Martin Hookway/British Red Cross
British Red Cross volunteers and staff have been providing – and continue to deliver - essential assistance to victims of torrential rain which has hit parts of central and western England and Wales over the past three days, flooding homes and disrupting travel on roads and railways, and forcing the shutdown of water treatment plants.
“Because our volunteers are at the heart of communities, they have been able to reassure people and bring them vital support quickly and effectively,” explains Leigh Daynes, Head of the British Red Cross Media Service.
The Red Cross has set up rest centres for people evacuated from their homes. Volunteers have been distributing food, drinks, toiletries and other items to evacuees and to motorists stranded on the roads during the weekend.
Beds, blankets, pillows, duvets and sleeping bags are provided by the Red Cross in the rest centres, as well as psychological support, especially for elderly people evacuated from residential homes. Volunteers also provide first aid and medical equipment, including wheelchairs.
Red Cross efforts include support for ambulance services on non-emergency calls and evacuations as well as the distribution of emergency information for communities still at risk from rising waters.
Speaking from a British Red Cross rest centre in Wakefield, last Sunday, Red Cross volunteer Sally Cater explained that many people had tried to stay in their homes but had been forced to leave as waters rose.
“Understandably, some people were distressed and others were shocked and frightened by what had happened. We’ve also given out clothes, as some people were wet through when they arrived, from wading through water or getting in and out of boats,” she said. “We’ve been able to make a real difference to how individuals will recover from this because of how they were treated at the time.”
Some 70,000 residents of Tewkesbury, in Gloucestershire have been cut off. In parts of neighbouring Worcestershire, roads are under nearly two metres of water. Red Cross volunteers have been helping evacuate patients from Tewkesbury Hospital to an emergency rest centre with 4 x 4 emergency vehicles.
The British Red Cross has thousands of specially trained volunteers who provide a wide range of services to people in emergencies, including material and emotional support, as well as first aid. The Red Cross also has well-equipped fire and emergency support service (FESS) vehicles which play a vital role in supporting local fire and ambulance services.
Pauline Mahon, FESS coordinator for Northamptonshire, said: “We are proud of the close working relationships we develop with local authorities in emergency response situations like this.”
British Red Cross volunteers and staff remain on stand-by in regions still at risk from further flooding. Although the rains have eased somewhat, the crisis is far from over, as Britain’s two largest rivers, the Severn and the Thames, threaten to overflow.
Severe flood warnings have been issued in several regions, as more rain is forecast, especially in southern England. The worst-affected county is Gloucestershire, where about 40,000 homes are without electricity and up to 350,000 people have no running water. Bottled water is being provided by the authorities and is being distributed by Red Cross volunteers in certain regions.