Organisations thanked over response to recent flooding across Northamptonshire
Over 200 flood related calls came into Northants Fire Service over 5 days.
Organisations involved in responding to the recent flooding across Northamptonshire are thanking everyone who stepped in to help.
The county saw three times the average monthly rainfall - the highest September rainfall since records began with almost 15cm of rain compared with an average of around 6cm.
Most of this fell between Saturday 21 and Thursday 26 September.
As a result, residential and business properties were flooded, as were some schools and several caravan parks including Billing Aquadrome and Cogenhoe Mill Holiday Park and Yarwell Mill Caravan Park.
Following evacuation from some of these properties voluntary organisations, particularly British Red Cross, 4x4 Response, Re:ACT and Rapid Response Team, stepped in to support.
Ben Thornely, Area Flood and Coastal Risk Manager for the Environment Agency said:
“Flooding has a devastating impact on those affected – we encourage property owners and businesses to sign up for the free flood warning service which will alert them to take action.
“Visit the Gov.uk website and search ‘flood’ where communities can also find out how to become more resilient, what to do before, during and after a flood and view the current Flood Warnings and river levels.”
Cllr Adam Brown, Leader of West Northamptonshire Council said:
“The volunteers have been amazing, helping us staff a reception centre for those who were displaced and making sure everyone was well looked after.
“I would also like to thank our amazing staff and partners who worked around the clock to ensure support was available for our communities when they needed it most.”
Cllr Jason Smithers, Leader of North Northamptonshire Council said:
“We saw an incredible amount of rainfall hit our county in a very short space of time which had a significant impact on some of our communities.
“The incredible response from volunteers, staff and partners to help deal with situation was amazing and I’d like to thank everyone who helped.”
Organisations from across the Northamptonshire Local Resilience Forum (LRF) came together to deal with the issues. Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service led the initial approach, with support from West and North Northamptonshire Councils, Northamptonshire Police, the Environment Agency and the Met Office, Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board, the East Midlands Ambulance Service, and Meadow Bay Villages which owns Billing Aquadrome.
Northants Fire Service say they had over 200 flood related calls and responded to more than 70 over 5 days.
Area Commander Mick Berry, Head of Response for Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue said:
“Last week was an incredibly busy one for us as a Fire Service, but we worked closely with partner agencies to make sure we had sufficient resources in place to deal with a large number of flood related incidents.
“I want to pay tribute to the hard work and dedication of our firefighters, fire staff and control room, as well as volunteer colleagues at Northants Search and Rescue, for their response so far.
“We would encourage members of the public to stay safe and continue to follow safety advice on social media.”
Northamptonshire Police Chief Superintendent Chris Hillery said:
“The last week has shown again how well we work together in responding to this type of flooding, and I want to thank those people who have followed all the advice that’s been shared.
“I would also like to thank the people who have been part of the response, including Northamptonshire Search and Rescue who have helped to keep people safe in such difficult circumstances.”
Residents across Northamptonshire are urged to sign up for flood alerts.