a given hazard or threat. This reflects, on the one hand the possibility of an emergency occurring which could adversely affect the community (e.g. flooding or nuclear accident). And on the other hand, the extent to which the event impacts upon the community or an organisation (e.g. lack of staff, disruption to power supply, damage to facilities).
   
   
4. Q. How can you personally prepare for emergencies?
   A. The Government sent a booklet ‘Preparing for Emergencies – What you need to know’ to every home in the UK. The booklet contains practical advice on the steps you can take to help yourself and your family in the event of an emergency.
   
   The Preparing for Emergencies website accompanies the booklet and provides online advice covering:
   
   
   • Guidance on how to prepare for a variety of emergencies that could occur.
   • What to do in the event of an emergency.
   • What the Government is doing to protect the country.