A flood-hit Somerset town just helped debut a neighbor-powered emergency plan for Britain

In the small town of Ilminster, Somerset, people know what it is like to watch floodwater climb the doorsteps — and what it is like to wade in and help their neighbors through it. This week the town hosted the debut of Ready Together, a new National Emergencies Trust toolkit that turns that kind of neighborly instinct into a practical plan. It gives communities simple steps: run through emergency scenarios together, agree who checks on whom, and let the trusted relationships of a town carry people through floods, fires and other disasters. Prince William joined volunteers, young people and actor Ross Kemp for hands-on drills, visited Sweet Surprise — a café that gives adults with learning disabilities real work and kept feeding neighbors through the floods — and stopped by the local fire station, where crews are learning better ways to forecast wildfire risk. The idea is disarmingly simple: most people want to help in a crisis, but far fewer communities have a plan. This one is built to close that gap.