Have emergency friends

An easy way to prepare for emergencies is to identify ‘emergency friends’:

Emergency friends are people you trust who can provide help when you really need it. You should identify at least one emergency friend who lives nearby and a second one who lives further away.

Here’s how emergency friends can help you.

• Holding a spare house key. You never know when you might lock yourself out, or your pets need feeding if you’re stranded away from home
• Providing a place to stay if you’re evacuated or your home’s affected by flood, fire or utility failure
• Looking after your children or picking them up from school
• Collecting medication If you’re suffering from an infectious disease such as flu
• Safeguarding copies of important documents or pictures
• Acting as a contact point for family members who may be separated in an emergency

Make sure all your family knows who your emergency friends are, and note them in your household emergency plan.
Don’t forget - you can be someone’s emergency friend, too. Have a chat to identify all the ways you can help each other.