This just in from the council. Ed
The Isle of Wight Council is continuing to work with partner agencies to support residents following yesterday’s severe weather.
Today, highways staff have been inspecting roads and arranging for drains and gullies blocked by debris to be cleared.
Fire service kept busy in Ryde
The fire service remains on site in Ryde – nearly 40 hours after the initial calls came in. Throughout the period, the service dealt with flooding-related incidents at nearly 100 properties, the vast majority in the Ryde area.
At the height of the flooding, all available crews were either deployed or on standby with around 70 fire-fighters involved in the flood clearance. One of the most dramatic responses was that by the brigade’s specialist water rescue teams who entered the fast flowing Monktonmead Brook at Ryde – that had burst its banks – to clear away a wall that had collapsed into it.
The brigade activated its plans to work with other agencies including the police, ambulance and IW Council’s emergency control centre that was set up on Tuesday morning to help co-ordinate the response.
More rain and wind predicted tomorrow
With more rain and high winds forecast tomorrow, the council is urging residents living in areas prone to flooding to take precautions in the event of further flooding.
The council only provides sandbags for the protection of the living quarters of residential dwellings (not garages, out buildings, stables etc). Businesses are responsible for making their own arrangements. Sandbag stores are being checked and replenished as necessary. Limited supplies continue to be made available to residents, three bags per doorway is usually sufficient. They can be collected from the stores or delivery can be arranged for elderly or vulnerable residents by calling Highways on 823777 or 525121 out of hours.
Sandbags recommended
With further wet weather forecast it is recommended that all businesses located in areas prone to flooding hold a stock of sandbags for use in emergency situations. Bags and sand can be purchased from most builders’ merchants and DIY stores.
For residents affected by yesterday’s flooding, general advice is to:
- *Tell your insurance company what ‘s happened.
- *Check out the Yellow Pages under Flood Damage for supplies of cleaning materials and equipment to dry out your property.
- *Contact the gas, electricity and water companies. You’ll need to have your supplies checked before you turn them back on. Find their numbers on the back of a recent bill or in the phone book.
- *Open doors and windows to ventilate your home, take care to make sure your house is secure if you go out. *Remember to unblock your airbricks and doorways, if you used any flood defences.
- *Watch out for any broken glass, nails or other harmful debris while you are clearing up.
- *Wash taps and run them for a few minutes before use.
- *Wash and disinfect all surfaces, crockery, utensils and containers before use.
- *Make sure any electrical items have dried out thoroughly before turning them on.
Council staff and contractors remain on call to clear highways and will work with partner agencies to arrange road closures if necessary.
Yesterday 1,305 sandbags were delivered to self-help sandbag sites for private individuals across the Island and the council delivered 265 sandbags in response to requests from more vulnerable residents. The highways team responded to 139 other flood related calls for assistance.
Image: Nick Ellis74 under CC BY 2.0
