Many of us recall the 1987 Hurricane, the 1993 Barnham floods. The Covid pandemic caught us all unprepared. As home-owners it is our responsibility to prepare for a wide range of emergencies, because no-one else is likely to be able to help during a major flood, serious weather, or national power outages. All these things can happen, and we should be ready to cope if the worst happens. Emergencies can happen at any time and sometimes without warning.  One of the most important things you can do to prepare for an emergency is to ask yourself ‘What If’ and then find the answers. 

The Parish Council is making plans to provide some basic “self-help” within the villages, but every household should be ready with some basic preparations. This website intends to give some guidance on what preparations you can make. Putting together a household emergency plan shouldn’t take long and will help you decide what to pack into your “grab bag”. Important paperwork, family photos, and valuables - protect them from water, put them somewhere safe so you can take them with you if you you have to evacuate.

​Flooding: if you are at risk of flooding, note the following:

• Listen out for flood warnings - you can sign up to receive flood warnings at Sign up for flood warnings - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• Sandbags and plastic sheeting can slow down or stop water getting in.
• A broom, buckets and big dustpan will help you bale-out water.
• Move furniture and valuables upstairs, or lift up as high as possible on bricks,
• Put valuables in a waterproof bag, and safe from floodwater- You will need those insurance documents!
• In an emergency situation you may need to leave your home quickly, it’s important to have a few necessities to hand. Make a “Grab Bag”- a small easy-to-carry bag with essentials and store in an accessible place ready to go!
• Children- If you have to move out to safe accommodation, then toys and warm clothing, comforters will help; Medicines and special foods (e.g.Formula milk, baby/children’s food), plus bottles, sterilizer, nappies,
• Pets-  a carry bag, bedding, food and bowl. Maybe sedatives.

Extreme weather- hurricane, snow, intense cold:

• Prepare for a prolonged power cut with emergency lighting, heating and cooking facilities. (see below).
• Check garden furniture, things that can get blown away.
• Have ready a tarpaulin and rope to cover a damaged roof.
• Have a store of emergency food and drink—remember the empty shelves at the start of the Pandemic? Maybe a week’s food, and remember to cycle it and keep renewing it, even cans don’t last forever.
• Freezer- with no power, and if you don’t have access to a generator, then cover the freezer with insulating blankets and duvets. Eat what you can and don’t refreeze stuff that’s defrosted.
• Be a good neighbour- check on vulnerable people near you, and get help for them if needed.
• Volunteer to help in the Community Resilience Team where you will get essential safety training.

Power outage— Extreme weather, National Grid failure , industrial action-   any of these may cut off our electricity/gas supply for several days. Even houses with gas heating and cooking will probably not be able to use these without electricity. You can sign up to receive Power Outage alerts at Text Updates (ukpowernetworks.co.uk)

You should have means to provide light, heat, cooking, such as:

• Lighting – torches, hurricane lanterns, candles (be careful with open flames!), plus fuel and matches
• Heating- if you haven’t got a wood stove or even an open fire ( and adequate fuel), you should consider a portable LPG gas heater- (and to be safe, a CO alarm) to heat one room, close the curtains. And make sure that you have warm blankets or duvets- prolonged or extreme cold can kill.
• Cooking- a small camping stove will enable you to heat up food and drink, fill hot water bottles.
• Spare batteries, fuel, candles, tinned or dried food have long shelf-lives, but don’t let them sit there too long or they will be time-expired when you need them. 

You may never need these things if you are lucky, but if the worst happens, then you will be glad you prepared.

And if you should have to leave your home, make for the nearest of the Village Halls, they will be open as emergency centres with warmth, light, food and comfort.

Useful tips:

• If there is a power cut, cover your freezer and fridge with an old duvet to slow down defrosting. Open them only when necessary.
• The Trading Post, Sainsbury’s and Ebay offer small lanterns which hold small candles. Buy your candles now, whilst the shelves are stocked.
  
  
  
• Candles (e.g. tea lights) can be put into large glass jars for safety and to protect from draughts. They last longer too. (Have some long matches or spills to reach down to the wick.) A jam jar or mug can make an improvised candlestick holder, melt the base of the candle with a lighter or flame to make it stick to the bottom of the jar and make sure no naked flame is close to fabric, soft furnishings. A mirror behind increases the light.

• Rechargeable electric lanterns are probably the best option for those not competent with liquid fuel or gas devices (see stoves below).  Gas lanterns are widely used and probably easier to use if you are not an experienced outdoor type.  Hurricane lamps, Tilley lamps, Coleman lamps- which use lamp oil,  paraffin, or Coleman fuel (or refined petrol)- can produce abundant light and heat for hours, but need very careful handling, and careful siting, otherwise you might have a house-fire to add to your woes.
• Similarly, camping stoves come in many styles. Old school types may favour Primus or Coleman stoves, but a small lightweight back-packing stove with separate or integral gas cylinder will heat up a lot of cups of tea. At camping shops, Ebay and Amazon.

• If you have a wood stove or even an open fire, make sure it is swept and checked for safety, and install a CO alarm. Keep your fuel dry, with kindling or firelighters. If you use a chimney balloon to reduce draughts up the flue, remember to take it out before lighting a fire. Use a fire guard to protect children and animals.
• Old-fashioned hot water bottles are useful to keep chilled or vulnerable people and children warm. You can improvise a hot water bottle with a strong sealable plastic bottle filled with hot but not boiling water, wrapped in a towel.
• Flood water can be slowed down from entering your house by sandbags, but put a piece of plastic sheet down across the doorway first, this greatly increases the stopping power of the bags.
• Empty sandbags can be bought at Wickes etc. Filled ones delivered locally from M.H.Kennedy, 01243 543530 (Westergate).
• You can improvise sandbags with strong plastic bags with garden soil, but don’t make them too heavy. If you buy and fill sandbags in advance, keep them dry and out of sunlight, so UV rays don’t damage them and they are lighter to handle.
• Look at covering airbricks, and other points of floodwater entry. Locally Covers & Sons sell products to seal these up.
  
  
• If there is flood water coming into your house despite your best efforts, you can raise the furniture up on bricks or boxes, but if the flood continues to rise, don’t hurt yourself trying to move sofas. Small stuff is obviously moveable upstairs (except in bungalows), you may decide to lose the sofa or table but pile other smaller stuff on top above the flood. It should be covered by insurance. And do it before the water comes in through the door.
• Some parts of the Parish get sewage coming up through downstairs toilets and drains during flooding. There are proprietary products, but a temporary block can be improvised using a sandbag in a plastic bin bag, well tamped down. Your other toilets won’t be working very well in these circumstances, the sewers will be surcharging.
• Flood waters – can be dangerous, you can’t see holes and gulleys , so if you have to go through flood waters, use a long stick to feel your way and as support.
• The water will be polluted with sewage, so be very careful to wash with disinfectant after going through it, and keep wet boots and clothing (and dogs) away from food and children.
• Long-life food that is quick to prepare – tinned food, pasta, UHT milk etc. can be useful if supplies are interrupted and you can’t get out. Look at dehydrated back-packing food.    There won’t be any Deliveroo or takeaways if the roads are flooded and the power is off.
• Flood water or rain coming through a damaged roof will destroy your treasured photos, momentoes, and essential documents, as recently flooded Barnham residents discovered to their dismay. Put such things into a large sealable plastic bag for protection.. a vacuum-sealer plastic bag is ideal, and these can be used to safeguard clothing, shoes, bedding as well.
• If you have other tips and good advice, let us know at the Parish Council.