Join London Prepared

Our weekly blog aims to bring an overview of what we and our partners have been doing over the last week to help build London's resilience, as well as providing you with some useful information for the week ahead. We've had a pause for a few weeks, but we're back!

This week I met with colleagues from the Emergency Services to discuss the recent updates to the Joint Emergency Service Interoperability Principles (we call it JESIP for short). These principles establish common ways of working across the emergency responders allowing them to work more effectively together - the principles are supported with a range of support tools, all available within the JESIP smartphone app.

I've also had time this week to update sections of the London Prepared website, including adding some new content to the London's Emergency Plans page. What would you like to see on the website - send us your comments and questions.

September is going to be a busy month for us. We'll be marking the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London and supporting the 30 Days 30 Ways UK campaign to help you 'prove or improve' your own level of emergency preparedness (more on that next week). We've also got a big exercise coming up in October considering our preparedness for pandemic flu, which although it might have dropped from the headlines, remains a risk.

Finally, we've got some exciting opportunities to join our team at the moment. We're looking for three Administrative Officers and two Resilience Support Officers but there isn't long to get your applications in.

Weather and Flooding

It looks like quite a blustery weekend - with a forecast of gusts of 40-50mph resulting in the Met Office issuing yellow warning for wind for tomorrow (Sat 20 Aug).

There are currently high spring tides on the tidal Thames which are expected to peak on 21 August. No flood alerts are expected to be issued.

Health

As we've seen in the aftermath of the Orlando shooting and other incidents, people often offer to donate blood after an emergency. This is fantastic, but blood donations save lives every day, not just when there has been a terrible incident. Therefore, we lost our A's and O's in our logo this week in support of the #MissingType blood donor appeal.

Transport

It's the launch of Night Tube today, which will see 24hr services initially on the Victoria and Central lines. Find out how British Transport Police will be ensuring you're safe in the video below.

Terrorism Alert Levels

Members of the public should always remain alert to the danger of terrorism and report any suspicious activity to the police on 999 or the anti-terrorist hotline: 0800 789 321.

• The current threat level for international terrorism in the UK is SEVERE
• The current threat level for Northern Ireland-related terrorism in Britain is SUBSTANTIAL

Have a good weekend,

Matt, London Resilience Officer