Swindon Borough Council has published new practical emergency‑preparedness guidance in February 2026 to help residents of Swindon prepare for incidents such as flooding or power cuts. The online advice sets out clear, practical steps households can take to protect family members, pets and important documents during extreme weather or utility failures.
The council is urging households to build a home emergency kit and, in line with the national Prepare campaign, to consider keeping around three days’ worth of food and water. The guidance also tells residents to learn where their water stopcock, gas isolation point and fuse box are so they can safely turn off supplies if needed during a utility emergency.
Local residents can check flood warnings and real‑time risk information via the Environment Agency (for example, at check‑for‑flooding.service.gov.uk), with particular attention advised for higher‑risk areas identified by local resilience planners such as Rodbourne (near the River Ray) and Covingham (near the River Cole). The advice forms part of a wider effort by Wiltshire & Swindon Prepared to encourage households to be self‑sufficient for the first 72 hours of a local crisis.
For anyone who may need extra help, the guidance explains how to register for the Priority Services Register (a free service run by utility providers to offer additional support during outages) and includes basic health, hygiene and first‑aid information. It also points residents to community hubs called Welcome Spaces — council or community venues intended for people to visit, feel safe, and find shade in hot weather or warmth in cold weather — which may be used during longer incidents such as extended power cuts.
The Swindon update builds on the national Prepare campaign and aims to make emergency planning a routine part of home safety. Council materials say the overall goal is to ensure every household has a simple plan so families know what to do if the unexpected happens.
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