Evacuating your Home
Whether or not you are evacuated from your home due to an emergency is entirely dependent on the circumstances surrounding the emergency. However, the decision to evacuate residents from their homes is not one that is taken lightly. If you are asked to evacuate your home by a member of Council staff or Emergency Services please do so as it will be for your own safety and welfare.
In the event that you do need to evacuate your home due to an emergency here are some suggestions that will minimise the uncertainty you may feel:
- listen to the advice given by the official telling you about the evacuation
- stay calm
- make arrangements if possible to stay with family or friends until you are able to return home
- take your pets with you – use secure pet carriers, leash or harness
- plan your evacuation and leave in plenty of time if possible
- take emergency supplies with you (see Preparing for an Emergency page)
- when leaving, if time permits, shut all windows and doors securely and turn off all electrical and gas supplies.
Rest Centres
If you are evacuated a Rest Centre will be available to you. A Rest Centre is a building with communal areas suitable for people to go to who have been evacuated due to an emergency. These Rest Centres may also have smaller rooms that can be dedicated to specific needs such as feeding rooms for babies or praying.
The Rest Centre will be staffed by Haringey Council volunteers who are trained to help people who have been evacuated. Within a Rest Centre, evacuees will receive information regarding the emergency and basic support and shelter throughout the duration of the emergency.
The location of the Rest Centre is decided at the time of the incident, and is usually a school, community centre or similar public building.
If you are taken to a Rest Centre during an emergency you do not have to stay there, once you have gathered your thoughts you may prefer to contact a family member or friend to stay with. All we ask is that you notify a member of staff that you are leaving.
Whilst every effort is made to accommodate pets, some of the Rest Centre buildings do not allow animals inside. We advise that you arrange with a family member or friend to look after your pet whilst you are unable to return home.
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In an emergency, the Council and other services will be working hard to ensure all members of the community are safe and can get the support they need. Exactly what help is available will depend on what the emergency is. The top priority will be to support the most vulnerable; the old and frail, people with disabilities or poor health and the very young.
The Council will provide the best advice we can to allow people to make choices to help themselves, and to access the support that is made available.
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