Ambridge needed an Emergency Plan.

Listening to the omnibus edition of the Archers this morning it did occur to me that, although everyone in Ambridge is doing all they can to pull together and help others in the face of the devastating flood that has hit the village, the community would have fared better had it had an Emergency Plan in place.

Floods in Bewdley, Worcestershire,  reputedly not far from the site of 'Ambridge'

At the height of the chaos, one of the characters complained about the absence of any of the usual emergency services, commenting that ‘they must be busy elsewhere’.  This was almost certainly the case because, although many agencies such as the fire service, police and local authority will be involved in the initial response, in the case of a major incident such as the one on the programme, it is hard for them to be everywhere at once. 

Where a community has an Emergency Plan local people can be part of this initial response by being aware in advance what resources are available locally to assist when trouble strikes.  For example, information would be held about contact details for local medical personnel, first aiders, and people able to provide useful equipment and even hot meals, and a plan to coordinate communication would be in place.

A number of communities already have Emergency Plans but others do not.  Once the Parish Council elections in May are over, perhaps it might be worth finding out how your community would respond in the case of an emergency?  If no plan is available, this could be a worthwhile early task for the new council.

Help can be obtained from the Suffolk Emergency Planning Unit who will be able to provide all necessary support.They can be reached via this link.