Stay informed. Alerts, radio and trusted updates.
Knowing where to look is useful preparation. Decide which official sources cover your home and how you would receive information if the usual connection were unavailable.
Know what an Emergency Alert is for.
The UK Government Emergency Alerts service can send instructions about a danger to life to compatible devices in an affected area. It is separate from a news subscription or a retailer’s website. Read the official service information to understand how it works.
If you receive an alert, follow its instructions. When reading an article about a previous alert or a test, check the original date so it is not confused with a current event. Our Keep up to date page is a reading list, not an alert-delivery service.
Find the services relevant to your address.
Weather, flooding and local disruption may be covered by different organisations. Identify the Met Office, the appropriate flood service and your local authority or emergency partners. Follow the official sign-up process for services you decide to use.
Make a small source list that says what each service covers. Include any arrangements for receiving information in a format that works for you or someone you support. Keeping a list is useful even when you do not need to buy any equipment.
Have a plan for a connection outage.
Phone and broadband outages can change how you contact people and receive updates. Write down important details and speak to your provider if you depend on a landline, telecare service or another connected device.
Consider a battery-powered or wind-up radio and identify the stations you normally use for news. Check the actual reception bands and power options of a listing. An internet-only service is a different dependency from a radio that receives broadcast signals.
Read headlines with their context.
Before passing on an update, look for its publisher, date, location and the action it actually describes. A report about another area or an earlier incident may be accurate but irrelevant to your immediate circumstances.
Our automatic article list shows source links and dates so you can make that check. Open the original article rather than treating a headline as complete instructions. For an active incident, the current message from the relevant authorities takes priority over a saved article.
Stay connected with your community safely.
Agree sensible ways to check on people you already know and share verified information. The campaign’s community guidance explains how local groups can help through organised arrangements.
Do not travel to an incident or turn up to volunteer without an official request. Choose a useful role within your own circumstances: checking a source, passing on an agreed message or helping someone access the official information they need.
Sources & editorial notes
This is Be Readyford’s independent planning and shopping guidance. Sources were checked on 12 Nov 2026; use the official publisher for current instructions. Equipment links are shopping information, not medical advice.
- Be Ready: alerts and warnings ↗
- Be Ready: power cuts ↗
- Be Ready: play your part in your community ↗
- Be Ready: official hazards and emergencies library ↗
Contains public-sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Government source material: © Crown copyright.
For immediate danger, call 999. Be Readyford is not an emergency alert service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the UK government.