More disaster advice online

The government has put more advice online about how members of the public should deal with major incidents such as natural disasters or terrorist attacks.

The Directgov website now contains information about how you can get more information about someone who you think may have been caught up in a major incident and who to contact if you are affected by an emergency overseas.

In August, the government put the National Risk Register on the Cabinet Office website, which offers advice on how to deal with fuel shortages, disease outbreaks and loss of IT services.

The information on Directgov is intended to offer longer-term support and includes advice about dealing with the media, forming support groups and where to get help and support for psychosocial reactions suffered.

Information about disasters or incidents would also be made available on the Directgov website when they occurred, said the government.

"In the event of a major incident, Directgov's homepage and pages here will be regularly updated to give information about the incident, including who to contact for immediate help and support," a message on the Directgov website reads.

www.direct.gov.uk