What might happen if I need to be evacuated?
If an emergency requires you to leave your home and it is safe to do so, turn off your gas, electricity and water and take your emergency box. Shropshire Council may provide shelter on a temporary basis in the form of an Emergency Rest Centre.
On arrival at the emergency rest centre you will be asked to register. This will involve giving some information such as your name and contact details. It will help staff at the emergency rest centre cater for your needs and members of your family to find each other. It may take a while to get the information required from a large group of people but it is very important that everyone is registered.
The accommodation is likely to be a public building and while every effort will have been made to ensure that the accommodation is comfortable, it will be communal and may be crowded. You should consider:
- Whether any relatives/ friends could accommodate you
- Whether your home insurance covers temporary accommodation
How will my pets be looked after in an emergency?
For many of us our pet is an important member of our household. In an emergency it is useful to have thought through what your pet will need. Whilst arrangements can be made for small domestic pets, larger or exotic pets may need to have special arrangements in place before hand.
If you are asked to evacuate:
- Check on neighbours - do they know?
- Respond to instructions from the emergency services.
- Report to the specified location and await further guidance.
- Special arrangements will be made for the care of the sick and the elderly.
- Use the checklist on this page.
Evacuation checklist
- Gather family, family emergency pack and pets together.
- Turn off gas, water, electricity and all household appliances.
- If you have time, make sure open fires are put out, or at least guarded.
- Get together warm clothing and sleeping bags, blankets or duvets.
- Get together medicines in use and special foods for babies - and remember food for pets
- Secure and lock your property.
- Do not return home until you are told to do so.
- On your return, do not use gas or other appliances unless you know it is safe to do so.