As part of our commitment to our Parish, and to keep being proactive in our community, we are launching an Emergency Flood Plan. An Emergency Flood Plan Group made up of parish councilors will aid our community should we have a storm surge. Our role will be to provide information and early intervention should an emergency arise. We have been working with the Environment Agency and gaining help from other agencies such as the Mountain Rescue, and other flood wardens.
Our Lead Flood Warden, Councilor Mark Fenwick has been working with the Group to develop a Flood Plan specifically for our Parish. With the help of Northumberland County Council Highways Division, we have identified some key ‘hot spots’ at the main vehicle crossing points at the fords within the Parish and soon there will be warden controlled, flood warning signs erected which will warn drivers not to cross the fords during severe flooding.
Following Storm Arwen in late November 2021, it was clear that emergency planning for future events was necessary. During Arwen there was an obvious communication problem caused by power outages, which had a serious effect on landlines and mobile phones. The Parish Council has recently been very fortunate to receive an extremely generous donation from a resident to fund radio equipment to be used in the event of such a communication breakdown. We now have 4 professional radios, all with mains connections and car chargers. The Flood Wardens will conduct regular tests with the radios which will connect the 4 main settlements of Brinkburn, Todsteads, Weldon, and Embleton Terrace. The equipment will be deployed during times of emergencies to ensure effective communication across the Parish.