**Prepare. Act. Survive.”** Those are the simple but stark words behind our flood action campaign designed to help keep people safe from flooding.
Over 20,000 properties across Wiltshire & Swindon are at risk of flooding either from rivers, surface water or groundwater. Nationally more than 20% of all homes are at flood risk.
Customers of Distribution Network Operator Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) are being encouraged to get ready for winter and the possibility of adverse weather events that could lead to power cuts.
Customers across SSEN’s central southern England and north of the central belt of Scotland networks are being encouraged to empower themselves and strengthen their resilience during adverse weather in a number of ways.
Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service (DWFRS) is asking people to make monthly testing of their smoke alarms one of their New Year’s resolutions. Why not circle the first of every month on your new calendar and tick it off when you have tested your alarms?
Many people see January as an opportunity for a fresh start, and safety should be top of the list. So DWFRS is encouraging everyone to make sure they have enough smoke alarms in their home and that they work. It only takes a few seconds and can save lives.
Working together with communities, Counter Terrorism Policing wants Christmas security all wrapped up. Shoppers are being asked to put security at the top of their ‘must have’ lists this Christmas.
With the festive rush about to get underway, Counter Terrorism Policing is today, Monday 19th November, launching its biggest-ever winter advertising campaign as part of ACT: Action Counters Terrorism.
Every winter, tens of thousands of people die due to issues linked with cold weather.
The [Cold Weather Plan for England](https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/cold-weather-plan-for-england) aims to prevent avoidable harm to health, by alerting people to the negative health effects of cold weather, and enabling them to prepare and respond appropriately.
The plan is published by Public Health England, but developed collaboratively in partnership with the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England, the Local Government Association and others including the voluntary and community sector.
As the long nights draw in and temperatures drop, doctors are promoting the opportunity for people to get the free flu vaccination to avoid the winter illness. On average, flu kills around 8,000 people a year in England.
Flu is highly infectious and caused by viruses that spread from person to person. The viruses are constantly changing and this is one of the main reasons why people should be vaccinated annually.
Wiltshire Council and Swindon Borough Council are both Category 1 Responders and are key partners of Wiltshire and Swindon Local Resilience Forum. They have a vital role to play during cold weather.
Both Councils have preparations in hand ready to face any severe weather this winter. Their meticulous preparations helped to mitigate the impacts of ‘The Beast from the East’ earlier this year, when both locations experienced heavy snowfall meaning that the areas were able to get back to business as usual pretty quickly.
Water is always a precious resource and everyone is encouraged to use it wisely, whatever the weather. Not only does this help to keep water bills down it also protects the environment. Although none of our water companies are reporting shortages, the current prolonged hot weather means that demand is higher than normal for this time of year and it is important to use water wisely.
Everyone can do their bit by being water wise, particularly in the garden, which typically accounts for much of the additional demand seen during hot weather.
Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service is reminding people to take care around heathland and open spaces during this warmer weather.
The hotter conditions being experienced means a heightened risk of wildfires across Wiltshire and Dorset.
The current hot weather is something many people look forward to every year and go out and enjoy. But it’s worth remembering that sunny spells can pose health risks for some people.
It’s important to protect yourself from too much sun or heat, to carry water when travelling and to think of those, such as young children, older people and pets, who may feel the heat more acutely than others.
The Heatwave and Summer preparedness programme of the Heatwave Plan for England was launched on Friday 1st June 2018 to raise both public and professional awareness of the health impacts of hot weather, including severe heat.
The Plan is a key component of emergency planning and is increasingly relevant in adapting to climate change. It provides advice for professionals, organisations and individuals to enable them to plan for and respond to hot weather.
Intense bouts of flooding are set to become more frequent, the Environment Agency has warned today (Friday 16 February).
The warning follows a pattern of severe flooding over the past 10 years linked to an increase in extreme weather events as the country’s climate changes. Met Office records show that since 1910 there have been 17 record breaking rainfall months or seasons – with 9 of them since 2000. As intense storms are becoming more frequent, sea levels are also rising because of climate change.
Acts of terrorism in the UK are rare but sadly there is a likelihood that terrorists will try to attack us. Recent events around the world are a reminder of the threat we face. Wiltshire and Swindon are safe places to live and work.
While concerted action by the police and security services takes place every day to protect the public it is important for communities to be alert, not alarmed. Locally, all agencies have an important role to play in the fight against terrorism and they all work together on a regular basis to mitigate the threat.
Counter Terrorism Policing have enlisted the support of celebrities from entertainment and sport to launch their first-ever safety campaign aimed at children and teenagers.
With the UK terror threat level at SEVERE, children will be taught to RUN if they are able to, HIDE if they are not, and TELL police of the threat only when it is safe to do so. They will also be advised to warn others about an on-going threat, and crucially told NOT to stop and use their phones until they are safely away from danger.
NHS England is calling on people with long term health conditions to make sure they have
the flu vaccine as soon as possible.
Patients with asthma, diabetes, heart, liver, kidney or neurological disease are more at risk of
becoming seriously ill from the virus than the general population.
Winter is nearly upon us and the LRF is keen that all communities are as prepared as possible in the event of bad weather. Many of the hazards communities face over the winter are weather related.
Few winters pass without some form of severe weather be that heavy rain and floods, cold spells with snow and ice or high winds. In most winters somewhere, sometime we will get them all.
1 in 6 properties in England is at risk of flooding and this is only going to increase with a changing climate. Many people think that flooding will never happen to them. The fact is – it could! We experienced widespread flooding across Wiltshire during the Winter of 2013/14.
The Environment Agency leads work to protect communities from flooding and, locally through the LRF, it leads our Severe Weather Sub-Group which coordinates the activities of local agencies to prepare for a flooding event.
Would you be at risk during a power cut? Your Distribution Network Operator is responsible for maintaining the substations and power lines that bring electricity to your home. They are separate from your electricity supplier.
People on the Priority Services Register get advanced notice of any planned interruptions to their electricity supply - allowing the householder to make any necessary preparations. They also get prioritised for re-connection if there is a power cut.
Environment Agency field operatives will roll out up to 120 metres of temporary defence barriers, in partnership with officers from Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service (DWFRS). This will be the first joint exercise of its kind in the South West, although the fire service has previously helped deploy barriers during live incidents.
The exercise will take place at the Ashley Road recreation ground, next to the River Avon, from 10am-1pm. Teams will deploy three types of barriers and seepage pumps to practise their joint response to flooding.
Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service is reiterating the importance of working smoke alarms, after an inquest was told how two people died following a fire in Swindon last year.
At the inquest held in Salisbury yesterday (15 May), Wiltshire & Swindon Assistant Coroner Nicholas Rheinberg found that Sharon Soares-Alvares and Blaise Alvares died accidentally as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning, after a fire broke out in their home in Manchester Road, Swindon on 6 November 2016.
