Overview of my week
The highlight of the week has been the voluntary sector capabilities day at Wellington Barracks. Voluntary agencies gave us and other emergency planners the opportunity to see and hear about their role. We heard from St Johns Ambulance, the Red Cross, RNLI, Samaritans, FANY and the Salvation Army. Each brings particular skills to support the emergency response – ranging from first aid and ambulances, to befriending and counselling to water rescue and support to the Police and others in call handling and information management. The sector is a key part of the response – either at the scene, in supporting the emergency services business continuity or in the longer term recovery. It was a typical cold and damp November day and the tea form the Sally Army van was really cheering.
One of the aspects of Voluntary Sector work which is often unrecognised is their promotion of community resilience – this includes first aid training and promotion of safety in the water. Belonging to a network of friends and family is important to resilience and the Red Cross offers tracing service. Community resilience is one of the main areas of interest for our Communicating with the Public group which met this week. Objectives for the coming year include reviewing the Comms with the Public Framework, sharing good practise with London Responders and helping to support campaigns Business Continuity Week in February 2016.
Weather and Environment
The unsettled weather is forecast to continue this week.
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For the latest weather forecast, please see the Met Office website for further information.
Flooding update
The Live EA Flood Warnings Map has up to date information on river and tidal flooding.
Air quality update
Air pollution levels are forecast to be Low across London and the UK.
Transport
Consult the TfL website for real-time updates.
You can see the latest travel advice from London Heathrow and London City Airport here.
Security and Counter Terrorism
There are no changes to the threat levels. The threat level from International terrorism is Severe, and for Northern Ireland-related terrorism to Great Britain remains at Moderate.
Got anything to add to our update? Let us know @LDN_Prepared or contact us.
Hamish, London Resilience Manager