Armed Forces Provide Essential Support to Flood Relief Effort

UK Ministry of Defence, Personnel from the Royal Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force have been working together to help with the flood relief effort in the worst affected areas of the UK. 
 
Today, Monday 23 July 2007, 'Rescue 128', an RAF Sea King helicopter based with E Flight, 202 Squadron at Leconfield near Hull, was scrambled to go to the assistance of a group of travelling people who had become trapped by rising water around their caravan site near Walham Power Station in Gloucestershire. 
 
In this single incident, eighty-seven people were airlifted to safety. Six of them required hospital treatment and were flown to Cheltenham Hospital. The remainder were taken to places of safety on high ground, these being a car park and cricket pitch, both of which were well above flood waters. 
 
Over the weekend, the Royal Air Force (RAF) responded to over 51 incidents from the Central Midlands within 24 hours, airlifting over 100 people to safety. Seven Search and Rescue Helicopters from RAF Chivenor, RAF St Mawgan, RAF Valley, RAF Leconfieldand RAF Wattisham have enabled rescues from vehicles, rooftops, capsized boats, cut off premises, a girl clinging to a bridge and people trapped on railings. The RAF were also able to transfer patients directly to hospital, and transfer medical staff and medicines directly to patients trapped in buildings. 
 
A number of experienced RAF search and rescue aircraft personnel, were deployed with specialist communications equipment from RAF Chivenor near Barnstaple in North Wales to the civilian Joint Emergency Response Centre in Gloucestershire. Personnel flying a Chinook Helicopter from RAF Cosford assisted colleagues from RAF Brize Norton and RAF Lyneham erecting flood defences around a power station which succeeded in preventing water from entering the power station. This has secured the electricity supply to 600,000 houses in Gloucestershire and Wales. 
 
Flight Lieutenant Rhona Metcalfe, from RAF Lossiemouth, said: 
 
“The support provided by the RAF Search and Rescue Helicopters has been unwavering and they have worked alongside a vast array of Emergency Services. Despite being exhausted from continual flying to rescue as many people as possible from distressing and difficult situations, the aircrews involved have worked tirelessly since Friday. 
 
“Overall we have used six different helicopter and crews and have undertaken in excess of 60 different tasks rescuing more than 100 people. We are still supporting the flood relief effort and will continue to do so for as long as we are needed.” 
 
Meanwhile Royal Navy personnel were also called out to assist the flood emergency in the Gloucestershire area. In response to a request for military assistance Plymouth Naval Base Commander, Commodore Simon Lister, co-ordinated the mobilisation of over 100 sailors at very short notice. 
 
The 104-strong team of personnel from Plymouth Naval Base, HMS Ocean and HMS Northumberland, is being led by Cdr Stuart Boreland: 
 
“The situation had been assessed on the ground and in the early hours of this morning a Naval team was sent to safeguard the electricity sub station in Walham,” he said. 
 
“The power is currently still running and the team are trying to improve the drainage by wading into the water and lifting the manhole covers by hand.” 
 
Additional naval personnel are on standby and based at the TA Centre in Gloucester which has become the headquarters for the naval contribution to the relief effort. 
 
Army Personnel and stores have also been made available over the weekend to help flood victims in Oxford and Rushmoor. Up to 7,000 sandbags were provided in an attempt to stem the rising flood waters. Some 546 sleeping bags and 25 camp cots have been provided to Oxford County Council for use at the Kassam Stadium emergency reception area in East Oxford. 
 
Soldiers from 22 Engineer Regiment, based at Perham Down, have been working with Royal Navy personnel to assist reinforcing a power station plant at Castle Mead on the western outskirts of Gloucester. Five specialist Royal Engineers at Walham, 1km north of Castle Mead, are also working to reinforce an electrical sub-station. 
 
Gurkha soldiers are likely to deploy from Wales today, and 9 Support Regiment is on one hour's notice to move as and when required. 
 
Lt Col Alan Miller, the Joint Regional Liaison Officer for 145 (South) Brigade based in Aldershot, is responsible for co-ordinating Army help in this area. He was impressed by the speed of the Army's reaction late on a Friday night. 
 
“Our first call from Oxford County Council came at 8.45 pm and by a quarter past midnight the first 100 sleeping bags were on their way to help stranded passengers from a train,” he said.