The UK National Risk Register and the Dorset Community Risk Register both foresee substantial risk of various emergencies which could affect Bridport within the next couple of years, including severe weather events, extended power cuts and others. Here are some basic steps we can all take:
- Keep some basic supplies at home such as water, food, torches.
- Prepare for longer power cuts by having some way of heating and lighting one room without mains power, plus a battery-powered radio.
- Know your neighbours, and be aware of anyone in your street who’s elderly or vulnerable, and may need help in an emergency.
You can see Bridport Town Council’s detailed Community Emergency & Resilience Plan here. This sets out detailed provisions for a range of emergency events. It gives contact info for relevant public services, including a Floodline number, Dorset Fire & Rescue, etc. It details the responsibilities of the many organisations who might be involved. It also indicates specific responses to various emergencies, such as floods, power cuts, etc.
To see more detail of the Dorset Local Resilience Forum’s assessment of various emergency events, and their probability, see www.dorsetprepared.org.uk.
Ongoing resilience
Some of the climate impacts we will face in future will be ongoing problems, but the timing and shape of these is hard to predict. Here are some of those which many experts anticipate:
Food: there are likely to be more supply shortages and big price rises. For more tips on resilient food supply, see here.
Essential services: we will probably face more interruptions to electricity and gas supplies, and also to internet and social media. One result of the Ukraine crisis could be a cyber war affecting online communications. Review the services you depend on, and seek ways to cope if they are interrupted.
Wellbeing: the climate crisis is already affecting mental and emotional wellbeing for many people, and this is likely to grow. There are several local organisations who can help, or for online support try www.deepadaptation.info.