Emergencies can come in many different guises, from blocked roads to floods, from power cuts to pandemics, and more. Here you'll find a guide to some basic preparations.

In the home, it's a good idea to have an "emergency kit", including a torch & batteries, a first aid kit, battery-powered radio, power bank (for charging items like phones). With battery radios & powerbanks recharged periodically so that they are available when needed! 

Is your house insured? And could you find the documents or claims phone numbers if you needed them? If you had to leave your home in a hurry, could you lay your hands on other important documents like passports or identity documents?

You can find comprehensive guidance on being prepared on government websites for the UK, for Scotland and even the US, including advice and checklists home emergency kits.

Scottish & Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) is responsible for delivering power across the Highlands (as well as elsewhere). They have advice on emergency planning on their website, as well as managing when there's a power cut. In particular, when planning ahead:

• their Home Emergency Plan is very helpful (for more than just power cuts!)
• download their PowerTrack app which shows outages and their status
• add their emergency phone number to your contacts: 105
• if you or someone you know might need extra support during a power cut, you can sign up to their free priority services register in advance
• if you know a storm is coming, immediate preparations include charging phones, power banks and electric cars