Measures to strengthen greater community resilience in the event of future flooding and other emergencies in York are ready to be put in place.
York’s conservative-led Executive will consider a new flood resilience programme at its Executive Meeting on 29 June, designed to support community groups in areas which may be hit by floods again. The ‘Ready for Anything’ programme builds on the work of volunteers, business and community groups who responded to the Boxing Day floods of 2015.
York CVS has created the programme to help provide a co-ordinated volunteer response in the events of future floods or another major incident.
The programme will operate by engaging and supporting community groups to create bespoke, local emergency plans and to share practical advice to those households and businesses at risk of future floods.
The scheme will:
- Create locally tailored emergency plans for neighbourhoods and adapting best practise to suit their needs
- Distribute information on flood readiness amongst local residents and businesses
- Identify and support neighbourhood champions to maintain contact between residents and statutory organisations in an emergency situation
- Identify and inform residents of a local meeting place and the location of temporary shelter in an emergency
- Purchase necessities such as torches, hi-vis vests and other equipment to help local teams respond to an emergency situation quickly
- Work with children and young people to educate and reassure them about the issue of flooding
Cllr. Tony Richardson, Conservative spokesperson for the environment, said “It’s vital that we learn from the events of the Boxing Day floods and respond to the recommendations from the independent review. We hope this programme will help residents and businesses to be better prepared and informed and will also assist the city in adapting to and anticipating changing weather patterns, which may well mean more flooding risk for York in the coming years.
“A bespoke emergency plan will mean a faster response for those affected by flooding or similar emergencies and I hope that community organisations across the whole city will get involved.”