It is winter in Brackley, a town located 20 km south of London. The area has a population of 8,000; most of them are school-going children and the elderly. The River Trent passes through the city and is used to irrigate crops downstream. Within the last ten years, Trent has flooded twice and caused huge damages to homes and infrastructure. This led to the construction of barriers along the river banks to prevent overflowing into people’s homes.
A disaster response unit consisting of ten medical evacuators and five police officers trained to handle floods was commissioned five years ago by the town mayor. The town gets power from a nearby hydroelectric plant and uses it for industrial and domestic purposes. The residents of Brackley use roads to connect with larger cities to acquire basic supplies and take children to school. Finally, the town has its radio and TV stations and relies on a telecommunication mast to broadcast signals to all residents.
Events
Weather Update
On this fateful day, the Met Office gives a directive to Brackley’s radio and TV stations to issue a warning of impending floods due to the heavy rains being recorded in nearby areas. The river volume is rising fast and can break the physical barriers constructed five years ago to mitigate periodic floods in the town. In such a case, the authorities and residents should adopt disaster prevention and preparedness strategies to minimize impact and adequately brace for the expected flood magnitude. An immediate flood disaster plan should be released by the relevant authorities and used to guide subsequent operations.
First, the city authorities should inspect, rehabilitate, and reinforce the existing river barriers to ensure that they are strong enough to contain high water volumes, debris abrasion, and wind damage. They should also dredge the river to remove silt and unblock drainage systems after a vulnerability analysis to determine the town sections at risk. The process of rehabilitation should be immediate and aim at concrete reinforcement of walls and replacement of broken metal parts to prevent leakage and overflow.
Secondly, the national disaster management authority should send precautionary measures to the residents of Brackley town, through their media stations and community leaders to prevent blocking of drainage systems by dumping that would hasten the flood. This public awareness would help residents to prepare adequately for the predicted floods. Rodríguez-Espíndola and Gaytán (2015) state that the public should be sensitized to the expected flood magnitude and ways of preventing its effects on homes. Thirdly, the Met Office should use historical data to map and zone out impact areas before planning evacuation and notifying the affected groups.
Confirmation of the Flood
Six hours after the first media announcement, the Met Office confirms that Brackley will flood and experience heavy rains and winds for an unknown period. There will be high water volumes in the river, winds over 80km/h, and consistent heavy rains for at least a week. The confirmation is expected to trigger rigorous preparedness actions at the family and town level. Families are expected to gather safety equipment such as first aid kits and life jackets or buoys to help them in emergencies to serve them for two weeks.
They are expected to gather 5 Ps (people, prescriptions, papers, personal needs, priceless items) of disaster preparedness and evacuate the vulnerable groups according to the national and town authorities’ directive (American Academy of Pediatrics, n.d.). Additionally, residents should acquire adequate food supplies from grocery stores and stock potable water so that they do not rely on the piped system. Families should also ensure regular access to meteorological data and directives, especially through radio, and ensuring adequate power backup. Lastly, families are expected to acquire and keep emergency contacts ready in case they need assistance or quick evacuation.
On the other hand, authorities are responsible for dispensing accurate weather updates and preparedness guidelines to the public. The response team should map assistance and evacuation routes that safely lead to the established shelters.
They should also plan on transportation methods in case of broken public infrastructures such as roads and rail that serve the town of Brackley. The authorities assign emergency responsibilities to the available personnel and outsource equipment, for example, boats and helicopters, to aid in rescue operations. Additionally, response units are expected to conduct rescue drills to sharpen their skills and prepare residents for the upcoming disaster. In collaboration with other agencies, the response team should distribute safety equipment such as first aid kits and life jackets to all families in the mapped zone.
At this stage, authorities should educate the residents on proper safety actions, haven directions, and survival tactics before the floods hit the town. Most importantly, the public should be educated on the looming risks of drowning, waterborne diseases, electrocution, and injury from dangerous animals living in the river, and how to protect themselves (Plate, 2002). Moreover, town authorities and multi-agencies should establish and implement ways to protect critical infrastructure such as the telecommunication mast, water facility, and system and machinery by proofing them against water and the power of floods.
The Flood
Water levels have risen above the guard rails and barriers, overflowing into the residential space. Heavy rains have hindered transport and roads damaged by floods. The power is out, and telecommunication systems are running on backup generators. It is the responsibility of the government to supply fuel to families for cooking and lighting and to the telecommunication facility to ensure continuity of emergency updates.
At this level, the authorities and response team are expected to answer emergency calls and provide immediate assistance, for example, evacuation, medical help, relief deployment, and survival assistance. Some families have run out of food and need refills, others have medical emergencies such as injuries, while some need emotional help to cope with the disaster. Water systems are broken, and pipes are contaminated with sewage material, which would lead to a disease outbreak.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2020), authorities educate residents on water safety and general hygiene practices to prevent infections such as cholera from occurring. The government is responsible for dispensing potable water for home use to all in need through its emergency response unit. The provided helpline ensures that all these are delivered to the residents as requested.
The rescue team is expected to conduct trips within the affected areas to identify individuals’ risks and evacuate them properly. In the case of drowned or lost individuals, the team should initiate search operations and provide air evacuation service for those who cannot be reached by boats or vehicles. This should continue until the water levels have reduced and a safety directive issued by the meteorological department. In the safe-havens, humanitarian agencies and government authorities are responsible for food provisions, clothes, shelters, and medical assistance. Additionally, rescue teams should also collect data on the affected populations, medical cases, flood effects, and deaths, which will be used to evaluate the disaster and create better response plans.
After-Flood (Recovery)
Ten days later, the flood is over, and the Met Office has confirmed through the media. It is time to reunite families and rebuild homes and infrastructure. After sheltering people and providing for their necessities, the state allows them to leave, and those physically unable to are escorted by town authorities to their respective homes. If their settlements were ravaged by the flood, the state, in partnership with aid agencies and the community, helps in rebuilding houses.
The town roads authority keeps pace to reinstall broken bridges and recarpet affected areas. The disaster management authority and state agencies release cleanup guidelines that promote public safety and mitigates risks from debris injury, contaminated food, drugs, water and equipment, wild animals such as snakes, and prevention from building collapse.
The resettling program outlines proper home drying practices to prevent health implications, for example, diseases. As the government repairs infrastructure such as water and power systems, communities are expected to coordinate with aid agencies to rebuild the town and re-open businesses, hospitals, and schools. Here, families with insurance are expected to send claims and get compensated to recover from flood damage.
For the missing individuals, the response team continues to conduct rescue and body retrieval exercises in collaboration with the government and community. Finally, all agencies should come together and review the whole process during the emergency to understand strengths and weaknesses in the disaster management unit. This would also help prevent future incidents by implementing proper preventive and response techniques to mitigate flooding and its effects.
References
American Academy of Pediatrics. (n.d.). Flash floods/flood recovery. Web.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Preparing for a flood: Key facts about flood readiness. Web.
Plate, E. J. (2002). Flood risk and flood management. Journal of Hydrology, 267(1-2), 2−11.
Rodríguez-Espíndola, O., & Gaytán, J. (2015). Scenario-based preparedness plan for floods. Natural Hazards, 76(2), 1241−1262.