Are you winter ready? 'Know the risks, be informed, get prepared'

It always pays to be prepared for winter. There are some simple steps you can take to prepare yourself, families, communities, home or business. 

You can do this by keeping informed, being ready at home, on the road and at work: and thinking of others in your community.

A good example of how communities supported each other was during Storm Arwen. Parts of the country lost power for up to a week, so it's worth taking sensible precautions now:

• Have a stock of non-perishable, easily prepared food that doesn't need cooking
• Have some bottled water - in some places, mains water will stop working if there's no power
• Have enough warm clothes - lots of thinner layers are best - and bedding
• Have LED torches or LED camping lanterns and spare batteries - much safer than candles
• Have an old-fashioned plug-in, landline phone and a list of family members' landline numbers if they still have them - mobile networks soon fail in a power outage
• Car readiness Make time for winter: advice to motorists - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) (opens new window) / 6 simple checks to prepare your vehicle for winter - Met Office (opens new window) / Prepare a winter kit for your car - Met Office (opens new window)
• Check to see if you are in a Check the long term flood risk for an area in England - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) (opens new window) and sign up for flood alerts Sign up for flood warnings - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) (opens new window)

Consider registering with utility companies' priority registers if you consider yourself vulnerable:

• UK Power Networks: Priority Services | UK Power Networks (opens new window)
• Anglian Water: Priority services (anglianwater.co.uk) (opens new window)
• Cadent Gas: Priority Services Register (PSR) | Cadent (cadentgas.com) (opens new window)

Community Preparedness

• If you have a community emergency plan - review it thinking about winter risks and whether there is anything that could be added
• If you would like to create your own community resilience plan, you can find a template to get your started at: Community Resilience – Norfolk Resilience Forum (norfolkprepared.gov.uk) (opens new window)
• Speak to your district council emergency planning officer for further advice and guidance. Resources and supporting information – Norfolk Resilience Forum (norfolkprepared.gov.uk) (opens new window)

More details on advice for different types of emergency and severe weather can be found on theEmergency Planning page.

Email: emergencyplanning@breckland.gov.uk

If it happens:

• Look after and support relatives and neighbours - it is important and can save lives
• You can go to the live power cut map via the UK Power Networks website for information and updates (opens new window). If the Internet is down, dial 105 for updates from UK Power Networks
• Listen to Radio Norfolk on a battery or car radio, for initial updates (95.1 FM in east Norfolk, 95.6 FM in north Norfolk and 104.4 FM in west Norfolk)
• If Radio Norfolk is not working, Radio 2 (88-91 FM) or Radio 4 (92-95FM or 103-105 FM) should still be running
• Beware of carbon monoxide - never bring a barbecue indoors, don't use gas cookers for heating, open a window if you are using a gas camping stove and don't leave it unattended
• Check for service disruptions Emergency closures information for Norfolk - Norfolk County Council (opens new window)
• Monitor trusted social media outlets.
• One Norfolk food number for non-emergency situations. 0344 800 8013
• Burst water main -Report a leak (anglianwater.co.uk) (opens new window)

Other resources

• Norfolk prepared website -Low temperatures and snow – Norfolk Resilience Forum (norfolkprepared.gov.uk) (opens new window)
• Met Office -WeatherReady - Met Office (opens new window)
• UK power networks -Emergency power cuts (ukpowernetworks.co.uk) (opens new window)