Preparing for Emergencies was a public information campaign produced by the Home Office, a department of the

United Kingdom Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

, advising

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

citizens on what to do in the event of a

natural disaster A natural disaster is "the negative impact following an actual occurrence of natural hazard in the event that it significantly harms a community". A natural disaster can cause loss of life or damage property, and typically leaves some econ ...

, accident or

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

. The campaign began on 26 July 2004 in the wake of several major disasters including the

11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings The 2004 Madrid train bombings (also known in Spain as 11M) were a series of coordinated, nearly simultaneous bombings against the Cercanías commuter train system of Madrid, Spain, on the morning of 11 March 2004—three days before Spain's g ...

SARS Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), the first identified strain of the SARS coronavirus species, ''sever ...

and the

2001 UK foot and mouth crisis The outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the United Kingdom in 2001 caused a crisis in British agriculture and tourism. This epizootic saw 2,000 cases of the disease in farms across most of the British countryside. Over 6 million cows and ...

, in the form of a 22-page booklet which covered topics such as transport accidents, health,

foot and mouth disease Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids. The virus causes a high fever lasting two to six days, followe ...

, terrorism and fire safety. The booklet was distributed to all UK households but received some criticism – comparing it to ''

Protect and Survive ''Protect and Survive'' was a public information campaign on civil defence. Produced by the British government between 1974 and 1980, it intended to advise the public on how to protect themselves during a nuclear attack. The campaign compris ...

'', a 1980s series of

public information film Public information films (PIFs) are a series of government-commissioned short films, shown during television advertising breaks in the United Kingdom. The name is sometimes also applied, ''faute de mieux'', to similar films from other countries, ...

s and a booklet that instructed people on how to remain safe from

nuclear war Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a theoretical military conflict or prepared political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conventional warfare, nuclear w ...

. Some sections of the media also accused the government of "scaremongering", although information was provided on topics other than terrorism. Soon after the website accompanying the booklet was launched, a

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...

website under the

URL A Uniform Resource Locator (URL), colloquially termed as a web address, is a reference to a web resource that specifies its location on a computer network and a mechanism for retrieving it. A URL is a specific type of Uniform Resource Identifie ...

br>www.preparingforemergencies.co.uk
was created by English web developer Tom Scott. Said to be from "HM Department of Vague Paranoia", it parodied the seemingly obvious advice given by the booklets, and gave advice such as: "Alien Invasion: Negotiate using

sign language Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with non-manual markers. Sign l ...

, if possible. Failing that, and assuming they aren't armed with futuristic

ray gun A raygun is a science-fiction directed-energy weapon that releases energy, usually with destructive effect.Jeff Prucher, '' Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction,'' Oxford University Press, 2007, page 162 They have variou ...

s, run like hell." The Home Office initially objected to the website, stating that the URL was too similar to that of their own website
www.preparingforemergencies.gov.uk
and demanded the website be taken down. However, after a link to the official website was added, the Home Office conceded the issue, and allowed the site to remain online. Following the original distribution, no more booklets have been produced, although the website was updated with advice on possible

bird flu "Bird Flu" is an urumee melam-dance song by recording artist M.I.A. on her second studio album '' Kala'' (2007). It was released as a digital download in 2006 through XL Recordings under exclusive license to Interscope Records in the US. Cr ...

epidemic An epidemic (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics ...

s and the

7 July 2005 London bombings The 7 July 2005 London bombings, often referred to as 7/7, were a series of four coordinated suicide attacks carried out by Islamic terrorists in London that targeted commuters travelling on the city's public transport system during the mo ...

. In 2011–2012 the website was permanently closed, and official emergency preparedness information for the UK was moved to th
gov.uk
website. As of 2023, the spoof website is still online.

Logo

The components of the logo are used to indicate resources or actions to follow during an emergency. From left to right, they are: *"i" on blue background - Information *"999" on purple background - What to do in an emergency (Emergency Services) *Right arrow on green background - Go in *Lock on red background - Stay in *Dash on yellow background - Tune in (to local radio or television) *Cross on turquoise background - Administer

first aid First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with either a minor or serious illness or injury, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery. It includes initial in ...

The logo is still used by local government organizations giving information on civil defense. The development of the logo cost £17,000 in 2004.

References

External links

Preparing for Emergencies
- current advice

- archive of the website from

The National Archives (United Kingdom) , type = Non-ministerial department , seal = , nativename = , logo = Logo_of_The_National_Archives_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg , logo_width = 150px , logo_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , dissolved = , superseding = , juris ...

from September 2012, shortly before

Directgov Directgov was the British government's digital service for people in the United Kingdom, which from 2004 provided a single point of access to public sector information and services. The site's portal was replaced (along with the Business Link po ...

was replaced by gov.uk
The Preparing for Emergencies booklet
- archive at The National Archives Emergency management in the United Kingdom

Logo

See also

References

External links