Community risk register
Low risks
Loss of telecommunications
This scenario involves a full loss of the telecommunications infrastructure with no notice. The disruption could have wide ranging impacts, such as disruption to traffic lights, ATM machines, retail systems, e-mail, the internet and the ability to contact the emergency services. Mobile phones are also reliant on the landline phone infrastructure, so it is likely that this service would be disrupted as well.
This could be caused by a variety of sources, such as fires in key infrastructure, flooding, or human error. The emergency services have plans in place to ensure that they can continue to communicate via a variety of means.
Cyber-attack – government system, banking and retail
The ability to respond to emergencies, interact with partners and the public is all underpinned by digital capabilities. Digital technology presents greater opportunities for collaboration of data sets, economic and social benefits but also poses significant risks to organisations leaving them vulnerable to cyber-attacks resulting in IT infrastructure failures which may impact service delivery of critical activities or a breach of data protection. The global risk report 2020 rated ‘information infrastructure breakdown’ as the sixth most impactful risk from 2020 until 2030.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) defines a cyber security incident as:
· A breach of a system’s security policy in order to affect its integrity or availability
· The unauthorised access or attempted access to a system.
Cyber-attacks cannot be eliminated but can be reduced through cyber security protective mechanisms and appropriate IT and Business Continuity (BC) planning by all business and public.
Visit our cyber security advice page
Structural
Land Movement - earthquake UK
This risk refers to land movements caused by earth tremors and landslides. The geological nature of the KRF area means that significant events of these kind are extremely rare, however minor earth tremors have been known to occur. Damage could include collapsed structures and unsafe buildings, as well as severe impact on the transport system and infrastructure in the affected area.
Industrial action – public transport
This risk relates to the disruption of any public transport service. The loss of public serves will have a significant impact to the movement of the public within Kent and Medway which may leave rural communities and some residence not being able to access essential services.
Links to London and the rest of the UK will result in people either having to work from home or stranded in locations away from home requiring welfare support until alternative transport is sourced.
Influx of British Nationals
This risk relates to a significant number of British Nationals arriving in Kent and Medway from abroad as a result of civil unrest or a sustained terrorism campaign in the country in which they usually reside.
The response to this risk is lead by the Home Office, with local authorities supporting the short-term and long-term humanitarian requirements.