Council works around the clock through storms
Many people were caught off guard by the devastating effects of the recent
severe weather but diligent staff from Allerdale Borough Council were
prepared for the emergency that followed.
Narrator said: “The recent storms that hit Allerdale thrust the borough into the
spotlight as residents struggled to cope with the threat of flooding to their
homes, and visiting fell runners from all over the country had to be rescued in
the western Lake District.
“Many people were caught off guard by the devastating effects of the freak
weather but diligent staff from Allerdale Borough Council were prepared for
the emergency that followed. The Council’s Environmental Services team had
been working hard to clear potential obstructions to drains caused by fallen
leaves in the week beforehand.”
Ernie Davidson, Assistant Contract Services Manager for Allerdale Borough
Council, said: “We had realised there was potential for a large amount of leaf
fall in some of the areas that were prone to flooding, the historic areas that
myself and my colleagues have been involved in the cleaning regime we were
aware of them, we have been aware of them for a lot of years.
“The two sweepers from FOCSA, in particular the two sweeper drivers, we
had a chat about as to where the areas would be, the target areas on the
Sunday morning and both of them being experienced sweepers really knew
where they were going and what they were doing, they needed very little
instruction. I do believe that it did show the worth of having good quality,
regular sweeper drivers who are aware of the area and the problems who
could work off a bit of their own initiative really, so I was, I was really pleased.”
Narrator said: “In cases where the floods couldn’t be avoided, Allerdale
Borough Council’s Asset Management team sent out hundreds of sandbags
to residents in a bid to protect their homes from the rising water levels.”
Marjorie Grainger, resident of Waterloo Street, Cockermouth, said: “They
came around about three times with sandbags, you know, because it had got
right along the wall at the back and the men that brought them put them along
the wall for me, I didn’t have to do anything myself, they were excellent.”
Narrator said: “For those who weren’t so fortunate and ended up being
stranded, Allerdale Borough Council’s Emergency Planning team set up a
reception centre at Cockermouth School with the help of other organisations
and volunteers.”
Debbie Keir, Emergency Reception Centre Manager for Allerdale Borough
Council, said: “They started arriving then in dribs and drabs until we had about
seventy five of them.
“We later got another batch of about another fifteen taking it to around ninety
of the runners, they were all cold, wet, quite hungry, even their dry clothes
and sleeping bags had got soaked through because the conditions had been
so bad. The concerns that they had as well were about fellow walkers,
runners that had gone missing and they wanted to let people at home know
that they were ok, so we sort of loaned them phones and things like that.
“We did receive about half a dozen residents from the Waterloo Street area
there that had been evacuated by boat. These were mainly very elderly ladies
with health problems. We then had to sort out medication for them as they
hadn’t come with any of their medication. There were people with quite
serious needs for their medication, but they were also given a hot meal.
“As far as the people that we looked after were concerned we got nothing but
praise from them, they said they couldn’t have asked for better support, so
from that perspective, and I think that is the important perspective, the people
that we were there to assist felt that it was running totally smoothly, so yes,
quite happy with the result.”