There will be an emergency exercise held on Sat 5 October to test the community preparedness for flooding in Keswick.
The emergency volunteers will set up a control centre at the town hall with Allerdale Borough Council setting up a reception centre at St Herbert’s School. The environment agency are taking the opportunity to test the flood gates in the town and checking likely problem areas as part of the Exercise and local people are encouraged to test their own household flood defences on that day.
Following the floods of December 2015 when so many people in the town came out to help each other, the Community Emergency Plan has been reviewed and refined to enable the town to be as ready as possible for another emergency. With over 80 volunteers now to provide assistance, the emergency exercise is part of the annual training programme for volunteers.
Heather Askew, Project Manager said “this exercise is an opportunity for our volunteers to get a feel for what might happen in a flood situation, and we’re really pleased that the statutory agencies are able to join us on the day, it’s a real benefit for us to work with them through an emergency scenario. As much as we all hope we won’t be affected by flooding again, we also want to be ready if it does hit.
We are also encouraging households to consider their own preparations for winter, think about having a practice with your floodgates, make sure you are registered for flood alerts, think about where you could go, if you have to evacuate.”
For more information about volunteering contact Heather Askew, Project Manager, [email protected] telephone 017687 80826.
