Emergencies of all kinds can happen at any time. It is important to know what can happen and how you can be prepared in advance and respond when an emegency situation happens.
The UK government plans for a range of risks, from storms, floods, fires, and rock falls, to major accidents, building collapse or acts of terrorism.
Dorset is a safe county to live and work in. Locally, the emergency services work with local councils, the NHS, the Environment Agency and others to prepared for emergencies.
Individuals, families, communities, organisations and businesses all have an important role to play. This page explains some types of emergencies that could occur.
The information given below, gives you an idea of the types of risks you should be aware of, and what you can do to prepared.
Like many systems that classify how likely an event is to happen, the UK government classifies national risks as very high, high, medium, or low, here in Dorset we adopt the same way of classfiying those events. In addition to how likely they are to happen, we also consider the impact on the local population and services, such as the NHS, Police and Fire Service.
To learn more about likelihood and impact, you can view the full community risk register for Dorset:
To learn more about how the Government assesses risks across the UK:
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Flooding
High Risk
Flooding can happen without warning. It occurs from a variety of different weather events. Heavy rainfall and melting snow and ice can cause flooding. -
Rock fall & Landslide
Low Risk
Rock fall and landslide are naturally occurring events all the way along the Dorset coastline. -
Storms, Gales & High Waves
Very High Risk
Gale force winds or storms may cause loss of power, disruption to our transport network and damage to homes and businesses. -
Low Temperatures & Heavy Snow
High Risk
Not only does snow and ice make driving conditions hazardous but low temperatures can also affect people in our community. -
Pandemics
Very High Risk
A pandemic occurs when a new flu virus, which people have no immunity to, emerges and starts spreading as easily as normal flu. -
Animal disease
Medium Risk
Animal diseases which are of most concern to us in Dorset are those which are highly contagious and cause high fatality rates amongst our livestock or may infect people. -
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Disruption to fuel supplies
Medium Risk
We all rely to some extent on fuel, whether it is for getting children to school, commuting to work, or deliveries of goods to shops -
Cyber attacks
Medium Risk
The risk to information and computer assets comes from a broad spectrum of threats with a broad range of capabilities. -
Heathland & Forest Fires
Medium Risk
Dorset has many large areas of heathland and forests, which are vulnerable to wildfires. -
Heatwave
Medium Risk
Before the hot weather arrives, it is a really good time to think about what you can do to protect yourself and your family and friends from heat. -
Terrorism
Medium Risk
A terrorist attack in Dorset is highly unlikely. However we should not be complacent.
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