professionals - floods - preparedness

e-Learning in FloodsProfessionals

PreparednessIn the following you will be presented with information on:• How to plan• How to prepare• How to train and exercise for a natural disaster• How members of the public will be informed of a forthcoming or on-

going natural disaster

e-Learning for the Prevention, Preparedness and Response to Natural Disasters

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Plan and prepareWithin the last few years, Europe has experienced an increasing amount of flooding in relation to cloudburst, long-lasting rain and hurricanes. This can have severe consequences. According to recent climate change reports there will be more flooding in the future. This requires that you as a professional must prepare and plan for such an incident. To do that, you must be able to recognise an imminent flooding incident.


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Plan and prepareHow can you know that flooding is coming?• The Meteorological Office or “Met Office” www.metoffice.gov.uk

sends out warnings when the weather is likely to pose a threat to the traffic, environment and humans. The warnings could be in relation to storms, rising sea levels, heavy snow etc. The warning system from the Met Office is able to give warnings to the individual areas of the UK.

• The Met Office is able to forecast days in advance when flooding due to a rise in river or sea level caused by storms and hurricanes is imminent. This gives the Fire and Rescue Services the capability of preparing in advance.


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http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/

Plan and prepareYou can combine the weather information available for you with information from the European warning website, which warns about dangerous weather in Europe; www.meteoalarm.eu.These information sources can be good to compare with the local weather forecast to get an overall picture of the situation.


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http://www.meteoalarm.eu/

Plan and prepareSome weather phenomena can be difficult to foresee. For example this could be cloudbursts. It is difficult to foresee where they may hit and how severe they may be.


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Plan and prepareGIS (Geographic Information System) maps are a valuable aid to be able to prepare a response. By the use of GIS you can precisely see which areas may be affected at a given water level on the basis of the warning from the Met Office. This means that you are able to initiate the right response, at the right spot, in the right order. This can be done days in advance, before the water is coming e.g. by laying of sandbags on weak spots.


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Plan and prepareHow to prepare?Handling a flood is a complex task to undertake, it demands that you are prepared even before the flooding hits. This can be done by being aware of the things you can and should do and prepare accordingly.


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On a local plan you might have local flood groups that are familiar with the possible affected areas. They should be contacted to collect information on the state of the area and flood defences and whether they are intact. At the same time, you might be able to use their help on site as observers who can report back regarding the condition at their locations during the incident. In most cases the flood groups will activate themselves.

Plan and prepareOther agencies to contact could be harbour masters and others with the opportunity to observe the situation, possibly by fixed measurements stations to measure the water level. Water companies are other important stakeholders with the knowledge of catchment basins, streams etc., the amount of water which they are able to deal with and where there might be problems with ponded water.


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Plan and prepareAt an early stage you should consider which kind of equipment and materials you have in your Fire and Rescue Service and what you would need. Appropriate for this kind of response could be personal protective equipment (PPE), boats for evacuation in flooded areas, lines, sandbags etc.


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Plan and prepareThe personnel working with evacuation and rescue of people trapped in the water should be educated to operate in the environment. This demands continuously training personnel to integrate the techniques and points of attention that are important in this type of incident.


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The things you need to learn are:• Searching techniques• Writing log• Dealing with boats• Personal protection equipment

(PPE)• Dealing with evacuees• Working in water• Decontamination

Train and exerciseHow to exercise?The type of exercises needed depends on which material resources you, as a Fire and Rescue Service, have for the purpose and which type of scenario you might have identified in your risk assessment for your area .

Some Fire and Rescue Services may only have a need to exercise in dealing with boats where for others, they might have equipment for personnel to walk in the water; the exercises need to be specific to their identified risks.


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Train and exerciseFor others it may only be a question of reinforcing weak spots with sandbags and then pumping the water away, which should be a part of the exercise activity.An important base of learning would be education in hydrology (the doctrine of water).


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EquipmentHere you can learn about current practice to be aware of, how to work in water, how to deal with contamination of persons and equipment, first aid and contact with trapped persons. What equipment do you need?The equipment needed depends on the individual Fire and Rescue Service based on the experiences and challenges they have in their area. It is difficult to standardise the type of equipment needed, but the following are some of the key items you should have to be able to deal with pumping tasks, rescue of people, equipment for personnel and equipment for cleaning.


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Equipment• Sandbags• Watertubes

• Rescue boats/sleds• Drysuits for personnel

• Life jackets• Waders• Decontamination material (foul

water from the sewer, fuel etc.)

• Mobile pumping systems• Generators• Lights


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Other agenciesWhich other agencies to be in contact with?An important factor is contact with local businesses and voluntary groups that might play an important role during the response. In the UK the Environment Agency have a key role in flooding situations.You should make an agreement with these, so they are ready for a response and you don’t need to be concerned, during the response, about who can help and how.

The businesses and agencies which may be needed could be:• Hauliers (trucks, bulldozers etc.)

• Quarries

• Construction market• Supermarket (catering and other

necessities for evacuees and response personnel)

• Sports hall and Schools• Voluntary sector


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AwarenessWhat to expect and be aware of in the preparation phase regarding personnel?The preparation phase can be a long-lasting and hard process, as it often is long sections of low-lying coastlines, rivers and harbours that need reinforcement with sandbags, watertubes or other material that should prevent water entering buildings, flooding businesses or residential areas and infrastructure.This process demands that, from the outset, you ensure that there is the required number of people to do the tasks. Compared to the more modern barriers, such as e.g. watertubes, which can be set up with the use of only a few people and within few hours, experience shows that the old method with sandbags demands a lot of personnel and time.


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AwarenessWhat to expect and be aware of in the preparation phase regarding the personnel?It is important to make sure that the personnel get enough rest breaks along the way, as the preparation and response phase can extend over several days. It can be physically hard work with the sandbags or if you need to go out in the water to rescue people out of flooded areas. It demands an extensive logistic overview to secure the supply of fresh personnel. This can be met by having a contingency plan about how many people you can bring in and where and how long they can work before they get replaced by a new team.


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CateringHow to prepare catering?Catering for a lot of people, who will be working for a lot of hours, must be coordinated early in the process as, if it hasn’t been prepared and activated, could be an issue that prevents and even stops a long-lasting response,.It is optimal to activate if you have a catering unit, to make sure they keep the personnel running with everything from tea and coffee to a hot meal.


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CommunicationHow to communicate with the citizens?• An important part of the process is also information to the citizens. Social

media and local authority websites can play an important role in the information process. Citizens will look for information where it is possible to see if they live in an exposed area and in general to follow the situation.

• It has been shown to be very effective with direct communication from the local authority website. Key information can be coordinated and passed on, instead of every agency involved in the process individually communicating their own information.

• The different authorities must of course have the possibility of updating through their own website how the situation is from their point of view, with a reference to the local authority website responsible for coordinating the information.


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CommunicationHow to communicate with the citizens?Information for citizens can also be done by delivering information pamphlets in the areas you know are exposed. You can also host a briefing from the Fire and Rescue Service or other agencies, so you have prepared the citizens before a potential flooding incident hits the area.


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Power cutsDuring a flooding incident, there is a risk of power cuts. This could be due to water in electrical supplies.You need to be prepared to handle this.The following is some advice you can use both as a fire and rescue service, but also for the people in your community on how to prepare.


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Power cutsPreparing for a power cut:• Keep your energy supplier’s emergency number

handy - 105 – Store the number on your mobile phone. Your supplier’s Emergency Team should be available 24 hours a day. Advise the citizens in your community of this number to also have the number in the contact list of their Home Emergency Plan (and to always have a paper copy of this handy).

• Make sure to have an emergency generator to power vital functions, such as an emergency control centre.

• Advise citizens to consider the Priority Services Register – If they have any special requirements, i.e. medical equipment, then they should contact their energy supplier about joining their Priority Services Register.


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• Keep a torch in a convenient place – Keep a battery powered or wind-up torch handy and ensure that everyone in the household/office knows where it is.

• Keep your home phone charged – Many modern phones require mains electricity to work. Have a mobile phone handy and consider purchasing a portable charger to keep it charged. Also consider buying an analogue telephone as a back-up.

• Have a radio handy – Keep a battery powered or wind-up radio handy, as you may be able to receive updates via your local radio station. If practical have a two way radio system to maintain contact with colleagues during a response.

• Have warm clothes and blankets at the ready – You may lose your main source of heating. Consider buying a portable heater.

Power cuts• Plenty of food & water – Keep some food that does

not require cooking and have some bottled water handy.

• Back up your data files – regularly back-up work and important files on your computer. You don’t want to lose it all during a power cut.

• Make sure you have enough fuel in emergency vehicles. Try to keep your vehicle’s fuel tank at least half full. Service stations may not be able to pump fuel during a power outage.

• Advise the community to check their medical equipment – If they use electrically powered medical equipment in their home, ensure the equipment has a battery back-up.

• If you or someone in the community have a mains operated stair lift, check that it has a battery back-up. If it doesn’t, make enquiries to have one fitted. Also check if there is a manual release to return the lift to ground level.


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This educational resource has been produced by the partners of the e-PPR Project (e-Learning for the Prevention, Preparedness andResponse to Natural Disasters) with the support of the Erasmus+ programme.

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professionals - floods - preparedness

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