We have plans in place to work with the emergency services, the Environment Agency, the military and voluntary agencies to respond and recover from major incidents.
We must keep main council services running and co-ordinate what voluntary groups do to help.
What to do in an emergency
- to report an emergency incident, contact the emergency services immediately on telephone: 999
- do not report emergencies directly to the council
Find out more about what to do in an emergency via the North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum (NYLRF) or download our 'R U prepared?' booklet for information about how to keep you and your family safe.
Major incidents
Major incidents can occur at any time and we have a variety of plans to respond in partnership with emergency services, local authorities and a variety of other North Yorkshire agencies.
Major incidents may include:
- natural disasters, for example, floods
- pollution
- terrorism
Find out about our Major Incident Response Team (MIRT).
Emergency plans
If the emergency services advise us of a major incident, we can implement a variety of different plans.
These plans say how we'll co-ordinate:
- road diversions
- equipment needed to tackle the incident
- centres for you to go to if you cannot get home
- temporary mortuaries
Our plans also include how we let people know what's happened. A hotline number will be advertised in the local press, TV and radio, if necessary.
City centre evacuation plan
Our City Centre Evacuation Plan (CCEP) is designed to help us (together with the emergency services) to manage an orderly evacuation of part, or all, of the area within the city walls, during a major incident.
City centre access for vehicles
To improve the safety of businesses, residents and visitors in York, we’ve recently reviewed our city centre access for vehicles and introduced new vehicle restrictions.
Emergency contact details
If you wish to contact City of York Council to report a current emergency situation, please do not contact the Emergency Planning Team.
You can report problems online using our eforms. Emergency issues will be dealt with as a priority.
Get information on how to contact us out of hours to report emergency issues.