কেন্ট কমিউনিটি রিস্ক রেজিস্টার 

Accidental and system failure risks

Loss of a port

 

The loss of a port in Kent an Medway could be due to an infrastructure or transport failure, severe weather, a counter-terrorism incident or a no-notice border closure.

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This risk is the primary impact of the loss of the strategic road network and the KRF has extensive plans in place to manage this risk.

 

Loss of the strategic road network

 

The reasonable worst case scenario will see all major, minor and local roads becoming congested with traffic diverting to alternative routes. The ability for essential services, including blue light operations, health and social care provisions will be significantly impacted. Kent's strategic roads are M20 and M2, providing access to the ports.

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KRF work together with National Highways and local highways to ensure plans for managing the flow through the gateway to Europe are tested and the infrastructure is suitable for ensuring that the county keeps moving during times of disruption and local community disruption is kept to a minimum.

 

Failure of electricity network

 

This scenario involves a total failure of the national electricity transmission network lasting up to 5 days, with potential for some areas to remain without power for up to 14 days. Power stations require an amount of power to carry out the generation process. In the event of a full loss of power it would be necessary to manually restart many power stations using an external input of power. This is a well rehearsed process, however it would take some time to implement and restore full power generation to the UK.

 

Demand for power is highest during the winter so this is considered within the assessment. Whilst this risk is technically feasible, it has never previously occurred and numerous control measures are in place to prevent it from happening. In this scenario and smaller scale disruptions, it may be necessary to implement 'rota disconnections' to ration the power that it available. In this case customers would have scheduled periods without power. Emergency services have arrangements in place to ensure they can continue to operate without power for extended periods of time.

 

Disease risks

 

Pandemics - Influenza and Covid 19

 

Infectious diseases can have a significant health impact, particularly on those with existing health conditions and can cause a strain on the health sector.

 

New pandemic viruses spreads rapidly causing worldwide impacts. It generally occurs when a new strain emerges for which there is no current vaccination.

 

It is unlikely that a pandemic would originate in the UK, however due to the nature of international travel the UK will be at risk. The World Health Organisation maintains constant international surveillance to monitor and track any emerging outbreaks.

 

Symptoms will vary depending on the nature of the strain, however commonly include headache, fever, cough, sore throat and aching muscles and joints. The most common secondary complications from influenza are bronchitis and secondary bacterial pneumonia. More details can be located on the NHS website. 

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Visit our infectious diseases advice pages

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