This in from the council, in their own words. Ed
Organisations involved in Exercise Apollo included the British Red Cross, Raynet, Vectis 4×4 Response, the Isle of Wight 4×4 Club and the Maritime Volunteer Service.
Island-wide exercise
During the exercise, voluntary sector teams of radio operators and 4×4 drivers deployed to locations around the Island and fed information into a control room located at County Hall, Newport – staffed by volunteers from the organisations involved.
During a response to an actual prolonged flooding event, this information would be used by the council, the Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service and the Environment Agency to allocate and prioritise resources to minimise the impacts of flooding.
The Island Resilience Forum
The exercise was developed and facilitated by the council’s Emergency Management Team, as part of ongoing work to strengthen the resilience of the Island through the Island Resilience Forum.
A good starting point
A spokesperson for the team said the exercise provided a good starting point from which to further develop plans – and that all participants gained from the experience by working under exercise conditions and alongside the members of other voluntary organisations.
Although mainly for use during flooding, scope exists to widen the role of the plans to meet the challenges of other emergency situations on the Island.
Enhancing arrangements already in place
Councillor Phil Jordan, Executive member for public protection, said:
“This is an important project that will enhance arrangements that are already in place during a response to flooding. It is encouraging to see different groups of volunteers working together, sharing resources and passing on skills and knowledge to each other, and I would like to thank them all for their vital contribution.
“This project also complements work being undertaken by town and parish councils in the development of their own community resilience plans, part of which may require specific arrangements for flooding.”
To find out more about the Island Resilience Forum, voluntary sector organisations on the Island with a role in responding to emergencies and community resilience, please visit our Website.
Image: © Used with the kind permission of Julian Winslow
