So far this year, the news has been filled with stories of natural disaster, with the scale of the Asian tsunami dwarfing everything previously reported.
In that context, the flooding that affected Cumbria is a small event; as one resident whose home was filled with mud remarked: 'It is hard to consider yourself a victim when there is such a huge disaster as a comparison.'
Nonetheless, floods, gales and fires, even relatively little ones, are enough to give museum directors nightmares.
The fire at Momart last year showed how quickly valuable collections can be destroyed though, luckily, no one was seriously injured. Also last year, most of the picturesque town of Boscastle was damaged by floods, including the Museum of Witchcraft.
Tullie House in Carlisle was the worst affected museum in the most recent British flood, but swift action by staff saved its fine collections (see news p9), which include art, archaeology, geology and historic objects.
It also tested the ingenuity of staff, who were largely unable to contact each other as landlines were swept away and mobile networks failed. Fortunately, many turned up at the museum on the Sunday morning anyway to see if they needed to put their disaster plan into action.
Tullie House demonstrates all the benefits of preparing a good plan, should disaster strike. In the next issue of Museum Practice there is a step-by-step guide to preparing a plan. As Tullie House has found, even the best emergency plan can be improved and one of the ways to do that is to talk to people who have been through a similar experience.
The Museums Association will follow up the MP special with a one-day event about disaster planning in April. And in the next issue of Museums Journal, we will look at the experiences of museums in Dresden, recovering from and learning the lessons from the floods of 2002 and the recent fire in Weimar that damaged part of the national archive.
Of course, we always hope these events won't strike, but as scientists predict increased flooding and unpredictable weather in the future, good planning is essential.
The deliberations about the division of Renaissance money by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council emerged just as Museums Journal was going to press.
How this money will be divided to make sure that the full aims of Renaissance are realised, and in a way that does not leave the phase two hubs as poor relations, remains to be seen.
We intend to carry an in-depth analysis of Renaissance shortly. If you would like to make any comments at this stage, please email me or my deputy Sharon Heal - sharon@museumsassociation.org - making it clear if your comments are for publication or off-the-record.
In that context, the flooding that affected Cumbria is a small event; as one resident whose home was filled with mud remarked: 'It is hard to consider yourself a victim when there is such a huge disaster as a comparison.'
Nonetheless, floods, gales and fires, even relatively little ones, are enough to give museum directors nightmares.
The fire at Momart last year showed how quickly valuable collections can be destroyed though, luckily, no one was seriously injured. Also last year, most of the picturesque town of Boscastle was damaged by floods, including the Museum of Witchcraft.
Tullie House in Carlisle was the worst affected museum in the most recent British flood, but swift action by staff saved its fine collections (see news p9), which include art, archaeology, geology and historic objects.
It also tested the ingenuity of staff, who were largely unable to contact each other as landlines were swept away and mobile networks failed. Fortunately, many turned up at the museum on the Sunday morning anyway to see if they needed to put their disaster plan into action.
Tullie House demonstrates all the benefits of preparing a good plan, should disaster strike. In the next issue of Museum Practice there is a step-by-step guide to preparing a plan. As Tullie House has found, even the best emergency plan can be improved and one of the ways to do that is to talk to people who have been through a similar experience.
The Museums Association will follow up the MP special with a one-day event about disaster planning in April. And in the next issue of Museums Journal, we will look at the experiences of museums in Dresden, recovering from and learning the lessons from the floods of 2002 and the recent fire in Weimar that damaged part of the national archive.
Of course, we always hope these events won't strike, but as scientists predict increased flooding and unpredictable weather in the future, good planning is essential.
The deliberations about the division of Renaissance money by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council emerged just as Museums Journal was going to press.
How this money will be divided to make sure that the full aims of Renaissance are realised, and in a way that does not leave the phase two hubs as poor relations, remains to be seen.
We intend to carry an in-depth analysis of Renaissance shortly. If you would like to make any comments at this stage, please email me or my deputy Sharon Heal - sharon@museumsassociation.org - making it clear if your comments are for publication or off-the-record.
