Preparing your home

Emergencies happen. There may be times when an emergency affects you, but your life isn’t in immediate danger. In these times, you’ll need to know how to help yourself and those around you. Find out how you and your family can prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies.

There are some simple things you can do to prepare for the unexpected, such as preparing an emergency kit and developing a household emergency plan. Learn more about the potential emergencies that could happen where you live and the appropriate way to respond to them. You can find some basic guidance in our Preparing for Emergencies leaflet. You can find some more detailed guidance on Norfolk’s highest risks using the links to the right.

Step 1,2 3

Being prepared for an emergency is a simple as step 1, 2, 3.

Step 1 – List your emergency contacts

If you had to evacuate your home and you weren’t able to get back in, what important contact numbers could you need? We’ve started a list for you in our Household Emergency Plan leaflet.

Step 2 – Prepare an emergency kit or grab bag

During an emergency you may need to get by without power or water for a while. If you have to evacuate your home, it would be useful to have some essential items to hand that would make life easier. The contents will vary according to your needs, we’ve put together some suggestions for you: What should go into my grab bag?

Step 3 – Plan with your household

One of the most important things you can do to prepare for an emergency is to spend a few minutes putting together a Household Emergency Plan and making sure all your family know about it. Having a plan can help you deal quickly and effectively in a stressful situation.

It doesn’t need to be complicated, just ask yourself the question ‘What if?’ and then find the answers. Think about emergency friends, important contacts and how people would know your needs in an emergency.

Click on the following link to download our household emergency plan template.