A major exercise is taking place this week that will test the response to a large flooding incident along the whole of the River Trent, the third longest river in the country.
The scenario will test how the Environment Agency, emergency services, councils, government departments, utility companies, the Met office and the military exchange information, provide aid and test local and regional emergency plans.
The exercise is based on a long period of wet weather that has saturated the region, followed by an intense storm which causes significant flooding.
Local Resilience Forums from Staffordshire to Humberside will be involved alongside Strategic and Tactical co-ordination groups, with the Environment Agency injecting scenarios along the way to keep everyone focused and ensure it challenges those involved.
Paul Lockhart, East Midlands Flood Risk Manager at the Environment Agency said:
We don’t get second chances during a major flooding incident so it is essential that we test our response through exercises like this one, to make sure every organisation can work together to do everything possible for communities when we are faced with the real thing.
We appreciate that major flooding events don’t take place regularly and therefore many people often don’t think about the potential consequences. It is great for the public to know that so many organisations will be looking out for them if the worst happened, but whilst we can reduce the risk of flooding, major weather events do occur which test flood defences.
Flooding is dangerous and can happen very quickly. The effects can be devastating. There are a number of things you can do to prepare for flooding to keep yourself and your family safe. Find out if your home is at risk, sign up for flood warnings and be ready to take action. Visit www.gov.uk/flood or call Floodline on 0345 988 1188.
Learning from the exercise will be used to shape how organisations respond to a major flooding incident on the River Trent in the future.