A new survey is set to reveal how prepared Sussex residents are for emergencies.
The survey (which can be found here) which will also indicate how aware residents are of risks such as flooding, wildfires, and utilities disruption, will be open for eight weeks and aims to identify current levels of risk awareness and preparedness across the county. The results will be used to ensure residents have the information they need to help them become more resilient.
The top risks that Sussex faces are contained in the Community Risk Register for Sussex, which provides an assessment of how likely these risks are to happen and the impacts if they do, so that local people can be better prepared in their homes, communities, and businesses.
The Community Risk Register is produced by the Sussex Resilience Forum (SRF), whose membership covers the Sussex Police force area and includes the emergency services, local authorities, Environment Agency, health agencies, and voluntary and private sector organisations such as utility companies. The SRF provides a formal structure for these organisations to work together to identify potential risks and produce and test emergency plans to either prevent or reduce the impact of any incident on local communities.
SRF member organisations will be delivering and distributing the survey in their local communities and among their customers and service users. Survey responses will help to inform and shape future public engagement across Sussex to help further build community resilience.
Commenting on the launch of the Local Risk Perception Survey, Sussex Resilience Forum (SRF) Chair, Assistant Chief
Constable Steve Rayland, Sussex Police said: “I urge residents to complete the local risk perception survey and share their views with us. The responses will help us identify what further support and information our communities require so that we can help them to be more resilient.”
“As we head into winter, for example, the likelihood of emergencies caused by adverse weather and the related impacts increases.
“As the newly appointed SRF Chair, I am committed to ensuring that partnership activities meet the specific needs of the communities we serve. SRF members work together to ensure that the best possible preparations and plans are in place for responding to these types of emergencies. These plans are regularly tested to ensure they are effective to save lives, prevent the emergency getting worse, and restore normality as soon as possible.”
