Alongside supporting the work on the Southwell Flood Mitigation Plan to determine, test, and implement engineered mitigation measures to reduce flood risk, Southwell Flood Forum aims to help and encourage people to be resilient both at an individual and community level.
Resilience builds well-being, promotes growth and effective flood risk management by being better prepared to deal with an incident.
This means we will be
- proactive, not reactive
- prepared not panicking
- active not passive
Building resilience includes many elements – primarily the Southwell Community Emergency Plan – which support, signpost and raise awareness of how to be resilient.
“The ….characteristic of resilient communities is the ability to reduce, prevent and cope with the flood risk.
They are knowledgeable and aware of the risk, are well-prepared and respond better when a flood occurs, and recover more quickly from disasters.” (Schelfaut et al, 2011)
The Cabinet Office defines Community Resilience as:
‘..communities using local resources and knowledge to help themselves during an emergency in a way that complements the local emergency services.’
Our aim is that Southwell will be better prepared to cope during and after an emergency encouraging everyone to work together using their local knowledge.
e.g.
- understanding what requirements most-at-need groups may have in an emergency can make a real difference.
- identifying and planning for the risks you may encounter during a severe flood could help in reducing the potential impact on you, your family and the wider community.
Community Resilience Events – July 2017
Community Resilience Day – May 15th 2016
University of Nottingham Community Participation Workshops
Strategic National Framework on Community Resilience
General resources to be more resilient
Northamptonshire County Council Flood Toolkit – a template for Community Resilient communities
DEFRA Pathfinder Scheme – communities’ videos on Community Resilience
