Preparing for an emergency

Have you thought about what you would do if a police officer knocks on your door at 3am, and says you have 5 minutes to evacuate your house? What would you grab? Where would you go? You can find out a lot of information and top tips on how to prepare your household for an emergency on London Prepared.  

Register to receive alerts

There are some key alert systems that you can sign up to, to ensure you’re alerted of anything that may impact you:

• Register to receive flood alerts from the Environment Agency.
• Register to receive severe weather warnings from the Met Office
• Keep aware of any traffic disruptions in your area through TfL Alerts

Stay aware of potential risks and hazards

It’s useful for you to be aware of the risks that could potentially impact your area/household, and mitigations.

• Check the flood risk in your area. Consider preparing a personal flood plan and pack a “flood kit” in case you need to leave your home - you can find a template produced by the government here, as well as guidance from UKPN on flooding and electricity .
• Stay alert and regularly check for fire hazards in your property. The Safer Croydon Partnership has put together a fire prevention presentation and you can also find more advice on the London Fire Brigade - Fire safety at home webpage.

Note down important contact information

There are also some useful contacts to have easily accessible in an emergency situation:

• •    Your landlord / managing agent / housing association
• Your insurance company
• The emergency services
• Police, Fire or Ambulance (in an emergency) - 999
• Metropolitan Police (non-emergency) - 101
• NHS (non-emergency) - 111 
• London Fire Brigade (non-emergency) - 020 8555 1200 
• Anti-Terrorism Hotline (to report anything suspicious – always call 999 in an emergency) - 0800 789 321 
• Croydon Council (general enquiries)  - 020 8726 6000 
• Your utility company
  • Thames Water (Leakline) - 0800 714 614 
  • Thames Water (Sewage/Sewer Flooding) - 0800 316 9800
  • SES Water - 01737 772 000 
  • Gas Emergency Services - 0800 111 999 
  • UK Power Networks - 0800 31 63 105 or 105
• Environmental services
• Environment Agency Floodline - 0345 988 1188 / Typetalk (for the hard of hearing: 0345 602 6340)
• Transport companies
  •     Transport for London - 0343 222 1234 

Note down important locations

• Where do you turn off your gas, electricity and water?
• Where are any essential medication / equipment / documents stored?
• Where could you stay with if you needed to evacuate your house (e.g. a family member or friend)?