When Crisis Hits Report

CONTENTS Executive summary 2 Foreword from British Red Cross 3 Foreword from Aviva 4 Section 1: Emergency response in the UK 5 Section 2: Community spirit and the desire to help 7 Section 3: Community preparedness for crisis 9 Section 4: Harnessing the power of kindness in a crisis 12 Appendix 14 Supported by

Executive summary Crisis can happen anywhere at any time. This report – bringing together British Red Cross emergency response data and research with over 4,000 UK adults – shows how prevalent emergencies are in the UK and that we need to do more to harness the public’s desire to get involved in responding to them. The community reserve volunteer programme is a new opportunity for the public to make a difference during an emergency like a flood or fire. It’s quick and easy to sign up online and community reserve volunteers will be contacted oss. by text if there is an emergency in their community that they could help with. Specialist skills aren’t required and training is provided at the scene. don/British Red Cr ek Gor The British Red Cross has teamed up with Aviva for a three-year partnership, including the Photo © Der community reserve volunteer initiative. We want to build a network of 10,000 volunteers across the Community preparedness for crisis UK who can be called upon to help in a crisis. - The public recognises the likelihood of an Emergency response in the UK emergency in their community and a need to - In 2017 the British Red Cross responded be more prepared. to approximately 1,500 emergencies across - Most people who have experienced an the UK. emergency felt they could have offered more - Recent extreme weather incidents such as support but didn’t know how (66%). Storm Eleanor and the Beast from the East Harnessing the power of kindness in a crisis show there is a real need for support from - Effective emergency response needs to be the public in emergency response. human-centred, focussing on individuals Community spirit and the desire to help and communities. - When disaster strikes communities want to - Organisations like the British Red Cross and play a part and small acts of kindness can Aviva can help to connect people in a crisis. make a difference to people in need. To learn more about the community - The majority of people (88%) would want to reserve volunteer scheme and how to help if an emergency happened in their area. sign up, visit redcross.org.uk/reserves Copyright © 2018 Any part of this publication may be cited, translated into other languages or adapted to meet the local needs without prior permission of the British Red Cross, provided that the source is clearly stated. For any questions about this report please contact [email protected] 2

Foreword from British Red Cross Disaster can strike anywhere at any time. The British Red Cross is known for its work in international emergencies, but many people aren’t aware that the Red Cross responds to an emergency every four hours here in the UK. From domestic fires, to extreme weather and floods, to national emergencies including terror attacks – in 2017 our staff and volunteers responded to almost 1,500 incidents spanning the length and breadth of the UK. Last year we faced an unprecedented number 10,000 community reserve volunteers across of major emergencies. The Westminster attack, the UK by the end of 2019. Manchester bombing and London Bridge It’s quick and easy to sign up online and attack, closely followed by the Grenfell Tower community reserve volunteers will be fire and Finsbury Park attack, devastated contacted by text if there is an emergency families across the country and made 2017 in their community that they could help with. one of the most demanding years for the This national network of volunteers could British Red Cross since World War Two. help take the pressure off local emergency While these incidents brought tragedy to services, local authorities and British Red so many people, last year we also saw Cross emergency response teams by remarkable acts of kindness, as people and undertaking practical, behind-the-scenes businesses rallied to help in any way they tasks specific to each emergency – for could – some supporting their neighbours and example putting together food parcels, local communities, others travelling hundreds blowing up airbeds for rest centres and filling of miles to show solidarity. That strength of sandbags in times of flooding. community spirit is borne out in the research Through this initiative we can put individuals contained in this report. and their communities at the heart of Yet the findings of our research also highlight emergency response, and provide a more that many people don’t feel adequately connected and coordinated way for people to informed about the crises that could happen in show their kindness to those in crisis. their community and don’t know how to help when an emergency occurs. Worryingly, many Mike Adamson people also say they don’t feel confident their Chief Executive of the British Red Cross communities are prepared to cope with large- scale emergencies. When a crisis hits, people often turn up at the scene wanting to help in whatever way they can. To be as effective as possible in an emergency situation, preparation is key, and we want to harness the power of these kind intentions. d. That’s why the British Red Cross, in partnership with Aviva, is committed to strengthening local emergency resilience by creating a taskforce of Photo © Alex Rumfor 3

Foreword from Aviva At Aviva, we understand just how traumatic events like fires and floods can be. We want to go beyond simply paying out claims to fix any damage in the aftermath. We also want to help our customers and their communities prepare for and respond quickly to such crises when they happen. As far as possible, we want to help limit or prevent damage from happening in the first place. Our partnership with the British Red Cross allows us to do just that. This report shows that people are becoming Red Cross, we have provided training to increasingly concerned about emergencies our frontline claims teams to help them better happening in their community. The vast identify and manage the emotional impact of majority would want to get involved and help, major events on the wellbeing of customers yet too many say they would not know where as well as on their own mental health. to start. The majority of those surveyed also No matter how much we prepare, we cannot believe more can be done to improve prevent every crisis. This report highlights local co-operation. just how much people want to be involved So Aviva and the British Red Cross are in helping their neighbours when the worst working together to address some of these happens; it shows that people would in fact concerns and help more communities do take great pride in being able to do so. We more to help themselves. are proud to be involved with the community Aviva has sponsored the British Red Cross reserve volunteers programme to allow many free Emergency app, which sends live more people to make that difference when emergency alerts to people in their local area their community needs it most. so they can prepare. We are also trialling Andy Briggs Community Flood Workshops so emergency Chief Executive Officer, UK Insurance responders and local community members can discuss how to prevent or prepare for a flood, and what would be needed in their area should one hit. We understand that the effects of flooding and other disasters go beyond the physical. Our claims people are often among the first on the scene when major events happen and they can stay with communities for many weeks afterwards to support our customers and help manage claims. Through the British 4

1. Emergency response in the UK The British Red Cross is the UK’s leading emergency response charity, helping communities prepare for, respond to and recover from crises. Thousands of trained emergency response volunteers are ready to provide practical and emotional support at a moment’s notice. We also represent charities in national forums, across all areas of the UK but Londoners such as the National Police Chiefs’ Council civil expressed the greatest concern (63%). contingencies meeting, we chair the National The community reserve volunteer programme Voluntary Sector Civil Protection Working is a new opportunity that allows local people to Group and sit on local multi-agency emergency get involved and make a difference if and when planning forums across the UK. disaster strikes in their area. In 2017 we mobilised hundreds of Proportion of people who have staff and volunteers to respond to witnessed or experienced an almost 1,500 incidents across the emergency in their community length and breadth of the UK. Our emergency response reams assisted more than 9,300 people in situations ranging from fires, to power outages, to flooding and search and rescue operations. It can be easy to assume that emergencies only happen in places far from our own homes. But our research shows that one in five people (21%) in the UK have witnessed or experienced a major emergency in their local area, with severe weather and flooding being the most common. This rises to one in four people in Scotland (27%), Northern Ireland (27%), South West England (27%), and Yorkshire and the Humber (25%). Not only is the UK no stranger to major emergencies such as severe weather and flooding, but our research also indicates that the incidents in London and Manchester last summer have led to a heightened awareness of emergency response in the UK. More than 26+% 21-25% 16-20% 0-15% half of people (53%) feel it’s more likely Source: Reference 1. that their community could experience a To view the data used to create the major incident in the future, following the above map, please see the Appendix . devastating events of 2017. This was common 5

CASE STUDY Pete Thain works at Aviva. He recently attended a British Red Cross simulation exercise in Portreath, Cornwall to test how a community reserve volunteer taskforce would be deployed should a major crisis happen. “The simulation event was brilliant. It was inspiring to meet people who want to spend their time helping their community and making it more resilient if the worst happens. “Doing something like this definitely makes me proud to work for Aviva. I think it’s important for Aviva to support charities like the British Red Cross because the things we do aren’t dissimilar. Aviva helps people to oss. defy uncertainty. When everything goes wrong, we’re there to make sure that it gets put right. That’s what the British Red Cross is doing as well.” 6 Photo © Howie Laws/British Red Cr

2. Community spirit and the desire to help When disaster strikes, small acts of kindness can make a real difference to people in need. The findings from our research show that communities want to pull together when an emergency happens, and local people have a desire to get involved. Communities want to play a part Harnessing the power of communities As part of our research we surveyed 4,000 It’s clear we must do more to harness the power UK adults and asked respondents to what of local people. The public recognises this, with extent they agreed with a number of 92% of people feeling that the events statements on community cohesion during of last year in London and Manchester a crisis. The findings show the extraordinary demonstrate why more should be done strength of community spirit across the UK, to build cooperation and resilience to and the strong desire from individuals to play emergencies within local communities. a bigger role in times of crisis. We believe that crisis response should be Almost nine in ten people (88%) said if an local, with communities empowered to emergency happened in their community prepare for, respond to and recover from they would want to get involved, and emergencies. For example we are expanding of those who had actually experienced an our ability to engage with communities by emergency already, fewer than one in ten (7%) strengthening our community engagement said they did not want to help. approach. More than two thirds of people (68%) feel there is a good sense of community spirit in their area and we need to draw on this in our approach to crisis response. Key findings I would take I would need my When an emergency When an emergency pride in helping my neighbours to help me happens it’s important happens it’s important community recover if a crisis happened in to rally together as a that people know how from an emergency my community community they can help to speed up the recovery . 1 e c n e r e f Re : e c r 90% agree 67% agree 94% agree 94% agree u o S 7

Overall, two thirds of people (66%) who had experienced an emergency said they had Areas where people feel they have helped out in some way. Of those who didn’t, the highest and lowest sense of 26% said it was either because they didn’t community spirit know how to help or they didn’t think they had the right skills. This is further emphasised by the fact that two thirds of people who experienced an emergency felt that there was more that their community could have done to help if they knew how. The community reserve volunteer scheme addresses this by offering people both the opportunity to help and the knowledge to understand what is useful in a coordinated response to an emergency. How people helped when they experienced a crisis 7% 11% 15% 66% Percentage of people who agree that there is a good sense of community spirit in their area: 96-100% 90-95% 86-90% 80-85% Source: . Reference 1 Helped with their local emergency To view the data used to create the above map, please see the . Appendix Wanted to help, but didn’t know how Wanted to help, but didn’t think they had the skills Did not want to help Source: . Reference 1 8

3. Community preparedness for crisis Unlike countries that are more prone to natural disasters that can lead to crisis situations - for example, earthquake zones - the UK does not have a well-developed culture of crisis resilience. Recent events and the increased likelihood of natural disasters due to climate change suggest that the UK ought to develop such a culture. The findings from our research show that the Similar findings are reflected in the responses public is concerned about how they and their of the wider population with more than half of communities respond to major emergencies. people (53%) stating they would not know what We believe that this concern stems from an to do or how to help if disaster struck. absence of clear and tangible ways for people Local people have a critical role to play in to get involved and help build communities that emergency response, but there are some are resilient to crises. significant obstacles stopping people Communities aren’t clear on how they from helping in an emergency situation can respond to emergencies such as not knowing how to help or In our survey of 4,000 UK adults, one in feeling like they don’t have the right five (21%) said they had personally skills to offer. experienced or witnessed a major emergency in their community, with severe More than half of people who had weather, flooding, large scale power outages experienced an emergency felt their and fires being the most common incidents. community was not given enough However, when asked about response to those opportunity to help. emergencies, more than half (56%) felt that people within their community were not given enough opportunity to support. Why people would be put off from helping in a crisis Biggest reasons holding people back from helping in an emergency: Not knowing how I could help 27% Feeling I don’t have the skills 19% Being afraid of doing the wrong thing 18% Not wanting to get in the way 15% Source: Reference 1. 9

As part of our research we asked the public about how well-equipped they felt their Where people in the UK feel community as a whole would be to cope with most and least prepared a range of major incidents, many of which the British Red Cross responded to last year, such as major fires, floods and power outages. Half of people feel their community would be unprepared to cope with a large-scale emergency. The findings show that half of people (50%) feel their community would be unprepared to cope with a large-scale emergency – rising to 58% in the North West where people expressed greatest concern. Interestingly, the findings from our research showed that, across the board, people living in coastal areas – places which are arguably prone to weather-related emergencies – feel more confident to cope with a major incident than people living further inland. What is concerning is that the types of emergencies that at least half of people felt their communities were least prepared for included some of the most common incidents Percentage of people who agree that they that the British Red Cross is called out feel prepared for an emergency to - including fires and flooding, as well as 61+% 51-60% 41-50% 0-40% incidents like evacuations, water outages and gas explosions. Source: Reference 1. To view the data used to create the above map, please see the . Overall, two thirds of people who Appendix experienced an emergency felt that there was more their community could have done to help if they knew how. 10

CASE STUDY Michael Asante, from Winchester, signed up as a community reserve volunteer to begin making steps towards his dream of becoming a police officer. He said: “I liked the idea of helping people and this is something that’s very relevant to what I want to do eventually, as I want to go into policing.” Michael, 21, who is applying for a Masters in Criminology, added: “I think there’s a real satisfaction that comes from helping others. I signed up to become a community reserve volunteer because I wanted some practical, hands on experience of assisting people in crisis.” ew Hasson (UNP). 11 Photo © Andr

4. Harnessing the power of kindness in a crisis Following the significant events of 2017, we are more convinced than ever that effective emergency response is truly human-centred, focussing on the individuals and communities at the heart of an emergency. As the UK’s leading emergency response Recommendations: charity, responding to crises is a core part - The British Red Cross in partnership with Aviva of who we are and what we do. We work feels that more support should be given to to prevent crises from happening; intervene communities in regard to what to do and how early to prevent further unnecessary suffering; to help in a crisis. respond to emergencies; as well as providing - Recruiting 10,000 community reserve support to help people and communities volunteers across the UK will create a vital recover and be more prepared for the future. network of people who can be called upon to We must ensure people in crisis have timely help communities respond to emergencies. and compassionate access to the support - The voluntary sector and statutory services they need in that moment, whether this be should work together to coordinate the practical, emotional or financial. deployment of volunteers using innovative We need simple processes to mobilise initiatives such as our community reserve expressions of human kindness that so volunteers, to support people to help in often follow a crisis, so that individuals the most effective way possible know how they can support in a major local emergency. Whether it is distributing sandbags, or sorting emergency provisions, we all have something to give. Kindness in the community A separate piece of research by the British Red Cross measured levels of kindness in communities across the UK, which could be harnessed in an emergency. Three quarters of UK adults (74%) said that people in their communities are kind to each other and two thirds (67%) said that people in their community look out for each other. The findings also support the desire for localised assistance, as 92% of people said that they appreciate acts of kindness from neighbours or people in their community. This research also demonstrated the role that the British Red Cross could play in mobilising this kindness. More than four in five UK adults (83%) said they would trust British Red Cross to encourage people to use simple acts of kindness to help each other. Source: Reference 3. 12

CASE STUDY Thomas Milburn, 26, signed up as a community reserve volunteer after being assisted by British Red Cross volunteers when he was badly burnt in the Shoreham Air Show disaster in 2015. He said: “I looked up into the sky and this plane was coming straight towards me. The next split second I was engulfed in flames. I thought ‘I’m not sure I’m going to make it out of this alive’. The British Red Cross got me sat down, checked all my vital signs, and made sure I was alright. If I had been away from their help I’d potentially have much more serious injuries. “I know in the aftermath of the crash, the British Red Cross did a lot to help the emergency personnel on the scene. That’s something that people in the community could also help with in those extreme circumstances. “I think the community reserve volunteer initiative is a really great idea because not everyone has the time to volunteer on a weekly or monthly basis but people do want to get involved when something major happens. It’s something that I’ll be proud to help the Red Cross with.” 13 Photo © James Lillywhite

Appendix Data from map on page 5 Proportion of people who have witnessed or experienced major emergencies in their area, by region Major power Gas Missing Major Terror Severe Any Flooding outage Explosion person Fire attack weather Drought Evacuation UK 21% 9% 6% 1% 3% 4% 2% 10% 3% 2% NE England 23% 10% 11% 4% 5% 4% 1% 9% 1% 4% NW England 19% 12% 7% 2% 1% 3% 2% 6% 1% 1% Yorks & Humber 25% 13% 6% 1% 2% 1% 0% 11% 1% 1% E Midlands 13% 6% 3% 2% 1% 3% 0% 5% 1% 1% W Midlands 17% 7% 3% 0% 1% 2% 0% 9% 3% 1% East of England 16% 6% 4% 1% 3% 3% 0% 7% 2% 2% London 23% 10% 7% 3% 5% 8% 7% 11% 7% 7% SE England 21% 9% 5% 1% 2% 3% 1% 8% 3% 1% SW England 27% 10% 9% 0% 3% 4% 1% 17% 5% 0% Wales 18% 7% 3% 2% 3% 2% 1% 14% 2% 0% Scotland 27% 9% 6% 1% 5% 4% 0% 19% 2% 1% N. Ireland 27% 10% 9% 0% 4% 2% 12% 7% 3% 3% n=4,000 Data from map on page 8 Proportion of people who feel there is a good sense of community spirit in their area, by region Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree NET agree NET disagree UK 16% 52% 26% 6% 68% 32% North East 11% 61% 21% 6% 73% 27% North West 16% 45% 30% 9% 61% 39% Yorks & Humber 15% 55% 26% 4% 70% 30% East Midlands 15% 51% 27% 7% 66% 34% West Midlands 14% 51% 27% 8% 65% 35% East of England 15% 50% 29% 5% 65% 35% London 17% 49% 25% 9% 66% 34% South East 13% 52% 29% 7% 65% 35% South West 18% 55% 22% 5% 73% 27% Wales 20% 55% 22% 3% 75% 25% Scotland 22% 55% 18% 5% 77% 23% Northern Ireland 19% 59% 16% 5% 79% 22% n=4,000 14

Data from map on page 10 How prepared do you think your community would be to cope with a large scale emergency (such as a fire or flooding)? Very Very NET NET prepared Prepared Unprepared unprepared prepared unprepared UK 7% 44% 39% 11% 50% 50% North East 6% 57% 30% 8% 63% 37% North West 4% 39% 41% 16% 43% 58% Yorks & Humber 5% 49% 37% 9% 54% 46% East Midlands 4% 43% 44% 9% 47% 53% West Midlands 7% 40% 42% 12% 46% 54% East of England 5% 48% 40% 7% 53% 47% London 12% 38% 38% 12% 50% 50% South East 5% 46% 39% 10% 50% 50% South West 7% 45% 41% 7% 52% 49% Wales 8% 39% 42% 11% 47% 53% Scotland 8% 47% 34% 11% 55% 45% Northern Ireland 9% 46% 27% 18% 55% 45% n=4,000 15

References 1 The British Red Cross commissioned Opinium Research to conduct a survey of 4,000 UK adults, representative of the population. Fieldwork was conducted online between March 9 and 13, 2018. 2 British Red Cross operational data 2017. 3 The British Red Cross commissioned Opinium Research to conduct research online with 2,005 adults. Fieldwork took place between March 29 and April 3, 2018, representative of the population. The British Red Cross helps people in crisis, whoever and wherever they are. We are part of a global voluntary network, responding to conflicts, natural disasters and individual emergencies. We enable vulnerable people in the UK and abroad to prepare for and withstand emergencies in their own communities. And when the crisis is over, we help them to recover and move on with their lives. British Red Cross 44 Moorfields London EC2Y 9AL redcross.org.uk The British Red Cross Society, incorporated by Royal Charter 1908, is a charity registered in England and Wales (220949), Scotland (SC037738) and Isle of Man (0752). Cover photo © Howie Laws/British Red Cross.