Sydney residents have been told to prepare a survival bag in case of a serious emergency such as a terrorist attack or a natural disaster.

In a new campaign, the City of Sydney Council is urging people to put together a "go-bag" for emergencies, containing items such as maps, energy bars, a radio, a first aid kit, and important documents.

The council says it is important that people think about the localised effects of emergencies, and prepare a personal plan.

The Council's acting chief executive, Garry Harding, says people need to prepare for a serious incident like a terror attack.

"You can't ignore what's happened overseas, you know we're all aware of that," he said.

"The City of Sydney has done an enormous amount of work in being prepared for an incident like that.

"Things like CCTV cameras - we've expanded our network considerably - by about 50 per cent, so we're doing a lot of work in that area."

But the council's push for emergency survival bags has come under attack from within its own ranks.

Deputy Lord Mayor Chris Harris says the go-bag idea is part of a campaign funded by the Federal Government.

He says it is an example of using "fear politics".

"This is another, yet another campaign, that basically injects more fear into our lives and that's just the way that the Federal Government has operated for many years," he said.

"I'm just disappointed that the City of Sydney has been sucked into something like this."

Story reported by ABC News 20th August 2007