Working together to beat the floods

Added on Thu 14th Jul 2011 by Charles (Lead Officer)

It is four years since the major floods hit South Warwickshire on Friday 20 July 2007 and emergency services want to make sure we are prepared if this should ever happen again.

One in six properties in the UK is at risk of flooding and this is just one of the many emergencies that Warwickshire’s multi-agencies prepare for under the banner of “Warwickshire Prepared”

Graeme Smith, chief fire officer for Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service and the newly elected chair of a multi-agency group called Warwickshire Local Resilience Forum, explains:

“The Warwickshire Local Resilience Forum consists of all agencies involved with emergency responses in our communities which includes colleagues from Health, Police, Environment Agency, county, district and borough councils to name but a few.

“It is our purpose to try and warn and prepare local communities of any risks that they might be exposed to. For South Warwickshire, flooding is an obvious area that we want to raise, particularly as the anniversary of the floods in July 2007 are now in sight.

One of the ways that local people can help “be prepared” is by logging on to the website which gives the latest news and guides on how people can deal with an emergency and includes some great hints and tips so that people can be organised and know what best actions to take if that emergency strikes. Graeme adds:

“Emergencies usually occur with little or no warning and can happen at anytime and anywhere and can affect basic services and result in a loss of power, gas, water and telephones.

“Floods, fires and explosions could also threaten or damage your property. In extreme cases an emergency can lead to people being evacuated from their homes.

“If you have to evacuate your home you need to know what to have at hand.”