August 2009 - Update on the Village Emergency Plan

The Grafham Village emergency committee had their first meeting and in attendance were:

Michelle-lee Whitlock (Convenor) Frank Cannon (Huntingdon District Council) Clint Thomas-Morgan (Grafham Parish Council) and James Snell (Neighbourhood Watch)

The overall aim of Grafham Village’s Emergency Plan is to be able to - Support the village of Grafham in any emergency situation that threatens the health, safety, or welfare of its residents in conjunction with the relevant Emergency Services and Local Authority.

It will achieve this by –

·        Identifying and rating any risks that could be faced by the village of Grafham and surrounding areas.

·         Writing an emergency plan with full support of the local emergency services and local authority that outlines basic emergency roles and procedures.

·        Appointing an Village Emergency Coordinator and Deputy

·        Identifying and training a group of volunteers that would be willing and able to help others in any emergency situation that affects the village.

·        Identifying any resources the village has that could be useful in an emergency situation.

Why is this necessary?

As a small village with few facilities we rely on many networks to conduct our day to day living. These networks for example our roads, in an emergency situation could be cut off. This could be many things a resent example would be snow and ice as seen earlier this year. For some of us this might not matter, for others like those needing regular home care this might pose a whole host of problems.

This is just one example others include any prolonged loss of power (as most of us don’t have gas as a backup), disruption to the telephone network, or water supplies. These can be for any reason from a storm with high winds, to human error.

What’s next?

The Grafham Emergency Planning Committee is seeking a villager to take on the role of the

Emergency co-ordinator (and a deputy):

This resident will provide a vital link between the community and other organisations planning and responding to an emergency.

Their role will be to;

·        Help with the the completion of the community emergency plan.

·        Provide a link to the District Emergency Planning Officer.

·        Call a community meeting during an emergency, if deemed necessary.

·        Provide a focal point for the community response to an emergency.

If you would like to volunteer for this position or think you have a skill that would be useful in an emergency situation please contact us on the details below.

Also feel free to contact us if you would like to generally be involved in the writing of the plan or have any questions or queries.

The contact for the group is Michelle –lee Whitlock who can be contacted on 01480 819448 or e-mail: Chelli.whitlock@gmail.com

The date of the next meeting is Thursday 17^th September.