Lesson 3 – What community groups can do before emergencies happen

Preparation is key when considering the potential impact an emergency will have on a local community. The ability to respond effectively and safely when emergencies occur depends on strong connections between communities, residents, and emergency responders. To ensure a community is prepared, it is useful to think about community emergency resilience as a continuous cycle of five key actions.

Action 1 – Assess

What are the main risks in your community and how would they impact those who live there?

What assets are available in your community that could be used in times of need?

Assets could include shelter for use during severe weather, or people or organisations with specialist equipment such as tractors or chainsaws (but you should be trained and insured to use these safely).

Action 2 – Prevent

What steps could your group take to lessen the risk or impact of an emergency?

Examples include:

• gritting – can you work with your local authority to ensure your community has sufficient grit stores and willing volunteers to clear paths for people when needed?
• local flooding – can you highlight local risks and work with the relevant authorities to reduce their impact?
• helping local residents to be prepared – some community groups have distributed leaflets about household emergency planning including Ready Scotland’s guide on how to create an emergency kit for your home

Action 3 – Prepare

Does your community have a Community Emergency Plan (CEP)?

It is recommended that community groups create a CEP prior to emergencies occurring so they can quickly take action when needed.

Read our guide to creating a Community Emergency Plan.

What other community groups exist in your area that you could work with?

Building relationships with these groups will help you to understand what skills and resources they have and create a plan to work together to help your community in times of emergency.

Action 4 – Respond

There are many ways to safely support your community during an emergency, such as clearing ice and snow, checking on neighbours who might need help, or fundraising. You’ll get more information about types of community activities in the next lesson.

When you create a Community Emergency Plan you will consider how your group can help the local community in a safe and sustainable way, and make plans for how your group can communicate with local residents, businesses and responders.

It's a good idea to consider insurance for your group's activities.

Check the types of insurance for community groups and local emergency activities.

Action 5 – Recover

What will your group do in the aftermath of an emergency? Will it play a role in helping your community to recover?

Depending on the severity of an emergency, recovery from an incident could take months or even years.

It is recommended that community groups carry out a debrief after assisting in an emergency response in order to learn from their experiences and make positive changes if needed. Debriefing is where the group comes together to discuss and agree what went well, what was more challenging, and what you would do differently next time.