Q and A with Fenland Council today about the floods at the weekend. Editor John Elworfthy emailed FDC at 8.30am with series of question and their press officer John Carey replied at 5.45pm John, Here are the answers to your specific questions. I’ve added a couple of general points which are important to bear in mind as part of the overall context. You’ll also see that at the end I’ve also added a couple of extra things we are doing/offering as part of the clean-up. John ANSWERS: Two general points: 1) Our full Emergency Plan kicks in when an emergency/major incident is declared by one of the emergency services. This was not officially declared an emergency/major incident. However, there were regular coordinated meetings involving the emergency services, FDC and Cambs CC throughout Friday afternoon/evening and Saturday morning 2) Friday’s rain was truly exceptional – nobody in March had seen anything like it before. There was no suggestion from the Met Office in advance warning of the sort of rainfall we experienced. (There was a ‘Yellow Warning’ – but such warnings are issued frequently without the level of rainfall experienced on Friday.) Your specific questions: When did Fenland Council first respond to Friday’s severe flooding in March? We had a call from the police in mid-afternoon telling us to be on standby to help deal with flooding. Our primary role in incidents of this sort is to provide temporary accommodation for anyone who needs it. So we immediately set about activating plans to open a rest centre and pull together the resources to manage that. That is our primary role in incidents of this kind. We identified St John’s Church Hall in Queens Street and organised staff to manage it, together with volunteers from the church What resource was committed? Staff were provided to manage the centre. Refreshments were provided and provision made to provide bedding if necessary. Did FDC help with the evacuation of relocation of any residents to rest centre? We followed the guidance we were given by the police. Police and fire service directed affected residents to the rest centre. How was the rest centre availability publicised and what hours did it operate from and to? The centre was open from 4.30pm on Friday to 6.30am on Saturday. The police and fire service advised affected residents to go there if necessary. We gave details of the rest centre to the Cambs Times and BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, both of whom sent reporters along. Local Members were also advised that it was open so that they could inform residents if approached. Staff remained at the centre overnight although no residents opted to stay overnight. Were FDC workmen involved in any assistance with road closures? Yes – Streetscene officer assisted with the closure at Nene Parade Were FDC workmen involved in assisting to clear overflowing drains caused by flood waters? No – this is the responsibility of Cambridgeshire County Council as the Highways Authority and Anglian Water as the Sewerage Authority, depending on the drainage system in question. What emergency contact numbers were made available (and how were they publicised) to help people in the aftermath of Friday’s flooding: Emergency contact numbers are available on our website. They are also contained in leaflets available in the one-stop shop. FDC says it “sometimes have to prioritise our resources” in the event of an emergency- did FDC treat Friday as an “emergency” and therefore what resources were (and are) being deployed? This wasn’t declared an “emergency”/major incident. That would be declared by the emergency services and we take our lead from them. Our Emergency Plan procedures kick in when the emergency/major incident is declared. What stock does FDC hold of sandbags? FDC says its policy is to “use our stock of pre-filled sandbags to assist the Environment Agency at strategic locations where sandbags would be more effectively used”. Did this happen? We carry a very limited stock of sandbags in Wisbech, especially to mitigate against a tidal surge/flood risk there. But we do not provide sandbags ourselves. FDC says they will “endeavour to assist our residents before, during, and after a flooding event if at all possible. This is largely dependent on the scale and nature of the flooding and if it is classed as an emergency.” Was this classed as an emergency? This wasn’t declared an emergency (see above). However, we provided the rest centre. General advice is available on our website and in leaflets available in the shops, which were open on Saturday morning. We have helped to set up the flood warden scheme in Whittlesey and are also helping to establish one in Wisbech. We have also worked with parish councils to develop resilience within the villages and rural communities. As with any incident of this kind, we are evaluating our response and determining what further improvements may be necessary in the way we deal with any similar event in the future. Meanwhile, we are going to inspect all the streets in March that have been affected and use a street sweeper and washer to cleanse the highway and pavement where this is necessary. Also, we are offering help to people whose properties have suffered water damage. Where they can’t make other arrangements with their insurance companies, we will remove affected items such as furniture and carpets through our bulky waste collection service for free for a two-week period. J. John Carey Press and PR Officer Fenland District Council Telephone: 01354 622226 (direct line) or 07717 866953 (mobile) From: Elworthy, John [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 11 August 2014 09:01 To: John Carey Cc: John (Cllr) Clark; Fred (Cllr) Yeulett; Kit (Cllr) Owen; Jan (Cllr) French; Paul Medd; Gary Garford; Peter (Cllr) Tunley Subject: Can I please be provided with the following information? When did Fenland Council first respond to Friday’s severe flooding in March? What resource was committed? Did FDC help with the evacuation of relocation of any residents to rest centre? How was the rest centre availability publicised and what hours did it operate from and to? Were FDC workmen involved in any assistance with road closures? Were FDC workmen involved in assisting to clear overflowing drains caused by flood waters? What emergency contact numbers were made available (and how were they publicised) to help people in the aftermath of Friday’s flooding: FDC says it “sometimes have to prioritise our resources” in the event of an emergency- did FDC treat Friday as an “emergency” and therefore what resources were (and are) being deployed? What stock does FDC hold of sandbags? FDC says its policy is to “use our stock of pre-filled sandbags to assist the Environment Agency at strategic locations where sandbags would be more effectively used”. Did this happen? FDC says they will “endeavour to assist our residents before, during, and after a flooding event if at all possible. This is largely dependent on the scale and nature of the flooding and if it is classed as an emergency.” Was this classed as an emergency? John Elworthy Editor Cambs Times/Wisbech Standard/Ely Standard Tel: 01354 661915 (direct) Mob: 07918 691210 @johnelworthy cambstimes24.co.uk wisbechstandard24.co.uk elystandard24.co.uk
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 21:20:37 +0000
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