FLOOD PLANNING

Tom Oxley, Norwich Union / Aviva

Recently I was in the North Yorkshire town of Boroughbridge where we gathered community representatives and a host of experts to simulate a flood and to see how the town could help itself in the event of rising waters.

More than 40 participants from town councillors to the WI and scout group leaders worked with maps, models and photographs to understand the flood flash-points. Extensive notes were taken on how better planning could reduce the trauma and help people back into their homes more quickly. The findings from the day will add to the existing local emergency plan and be showcased on a website so other communities can follow suit.

Expert agencies included the National Flood Forum, Environment Agency, Red Cross, RAC and a postincident restoration and cleaning organisation. BBC Radio York provided newsflashes which rang out throughout the day, after which a relevant expert was interviewed live, adding colour and drama to proceedings at the local high school.

NU designed, funded and partorganised the event.

Scepticism from the Beeb

The BBC’s Allan Watkiss said: “I found the day useful in terms of recognising the value of local knowledge in dealing with a major incident. It became clear that, while organisations such as the Environment Agency and local authorities can have very detailed plans of what is likely to happen during a flood, local knowledge (even to the extent of ‘that water won’t come into my garden because my next door neighbour’s rockery will divert it two doors down’) has a vital part to play.

“I came away thinking that we need to revise our own plans for how we cover a flooding event to ensure we have lists of key local contacts, such as some of the people at the event on Saturday, so we know quickly who to go to for information during an incident.

“On the downside, I couldn’t help but be sceptical of Norwich Union’s involvement. Shouldn’t planning for a flooding event be done by a public body rather than one with a commercial interest? Was the aim of the day to try and hammer home the message to protect your valuables during a flood - not for the interests of the people who own those valuables, but so Norwich Union can minimise their payouts in the event of a series of claims during a flood?”

Scepticism from the BBC? In some ways he is right. Perhaps such events should be planned by public bodies. But I see it in a different way – that the private sector must lead the way when others do not.

Taking the lead

You see every local authority has an emergency plan of sorts but - and it’s a big but - who knows about it? Who’s been involved in its construction? Who’s got a community crosssection into a hall to simulate a flood and consider the detail? Norwich Union did.

Roy Firth, Contingencies and Resilience at Harrogate Borough Council, said: “Any event that raises awareness within the community of the need to plan at a local level for an emergency is good. What was particularly good about this event was the range of people that it attracted and the learning curve that all participants went through.

 “Although an Emergency Community Plan is in place for Boroughbridge, what was evident from those participating was the number of people who are at risk of having their homes flooded and who did not know the plan existed.

“It was a very useful day that allowed an open and free debate about the concerns of the residents within a controlled environment and professional partners were able to put their messages across. Overall a fun day that engaged local residents and reinforced my thoughts that communications are vital even at a local level, and was well worth participating in.”

visit: www.floodplanuk.org