Extreme hot weather exercising – LCEP report
In 2024/25, the Greater London Authority (GLA) funded a project, part of the larger Exercise Helios, to support community groups to prepare for extreme heat by taking part in exercising and then sharing learnings.
The exercise involved a scenario set in London in 2030, with temperatures reaching 41 – 43.6˚C, triggering power outages, wildfires and rising fatalities. Participants were provided with mock alerts from relevant agencies and a range of questions and activities to address cross-cutting themes.
The London Communities Emergencies Partnership (LCEP) have written a report using feedback collected to assess the project’s impact and effectiveness. They found that:
100%
of participants agreed they had a better understanding of the roles and responsibilities of community members and volunteers, before during and after an emergency.
100%
of participants agreed that as a result of participating in the workshop, they recognise the importance of community involvement in emergency preparedness.
90%
of participants agreed they are now more willing to take action before, during and after an emergency.
Many felt that the exercise had been a positive learning experience, with key lessons including:
1
The importance of weather awareness, heatwave action plans and robust communication methods to share this information.
2
The need for cross sector working, collaboration and strong partnerships between public and voluntary and community sector organisations.
3
The need for practical strategies that support vulnerable residents.
Interested in more opportunities to take part in exercising? The Emergencies Partnership has two upcoming events.
Wednesday 25 June - 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM.
Train the Trainer - Scenario exercising
In July 2024 we ran a session on train the trainer exercising, designed to give you all the tools to facilitate your own exercise in-house, within your networks or across geographical areas.
Following requests, we are repeating this session again, with smaller groups in a workshop format where we will cover the fundamentals of setting up an exercise, designing and tailoring resources and preparing a plan to deliver your exercise.
Register here. *Please note* Places are limited to 25.
Tuesday 15 July - 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM.
Partnership in Practice: Scenario exercise – Communications in emergencies
We will be running an online scenario exercise based on testing communications in emergencies. The aim is to bring partners together to work through a situation to build connections, test information flow, reduce duplication and consider how we support those most impacted in an emergency.
We welcome all partners to join us regardless of their experience in exercising.