Three Norfolk residents are preparing for emergencies in different ways: former parish clerk Helen Frayer stores food and dog supplies, retired train driver Chris Campion keeps an evacuation bag ready, and entrepreneur Peter Dawe says his farm could support 500 people.
Frayer has stocked tinned vegetables, long-life milk and supplies for her rescue dog since last winter. Government advice also recommends preparing the home, planning an escape route and sharing contact details with neighbours. Campion keeps rations, a camping stove, water-purification tablets and other gear in a bedroom; he says solar panels and stored logs could help during power cuts.
Dawe says he has spent two decades making his working farm self-sufficient, with its own flour mill, oil press, dairy, butchery, solar power, rapeseed-oil biofuel and water borehole. The National Audit Office warned earlier this month that the government relies too heavily on private firms to manage food-supply disruption. The national risk register was updated this year with seven new risks, including cyber-attacks on police systems and water infrastructure. The government plans a campaign later this year on household steps for everyday emergencies such as extreme weather.
