It’s so easy to get involved
We think ‘it’ will never happen to us but emergencies strike at any time and disrupt our lives in an instant.
Threats can range from human errors such as road traffic collisions to acts of mother nature such as flooding or severe ice and snow.
They could also affect the services we rely on such as transport, utilities, communications and financial services. That’s why resilience is so important – being prepared and having the knowledge and tools to keep us safe during uncertain times is half the battle.
Ready Scotland, which encourages people to be aware of the importance of preparing for and dealing with emergencies, will launch an inaugural Resilience Week, November 7 to 11.
It’s an opportunity to show support to the work, processes and people who are in place to make Scotland’s communities, businesses and homes more resilient to the situations that disrupt daily lives.
This includes what to do in the event of severe weather, how to handle someone becoming seriously ill, businesses thinking about how to deal with events that impact on smooth operations, and how to reduce the risk of cyber crime
John Swinney, Deputy First Minister said: “Everyone is affected by unexpected events at one time or another. Resilience Week gives us all – individuals, families, communities and businesses – a chance to think about how we can be better prepared for things like severe weather and flooding, cyber-crime, disruption to business and ill-health.
“Scotland has excellent emergency services, but what we do as individuals, and together, can also make a big difference.
“While it is not possible to avoid every risk, there are sensible steps we can all take to make life easier for ourselves and others.
“Plan ahead, check weather forecasts before travelling, sign up for flood alerts and check in on your neighbours, particularly the elderly and vulnerable at this time of year and stay safe online. To find out more go to readyscotland.org.”
Take the weather for example. We know how unpredictable it can be in Scotland but we can never be fully prepared for it. According to SEPA, 108,000 properties in Scotland are at risk of flooding from rivers, the sea or heavy rainfall in urban areas.
You can take simple steps to protect yourself from something like a flood such as making sure your contents From the very relaxed to the ultraprepared, there are different views on what resilience is.
Ask Google and you will have two answers,“ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape”and “capacity to recover quickly from difficulties”.
At the Scottish Government, we take a broader view on resilience – it’s about being able to respond in the event of something unexpected happening by being ready in advance. Resilience comes in many forms. For example, the actions government and local authorities take to deal with severe weather, advice from Police Scotland on dealing with cybercrime or businesses having back-up options should their supply chain be disrupted. For individuals, the spare car tyre is a tool to make your vehicle more resilient to one potential failure. Resilience can be making sure your home heating is in good working order and knowing who to call should it break down.
It’s easy to get involved – search via Twitter or Facebook with #ReadyScotland to join in.