🏠 Prepare Your Household — Start Here

You cannot predict every emergency, but you can make the important decisions beforehand.

Preparation does not mean trying to anticipate everything that could possibly happen. It means knowing:

how you will receive reliable information;
what your household will do;
what you may need if you remain at home;
what you will take if you have to leave;
who or what may require additional help;
which possessions, vehicles or equipment need protecting early.

You do not need to complete everything today. Start with the actions most relevant to your household and build your preparedness over time.

Start with these three steps

Make your Household Emergency Plan

Decide who you will contact, where you could go, how you would travel, what you must take and who may need additional help.

Make your Household Emergency Plan

Plan your Grab Bag

Decide what you would take if you might need to leave home. Keep a suitable bag and checklist ready, then assemble it at the first credible signs of trouble.

How and When to Prepare Your Grab Bag

Make sure you can receive warnings

Understand the official warning systems, sign up where necessary and know where to find WHR’s local information.

Alerts and Warnings

Prepare for particular risks

Different emergencies require different actions. Use our detailed guidance to prepare for the risks most relevant to you:

Do not overlook individual needs

Consider everybody who lives at or regularly visits your home.

Medicines, care and medical equipment

If anybody relies on regular medicines, carers or medical equipment:

maintain an up-to-date list of medicines and doses;
keep prescription information accessible;
know which medicines require refrigeration;
check whether essential equipment has a charged back-up battery;
keep paper instructions for important equipment;
decide what would happen if a carer could not reach the property;
consider whether the person should leave earlier than the rest of the household.

Record these arrangements in your Household Emergency Plan and include the essential items in your Grab Bag.

Children and babies

Decide:

who would collect children from school or childcare;
what would happen if the usual person could not reach them;
where the household would meet if separated;
which telephone numbers children should know or carry;
which medicines, feeding supplies, nappies or other essentials would be needed;
whether a familiar toy, book or comfort item should go in the Grab Bag.

Talk to children about emergencies in an age-appropriate way. Make sure they know their home address and how and when to call 999.

Check that schools, childcare providers and anyone who looks after your children have current contact details.

Plan for pets and other animals

Pets can be difficult to move once they are frightened or conditions have deteriorated.

Prepare beforehand:

keep leads, harnesses and carriers accessible;
make sure identification and contact details are current;
decide who will be responsible for each animal;
identify somewhere you could go that will accept them;
keep pet food, bowls, waste bags and medicines available;
record veterinary and insurance details;
consider how you would transport larger, older or unwell animals.

Move animals early if conditions are worsening. Never put yourself or somebody else in danger attempting to retrieve an animal.

Plan for vehicles and transport

WHR frequently receives last-minute requests from residents trying to protect vehicles. By then, suitable parking may be limited and local roads may already be affected.

Consider every vehicle that may need moving:

everyday cars;
classic, valuable or infrequently used vehicles;
motorcycles;
mobility scooters;
bicycles;
electric vehicles.

Decide:

where each vehicle could be moved;
an alternative location if the first is unavailable;
whether it is roadworthy and can be started promptly;
where the keys are kept;
who is legally able and insured to move it;
whether it has sufficient fuel or charge;
how you would travel if your vehicle had already been moved;
whether somebody in the household requires accessible transport.

Classic and infrequently used vehicles may need particular attention because their batteries, tyres or insurance arrangements may make moving them at short notice more difficult.

A warning should be the time to carry out your vehicle plan—not the time to start deciding where the vehicle can go.

Move vehicles before roads flood or become unsafe. Never drive through floodwater or obstruct emergency access.

Protect important possessions and outdoor equipment

People and safety always come first, but some losses can be reduced through early planning.

Important documents and valuables

Identify in advance:

passports and identification;
insurance and financial information;
medicines and medical records;
photographs and irreplaceable possessions;
computers and portable electronic equipment;
items stored in low cupboards, garages or basements.

Keep important papers upstairs, in a watertight container or securely backed up electronically. Maintain photographs or a simple inventory of valuable possessions for insurance purposes.

Decide which items you would move first. Do not attempt to move heavy furniture or possessions once conditions have become dangerous.

Gardens, garages and outbuildings

Before severe weather or flooding:

secure garden furniture, trampolines and other loose objects;
secure bins and containers;
move tools, machinery and valuable equipment above likely flood level;
protect equipment stored on garage or shed floors;
safely store paints, chemicals, fuels and garden products;
check gates, fences and temporary structures;
consider whether outdoor electrical equipment needs disconnecting.

Do not bring fuel, gas cylinders or hazardous chemicals into living areas. Do not put yourself at risk protecting replaceable property.

Know your utilities and prepare essential supplies

Everybody in the household should know where to find:

the water stop tap;
the main electricity isolation switch;
the gas shut-off valve, where applicable;
utility emergency numbers;
torches, power banks and emergency supplies.

Only isolate utilities when it is safe and appropriate. Never touch electrical controls or equipment while standing in water.

Your home emergency supplies might include:

battery or wind-up torches;
charged power banks and spare batteries;
a battery or wind-up radio;
first-aid supplies;
drinking water;
food that does not require cooking;
hygiene supplies;
warm clothing and blankets;
baby, medical and pet supplies.

A home emergency kit is intended to help you remain safely at home during disruption. It is different from a portable Grab Bag.

Priority Services Registers

If age, disability, illness, pregnancy, young children or another circumstance could make disruption particularly difficult, check eligibility for the free utility Priority Services Registers.

Do not assume that one registration automatically covers every service. Check arrangements with:

your electricity supplier and network operator;
your gas supplier or network;
your water company.

Find and join the appropriate Priority Services Registers

Also consider the separate WHR Community Vulnerable Register for local support during significant community incidents.

Prepare with your neighbours

Community resilience begins before an emergency.

Consider exchanging contact details with a trusted neighbour and discussing:

who lives alone;
who may not receive digital warnings;
who might need help understanding or acting upon information;
who relies on carers or medical equipment;
who may need help moving pets or essential belongings;
who could safely check on whom;
how you would communicate during a power or phone outage.

Always respect people’s privacy and independence. Ask what help they would find useful rather than making assumptions.

Do not promise help that you may be unable to provide, and never put yourself at risk. During a major incident, follow emergency-service instructions and allow WHR and the statutory services to prioritise those in greatest need.

If someone may require organised local support, encourage them to contact WHR and consider joining the Vulnerable Register before an emergency develops.

A quick household check

Can everybody in your household answer these questions?

Where is our emergency plan?
How will we receive warnings?
Where is our Grab Bag checklist?
Where are essential medicines and documents?
How will we move children, pets and vehicles?
Where could we go?
Where are the utility controls?
Who might need our help?
Who could help us?
What is the first thing we would do?

If not, choose one question and resolve it today.

WHR is here to help

Wraysbury & Horton Resilience can help you find reliable information and think through the preparations appropriate for your household.

Telephone or WhatsApp: 07808 654321

Please ask before an emergency develops. During a significant incident, our resources will inevitably be limited and priority must be given to residents who are most vulnerable.

If somebody is in immediate danger, call 999.

Wraysbury & Horton Resilience – Supporting the community