Emergency Flood Plan
Flood Plans can enable a flexible response to problems
caused by flooding. Although barriers may protect potential flood areas from
predictable tidal or storm surges, flooding can occur at any time.
- Prolonged or intensive rainfall
- Rapid snow thaw
- Abnormally high river levels
- Major storms, tidal waves or tsunami
Flood Warnings
A typical flood warning time is around 30 to 60 minutes.
Sample flood warning messages are:
- Flood Alert – Flooding is
possible
- Flood Warning – Flooding
of homes, businesses and main roads is expected
- Severe Flood Warning –
Severe flooding may cause Imminent danger
- All Clear – No Flood
Alerts or Warnings are in force
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
When a flood warning message is received, an Emergency
Manager can alert relevant agencies. Depending upon the scale of potential
flooding, the main difficulties are:
- Care of evacuated, hurt or homeless people
- Protecting of utilities
- Availability of transport
- Flood alleviation e.g. clearing blocked culverts and
drains
- Providing emergency health advice
- Providing road barriers and signs
- Coordinating emergency support
Police
Primary police responsibilities:
- Coordinate emergency services, local authorities, media
etc
- Assist evacuation
- Secure, protect and preserve the scene, and control
traffic
- Organize and disseminate casualty information
- Provisionally identify dead people
- Restore normality
Fire & Rescue Services
Primary fire service responsibilities :
- Rescue trapped casualties
- Control fires, released chemicals and other hazards
- Assess hazards concerning evacuation
- Ensure safety of rescue personnel
- Minimize environmental dangers
- Liaison with ambulance services and medical services
- Recover dead in conjunction with the police
- Stand by during recovery
Ambulance Services
Primary ambulance service responsibilities:
- Save life in conjunction with other emergency services
- Extricate, assist and stabilize injured people
- Provide ambulances, medical staff, equipment and
resources
- Establish effective triage points and systems
- Provide a central point for medical resources
- Provide communication facilities
- Alert receiving hospitals
- Provide transport for medical teams and their equipment
- Arrange transport for injured people
- Maintain emergency cover
Emergency Coordinator
Primary emergency coordination responsibilities:
- Prepare Emergency Plans for local resources and useful
equipment
- Advise residents of flood prone areas to obtain
sandbags
- A single point of contact for information
- Issuing warning messages to local authorities
- Advise on weather, water flow, warnings and evacuation
- Free obstructions to water drainage
- Repair breaches in flood defenses
- Issue media statements
- Issue situation updates
- Deploy sandbags for flood defense
Advice for Public
- FLOOD WARNING: 'GO IN, STAY IN, TUNE IN'
- Stay calm
- Ensure that neighbors know of the warning, and be
prepared to help them
- Keep a list of useful telephone numbers
- Monitor local radio
- Make a flood kit: medications, warm clothing, sealed
food, blankets, matches, candles, flashlights, portable radio, spare
batteries, rubber gloves, personal documents
Personal Flood Plans
- Discuss a plan with family members, friends and
neighbors
- Know how to disconnect gas, electricity and water
supplies
- Know where to move vehicles in an emergency.
- Store valuable property in a raised secure location
- Fill containers with clean water (Avoid using flood
waters or local water)
- Care for the needs of pets and domestic animals
Remember
If you live in a flood risk area, have:
- Sufficient sandbags or other devices to block doors,
ventilators and openings
- Appropriate insurance cover
- Essential sealed foods, as food supplies may become
limited
If evacuated, you may be unable to return to your property
for some time
If Flooding is Imminent
- Turn off electricity and gas
- Move family members, pets and supplies upstairs
Sandbags
- Fill sandbags not more that ¾ full
- Lay them in layers with each row tight to each other,
end to end
- Stamp them down before laying another row on top
- If a wall is more than two sandbags high, place a
double line of bottom sandbags, followed by a second double line, then a
single line on top.
- Make sandbags with compost bags, carrier bags or
pillowcases filled with sand or earth
- Put a plastic sheet down first to act as an extra seal
- Protect all water entry points including air bricks,
air vents and utility openings
- If gas vents are sealed, disconnect any gas supply
- Seals around doors and windows should be made
watertight
- It can take 60 sandbags to correctly seal an external
door
General Health and Safety
- Do not walk, drive or swim through floods.
- Be aware of hidden dips in a road
- Floods often contain sewage - avoid food that may have
been contaminated by floodwater
- Avoid wet electrical equipment
- Ventilate your property as much as possible, while
maintaining security
- If evacuation is necessary follow police advice
Emergency Coaching
| Martyn Carruthers
was a medical technician and served on Royal Navy nuclear
submarines during the Cold War. He was health physics and
safety officer at English and Canadian nuclear power stations, and Radiation
Protection Officer for the Canadian government, where he worked with Public Health
and Emergency Measures organizations. Martyn also founded
Soulwork
Solutions,
a complete system of coaching and mentorship. |
|
