Better flood warning systems needed for Morpeth

Apr 23 2009 by Dave Black, The Journal

BETTER early warning and alerting systems could have improved the response of 999 services and other agencies to the severe flooding which devastated a Northumberland town last year, it was claimed yesterday.

Some organisations might not have fully appreciated the significance of early ‘flood watch’ warnings issued for the Morpeth area last September because of a desire to avoid over-reaction, according to a new report.

The report says agencies dealing with major flooding need high quality information on worsening weather conditions – and improved forward-thinking – in order to operate more effectively in the future.

They should build a greater ‘anticipatory’ factor into their plans so that they can act as quickly as possible in rapidly deteriorating conditions, it is claimed.

These are some of the key findings from the independent report drawn up by emergency planning expert David Hay, from the Government Office North East, on the multi-agency response to the September 6 flooding, which devastated Morpeth and hit other communities such as Rothbury.

Mr Hay – whose report makes 44 separate recommendations – says he found no serious weaknesses in the handling of the incident, but discovered plenty of areas where improvements can be made.

He says that while better warning and alerting systems would not have prevented the flooding, they could have improved the emergency response to the incident and helped mitigate some of the consequences.

Yesterday Mr Hay called for the 999 services and other agencies to continually review how they receive and disseminate weather warning messages from the Met Office and Environment Agency at times of flood risk. He also wants them to develop a better understanding of the triggers which signal a worsening flooding situation so that responders can act on them as quickly as possible.