Civil emergencies What will Northumberland County Council do if flooding occurs? The council is actively working towards fulfilling recommendations made within the Pitt Review (2008) through the development of the Northumberland flood action plan. Sandbags in emergencies householders are encouraged to protect themselves against flood risk and there are a number of products available to help protect the property. Sandbags are readily available and there are lots of modern alternatives that are easier to store and expand. For more information, follow: The Environment Agency Kite-marked flood protection products Does Northumberland County Council provide sandbags for householders and businesses? Local authorities are under no legal obligation to supply sandbags and we do not supply them on demand before, or during a flood. However, in extreme conditions, we may deliver sandbags to strategic locations. These are published in the flood action plan. However, due to the extent of flooding predicted, some of these locations might not be used as resources and could be deployed to other at risk locations. Householders should not reply on sandbags being supplied for their own personal use. Sandbags are not available from depots or other council offices and buildings. If you live in a flood risk area you should consider making your own flood defence preparations if you have not already done so. Do remember that the responsibility for protecting your property lies in the first instance with you, the property owner. If you would like further information as to whether you live in a flood risk area, as identified by the Environment Agency, please contact them directly on 0845 988 1188 or visit the website. Need information about a current flooding situation? Further information about a current flooding situation can be found using the details below: Visit the Environment Agency website Call the Environment Agency Floodline Service on 0845 988 1188. You can listen to recorded flood warning information, or speak to an operator for general information and advice 24 hours a day. Northumberland flood action plan Northumberland County Council has prepared the plan which forms part of the Northumbria Local Resilience Forum multi-agency flood plan. The combined plans are designed to document the response to severe and/or widespread flooding within the Northumbria police fore area. View the Northumberland flood action plan Why is the Northumberland flood action plan needed? The need for a plan has been identified in a number of different ways: the inclusion and prioritisation of flooding risk in the Northumbria Local Resilience Forum community risk register the findings of the Sir Michael Pitt report into the Summer 2007 floods in the UK the multi-agency debrief report into the September 2008 floods across Northumbria prepared on behalf of the NLRF What information does the plan contain? The plan was developed using guidance created by the Northumbria Local Resilience Forum and sits alongside similar plans which are developed by all councils within Northumberland. It details all areas known to be a flood risk, assigns a rating for each and contains action plans detailing the required response. The NFPA also describes the Environment Agency's flood warning system and how this will be used to trigger individual and multi-agency cooperation in response to flooding in specified areas. What are the risks of reservoir flooding? Provided a reservoir is properly maintained the likelihood of it failing and causing flooding is extremely low. Large scale flooding is extremely unlikely to occur and reservoirs in the UK have an excellent safety record. Since the first reservoir legislation was introduced in the 1920s, the UK has not had a single reservoir failure resulting in loss of life. Although unlikely, each year there are a small number of incidents that are deemed serious enough to require emergency drawdown of the reservoir. One of the most high profile incidents was in 2007 at the Ulley reservoir in Rotherham. Extreme rainfall caused damage to the dam and the risk of flooding led to the evacuation of around 1,000 people near the reservoir, as well as the closing of main roads (including the M1). It was this that prompted Sir Michael Pitt, in his review, to recommend the government takes measures to improve reservoir emergency preparedness. Part of this recommendation was that the government should produce reservoir flood maps showing at risk areas and give these to local resilience forums so they can use them to prepare emergency plans. In line with this, reservoir flood mapping of 2,007 reservoirs under the Reservoirs Act was completed in November 2009. Since completion of the mapping project, the Environment Agency has been working towards adapting the existing ‘What’s In Your Backyard’ facility on its website to allow members of the public to view a map showing whether any location in England or Wales is in an area that could be at risk of reservoir flooding. Development of this facility is now complete and can be accessed via the Environment Agency website. Most reservoirs in the UK have been there for over a hundred years without any problems. Many communities have therefore been living with the very small risk of reservoir flooding for many years and those communities close to reservoirs have always been aware that a risk existed. Nothing has changed, and the risk of reservoir flooding has not increased. Reservoir legislation and regulation help us ensure that these reservoirs remain safe, and the reservoir flood maps we now have available to us allow us to better estimate the areas potentially at risk and to put in place emergency plans, so we are prepared to respond should reservoir flooding occur. Reservoir flooding risk maps It is now possible to access maps on the Environment Agency website here. These maps will show you whether your property is in an area possibly affected by flooding if a reservoir is breached. The reservoir flood maps available on the Environment Agency website are ‘outline’ maps, meaning that they show only the areas that might be flooded in a realistic worst case reservoir failure scenario. This means that the extent of the flooding shown is the worst that could realistically happen. In actuality, if reservoir flooding did occur it would most likely be much less severe than the worst case scenario. However, maps showing a realistic worst case scenario are useful to emergency planners who need to know the areas that might need to be evacuated and where it is safe for people to go to. The maps on the Environment Agency website do not give any information about the depth or speed of the flood waters or the length of time it would take for the flood waters to reach any location. Even in a worst case scenario many areas shown as being at risk of reservoir flooding would be expected to receive no more than one or two centimetres of flood water. Emergency planners do have access to maps containing additional information. However, due to the sensitive nature of the information from a national security perspective, this information is not publicly available. The reservoir flood maps do not give any indication of the likelihood of flooding occurring, unlike the maps for river and coastal flooding which are also available on the Environment Agency website. Reservoir regulation ensures that these reservoirs are stringently inspected and supervised by qualified civil engineers and that any required maintenance or upgrade works are carried out quickly. This helps ensure that the likelihood of one of them failing remains extremely low. Northumbria reservoir flooding plan The Northumbria Local Resilience Forum has no reservoirs in its area that have identified as high risk. The NLRF has therefore developed a generic Plan for multiagency response in the unlikely event that any of the designated reservoirs in Northumbria (Northumberland and Tyne and Wear) should be breached. View the Northumbria generic reservoir flooding off site plan. If you have any questions about reservoir flooding within your specific locality, you can either use the enquiry facility on the Environment Agency website or contact your local authority using the links below:- Gateshead Council - [email protected] Newcastle City Council - [email protected] North Tyneside Council - [email protected] Northumberland County Council - [email protected] South Tyneside Council - [email protected] Sunderland City Council - [email protected] Further information about reservoir flooding and reservoir safety The Environment Agency’s website contains more detailed information on reservoir safety and reservoir flooding, including a list of frequently asked questions covering areas such as: what to do in an emergency, further information on reservoir legislation, and where to go for further advice. Further information about a current flooding situation Further information about a current flooding situation can be found using the details below: Visit the Environment Agency website Call the Environment Agency floodline service on 0845 988 1188. You can listen to recorded flood warning information or speak to an operator for general information and advice 24 hours a day. What is the purpose of the council’s major emergency plans? The purpose of the council's emergency planning is to provide staff with the plans, procedures and information they will require to enable them to make better the effects of any major emergency occurring within Northumberland, while allowing council services to continue to provide as far as possible their usual day to day services. The council's emergency plans set out the information, procedures and details required to ensure an effective, flexible and timely response to an emergency thus reducing to a minimum the distress and disruption caused by such an incident. Planning for major emergencies in Northumberland The one thing you can be sure of in an emergency situation is that it will probably be the last thing that you expected.