FLOOD RESPONSE PLAN - East Ayrshire...East Ayrshire Council – Flood Response Plan September 2015...

East Ayrshire Council – Flood Response Plan

September 2015 v2.1 Ayrshire Civil Contingencies Team 1

FLOOD RESPONSE PLAN

Prepared by Ayrshire Civil Contingencies Team

on behalf of East Ayrshire Council



Contents Distribution List 4 Amendment Record 5 Exercise / Training Record 5 Abbreviations 6 Weather Warning Flowchart (Figure 1) 7 ACCT duty Civil Contingency Officer Cascade Action Guide (Figure 2) 8 Part 1 - Overview 9 1.1 Aim 9 1.2 Objectives 9 1.3 The Risk of Flooding 9 Part 2 – Mitigation Measures 11 2.1 Flood Monitoring 11 2.2 Warning & Informing 11 2.3 Council Flood Warning and Alert Arrangements 13 2.4 Public Advisement 14 2.5 Sandbagging 14 2.6 Sandbag - Labour and Deployment 14 2.7 Evacuation or Displacement Arrangements 15 2.8 Care for People Emergency Centre Criteria, Activation and Management 15 2.9 Emergency Transport 16 2.10 Householders rendered homeless Vulnerable People 16

Part 3 – Severe Flood Incident Management 17 3.1 Response 17 3.2 Co-ordination 17 3.3 Council’s Emergency Management Team (EMT) 18 3.4 Roles & Responsibilities 19

3.4.1 East Ayrshire Council 19 3.4.2 East Ayrshire Health and Social Partnership 23 3.4.3 NHS Ayrshire & Arran 23 3.4.4 Police Scotland 23 3.4.5 Scottish Fire and Rescue Service 24 3.4.6 Scottish Ambulance Service 24 3.4.7 Scottish Environment Protection Agency 25 3.4.8 Utilities 25

Part 4 – Recovery 26 Part 5 – Other Arrangements 27 5.1 Military Aid to the Civil Community 27 5.2 Financial Procedures 27 5.3 The Bellwin Scheme 38 5.4 Donations Management 38



Part 6 – Conclusion of the Incident 30 ANNEXES Annex A Appendix 1 Background Legislation 32 Appendix 2 Reference Documents 33 Appendix 3 Flood Risk Management Glossary 33 Annex B Items for Consideration by the Emergency Management Team 39 Annex C Major Incident Tabards 41



Distribution List

East Ayrshire Council NHS Ayrshire & Arran

Scottish Ambulance Service Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) Scottish Power Scottish Water Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Police Scotland

Ayrshire Civil Contingencies Team (ACCT) will be responsible for the distribution of plans and amendments to the responsible Emergency Planning liaison contacts within the relevant organisation. Each organisation is thereafter responsible for the internal promulgation and maintenance of any required plan copies held.

This Plan will remain effective until September 2018 when it will be reviewed and reissued. However, should there be a severe flooding event, an incident debrief would be held and subsequently the Plan would be reviewed allowing any lessons learned to be inncorporated and the Plan reissued.

All correspondence in relation to the Flood Response Plan should be addressed to

Ayrshire Civil Contingencies Team,

Building 372,

Alpha Freight Area,

Robertson Road,

Glasgow Prestwick Airport,

Prestwick,

KA9 2PL

or by e-mail to [email protected].

mailto:[email protected]



Amendment Record

Amendment date Pages Amended Amended by Date

Decemeber 2008 Full Document Civil Contingencies Team

December 2011 (Draft) Full Document Civil Contingencies Team

July 2012 Full Document Civil Contingencies Team & Members of the SECG Ayrshire Local Working Group

September 2015 Full Document Civil Contingencies Team

Exercise/Training Record

Exercise/Training Date

Exercise Polar Storm 2011 07/09/2011

Exercise Ayrshire Polar Storm 29/08/12

Exercise Ayrshire Polar Storm 20/08/14



Abbreviations

ACCT Ayrshire Civil Contingencies Team ALRP Ayrshire Local Resilience Partnership CCO Civil Contingencies Officer CIO Council Incident Officer (at scene) DCCO Duty Civil Contingencies Officer EAC East Ayrshire Council ECC Emergency Control Centre EMT Emergency Management Team ICT Incident Co-ordination Team

IWO Inland Water Operations RMC Risk Mangement Centre RVP Rendezvous Point WoSRRP West of Scotland Regional Resilience Partnership SEPA Scottish Environment Protection Agency SFFS Scottish Flood Forecasting Service SORT Special Operations Response Team

Further information can be found within the Council’s Civil Contingencies Response and Recovery Plan


September 2015 v.2.1 Ayrshire Civil Contingencies Team

7

Extract from the Duty Civil Contingencies Officer Guidelines (September 2015 v14.2)

WEATHER WARNING FLOWCHART

Figure 1


September 2015 v.2.1 Ayrshire Civil Contingencies Team

8

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September 2015 v2 Ayrshire Civil Contingencies Team 99

Part 1 - Overview 1.1 Aim The aim of this plan is to provide a structure for a multi-agency response to flooding emergencies within East Ayrshire. It has been written by ACCT, in conjunction with Category 1 and Category 2 responders (Civil Contingencies Act 2004). (For further information see Annex A, Appendix 1 – Background Legislation). It is imperative that the ACCT is informed of any relevant changes to information contained within the Plan. This Plan summarises the East Ayrshire response to major flood events, to allow co-ordinated contingency planning to take place within individual agencies. Reference should be made to the Council’s Civil Contingencies Response and Recovery Plan; to the Emergency Contact Directory and to any internal Departmental Emergency Procedures, when responding to a flooding incident. (For further information see Annex A, Appendix 2 – Reference Documents). 1.2 Objectives The objectives of this plan are to:-

Develop a corporate and co-ordinated response to severe flooding incidents;

Develop and produce proactive contingency measures for dealing with flooding affecting: Council property, non-Council property (commercial and residential), transport routes, villages isolated by flood waters and care of the displaced;

Lead recovery activity to support the recovery of communities and businesses;

Maintain critical services within each organisation as part of business continuity;

Provide recognised and agreed procedures for obtaining assistance from Central Government and any other appropriate organisations.

1.3 The Risk of Flooding 1.3.1 Risk Assessment These procedures have been developed to mitigate the risk of flooding in East Ayrshire. Recent flood events (nationally and locally) have highlighted the importance of multi-agency planning in relation to mitigating flooding risks. In Ayrshire, the risk of flooding varies depending on the source of the flooding and the characteristics of the property and people affected. Assessed risks including critical infrastructure are contained in the West of Scotland Regional Reilience Partnership (WoSRRP) Ayrshire Local Resilience Partnership (ALRP) Registers.



Flooding is considered a very high risk and is therefore included on the Ayrshire Local Resilience Partnership (ALRP) Risk Register. It should be recognised that even following mitigation (i.e. fluvial defences); flood risk cannot be eliminated entirely. The risk of flooding in Ayrshire is divided into seven main categories under the Hazard Category of Severe Weather. For the purposes of this plan two types of flooding incidents will be considered. 1.3.2 Localised Flooding Incident The most frequently occurring incidents will involve flash flooding, or the threat of flooding, on a relatively minor/local scale. This type of incident may not require the establishment of the Emergency Control Centre (ECC) at London Road, Kilmarnock. However, it is still important that the response to a localised flooding incident is co-ordinated centrally. 1.3.3 Severe Flooding Incident This category will involve widespread flooding or the threat of widespread general flooding, of residential and commercial areas and is likely to affect large numbers of people and property for an extended period of time. A major flood incident may also be associated with persistent or severe weather conditions, general disruption of services and the isolation of villages due to road closures or damage. Depending on the location and the severity of the incident, Council Services may have to consider the invocation of their Business Continuity Plans. However, a widespread incident will probably result in the Emergency Management Team (EMT) and Incident Co-ordination Team (ICT) being convened by the Chief Executive. These Teams will corporately manage the incident on behalf of East Ayrshire Council, by co-ordinating and deploying Council resources.

1.3.4 Areas of Previous Flooding Incidents Each Council produced a biennial report in respect of its duties under the Flood Prevention and Land Drainage (Scotland) Act 1997, this report specified:

The measures which the Council considered are required to prevent, or mitigate the flooding of non-agricultural land in their area;

The measures which the Council has taken, since the date of publication of the previous report, to prevent or mitigate such flooding;

all occurrences of flooding since that date. The purpose of these reports is to inform members of the public and other interested parties on flooding issues within the Council area. These reports are available through the Head of Roads & Ayrshire Roads Alliance.



Part 2 - Mitigation Measures 2.1 Flood Monitoring

Flash floods occurring during the summer months are unpredictable and could result in severe localised flooding. However, flooding resulting from the gradual build up of water from prolonged and heavy rainfall is more common. Monitoring the factors which lead to flooding, during this period, may allow for advance forecasting of a likely flood emergency and can result in Council Departments and external agencies gaining valuable preparation time, to make suitable contingency arrangements and activate emergency procedures. The Ayrshire Roads Alliance operates a computerised monitoring system which is linked to a Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) River Monitoring Station on the Kilmarnock Water, close to the confluence with the River Irvine. Roads Engineers are responsible for monitoring the Kilmarnock water levels using this system and operate an out of hours rota. The monitoring system is linked, by modem to a laptop computer, which sounds an alarm when the river levels reach a certain critical height. When the alarm is activated, the Roads Engineer has the responsibility to arrange for the closure of the floodgate, which is located adjacent to the Kilmarnock Water, at Burnside Street and Fairyhill Road. On completion of the closure, the Roads Engineer will telephone to notify the Police Duty Officer at Kilmarnock Police Offices that this procedure has been completed. This will allow the Police to monitor areas within Kilmarnock which are prone to flooding and alert the ACCT of potential problem areas as they develop. SEPA also provides Report-a-Flood, an information-sharing tool to allow the public to report floods that have happened in the last 24 hours or are currently occuring. It is designed to help communities and individuals across Scotland help each other be aware of and prepared for flooding, by sharing any knowledge of flooding more widely. This information is not verified and is not intended to be used during a response or to replace any exsisting monitoring procedures. Flood reports can be submitted through www.floodlinescotland.org.uk/report-a-flood or by calling 0345 988 1188.

2.2 Warning and Informing

SEPA and the Met Office, provides the Scottish Flood Forecasting Service (SFFS) on a daily basis; this aims to reduce risk to life, distress to people and damage to property caused by flooding by providing accurate, timely flood warnings. This information is monitored by the ACCT duty Civil Contingencies Officer and other partner agencies, (see Figure 1 - Scottish Flood Forecasting Service Flood Warning Actions). In addition to warnings from the SFFS, the SEPA Flood Warning Duty Officer is alerted when the rain guages thresholds in the Kilmarnock Water are exceeded.

http://www.floodlinescotland.org.uk/report-a-flood



2.2.1 Local Flood Warning Areas

During 2010, new flood warning areas within the Ayrshire & Arran area, were created as detailed below.

East Ayrshire Council Queens Drive, New Mill Road and Samson Avenue

In April 2011, SEPA introduced a Flood Warning Service which aims to provide a general indication of increased potential risk of flooding across geographic regions. SEPA will issue flood warning messages through the Floodline recorded telephone and website service. Customers registered for the Floodline direct warning service will receive notification of these messages through their mobile or landline telephone. If river or coastal flooding is forecast SEPA will endeavour to issue a Flood Alert 24 hours in advance of expected flooding for that geographical area. Where formal flood warning schemes exist SEPA will issue flood warnings when pre-determined river levels are forecasted or exceeded.

Flood warning levels are determined by examining the historical record of flooding in a river and agreeing flood warning thresholds with local customers. SEPA officers will continue to monitor the situation, issuing flood warning updates with significant new information, until the threat of flooding is past. At this point a No Longer in Force message will be issued.

2.2.2 Flood Warning Codes

Below are the warning codes that SEPA uses to warn the public, media and partner organisations of impending flooding. The Flood Warning codes will help the public prepare for flooding and take necessary action.

FLOOD ALERT FLOOD WARNING SEVERE FLOOD WARNING

Flooding is possible. Flood Alerts give an early indication of potential flooding. They prompt you to remain alert and vigilant and provide you with time to make early preparations for potential flooding.

Flooding is imminent.

Immediate action is required; take measures to protect yourself and your property.

Flooding is creating potential impacts that require further action such as evacuation.

Prepare to evacuate and cooperate with the emergency services.

http://floodline.sepa.org.uk/floodupdates/info/group-id/5174

http://floodline.sepa.org.uk/floodingsignup/

http://www.sepa.org.uk/environment/water/flooding/floodline/#Warnings



2.3 Council Flood Warning and Alert Arrangements

It is essential that the Council maintains a corporate approach to flood warning and alerting arrangements. All Departments that may become involved in the mitigation of flooding should be aware of the situation and of the roles of others. Calls to alert the Council to potential flooding, during office hours, are often received by ACCT: -

indirectly from the public via the Council’s Switchboard/Local office staff;

from Police Scotland;

from colleagues within Council Departments. Irrespective of source of the information, it is vital that there is an integrated and speedy response to mitigate the effects of flooding within the community. A protocol has been developed with the Council’s Risk Management Centre (RMC). This will ensure that the speed of alerting Departments is maintained out of hours. To ensure consistency, the dissemination of any advance notice of the imminent occurrence of flooding will be cascaded out via the following arrangements:-

2.3.1 During Office Hours - Internal

The ACCT, will, when in receipt of confident information from SEPA, the Met Office, Police Scotland, any Council Department or other agency, advise or alert some, or all of the Council Departments, to either stand-by or respond using the contact details contained within the Council’s Emergency Contact Directory.

2.3.2 During Office Hours - External

During office hours external agencies should be contacted using the contact details provided in the WoSRRP Contact Directory.

2.3.3 Out-of-Hours - ACCT duty Civil Contingencies Officer – Pager 07659 183863

The ACCT is available operationally on a 24 hour basis. Protocol dictates that during any major out-of-hours incident, alerting calls regarding flood or weather warnings from Police Scotland, Council RMC or other agency, will be made to the duty pager, mobile numbers or home numbers of the ACCT Officers. Upon receipt of an alert the ACCT Officer will initiate an appropriate Council cascade as per Figure 2.



2.4. Warning and Informing the Public Police Scotland will make public announcements regarding a potential flood situation in the high risk flood areas depending on circumstances, and if time permits.

During the response stage, the EMT, if established, will be responsible for the dissemination of information and the co-ordination of response to the media/public. The Council’s Communications Section will conduct this in collaboration with Police Scotland.

The Council should ensure that local broadcast media are made aware of the situation from the outset and are kept well informed of the situation as it progresses to ensure that public announcements are accurate and up to date.

2.5 Sandbagging

Sandbagging of property can be an effective method of mitigating or containing the effects of a flood. However, the lead-time for filling and deployment can be lengthy, as a large number of bags cannot be filled in advance due to storage problems. Ayrshire Roads Alliance and Housing Asset Services maintain a number of filled sandbags on pallets, at their respective depots, which can be utilised in response to a flooding incident. Unfilled bags are also stored at the depots and can be filled as necessary. The Depute Chief Executive/Safer Communities will ensure that stocks of pre-filled and palleted sandbags are available in depots and stores. Reserves of sand, empty sandbags, labour and filling equipment shall also be available. An early decision must be taken to deploy sandbags, to avoid a subsequent waste of effort and resources. The deployment of sandbags will be sanctioned by the appropriate Head of Service or Council Incident Officer (see Figure - 2 page 8) and will take into consideration the following priorities:

preventing loss of life, or serious injury;

maintaining access for the emergency services;

protecting vital facilities within the community;

protecting transportation routes;

protecting Council property;

protecting private dwelling homes.

2.6 Sandbag – Labour and Deployment

The deployment of sandbags may be at the request of the emergency services, or Council Departments in anticipation of immediate flooding, based on a pro-active monitoring analysis and severe weather forecasting. Each situation is judged on its merit and when a situation arises that threatens life or property, the Council will respond as an emergency service. Sandbags are not distributed as a matter of course, there must be a strong likelihood of flooding occurring.



In the event of a Severe Flooding Incident, tactical control of all Council resources, including the dispersal of sandbag stocks and the deployment of labour, must be maintained centrally and corporately by the EMT, under the direction of the Chief Executive, and is no longer the prerogative of any single Department or Agency.

In the event of a Localised Flooding Incident (see definition at para 1.3.2), local action is permissible and preferred and may be directed by a single Department, or at the request of the Police.

In the first instance, the Head of Housing and Communities (or his nominee) will co-ordinate and organise sandbags to be distributed to threatened premises within flood areas. When all legislative duties and responsibilities have been fulfilled by the Roads Maintenance Unit and when resources permit, assistance may be sought from them.

2.7 Evacuation or Displacement Arrangements

Widespread or severe flooding and loss of essential services invariably results in the need to consider evacuation of residents and to a rising number of residents who have been displaced or self-evacuated from their home.

Due to their early involvement at the scene, Police Scotland or Scottish Fire and Rescue Service often make the initial decision to evacuate flood areas.

Guidance should be sought from the ACCT, who maintain the Care for People - Affected by Emergencies Procedures and the Emergency Centre database, in deciding the most appropriate property to be used as an Emergency Centre.

Previous experience has shown that a significant number of households may resist evacuation for fear of housebreaking. The subsequent support for such families or communities can create a significant burden on Council resources.

2.8 Care for People Emergency Centre Criteria, Activation and Management

The ACCT, in consultation with the appropriate Departments and external agencies, continues to maintain:-

a database of Council premises that have been identified as Emergency Centres with appropriate facilities for managing displaced people affected by the emergency;

the corporate generic Care for People document for the management of these Emergency Centres, contains agreed procedures and roles and responsibilities of internal and external partner agencies.

Wellbeing have 3 Emergency Centre boxes, in separate locations, with all the necessary stationery and documentation forms, sign-posting sheets, ethnic language forms etc. For further details see the Care for People - Affected by Emergencies Procedures.



2.9 Emergency Transport

It may be necessary to transport displaced persons from their homes to an Emergency Centre outwith their community, or to arrange emergency transport generally, for a variety of tasks, during the course of a flooding incident.

Economy and Skills Services will ensure that suitable internal emergency arrangements and contact numbers are available within their Departmental Emergency Procedures and/or the Council's Emergency Contact Directory, for assistance with transportation of displaced persons during such an incident.

The use of boats during a flood would be a last resort measure. It is hoped that enough warning could be given prior to this stage to evacuate all persons from the area. However, should the instance arise, then contact should be made with Scottish Fire and Rescue and/or the Maritime Coastguard Agency (contact details from the ACCT duty Civil Contingencies Officer or through the 999 system) to assist with the provision of boats.

During a Severe Flooding Incident prioritising, co-ordinating and allocating transport resources will become a function of the Emergency Management Team.

2.10 Householders rendered Homeless - Vulnerable People

The Council has responsibilities to help householders with severely flood damaged homes, under the Homelessness legislation; the Council will also have landlord responsibilities in relation to its own stock.

It should be noted that during a severe flooding incident anyone has the potential to become vulnerable due to the factors in disaster–related incidents. However, for a significant number of people the experience can be serious as it has the potential to remove them from established supprt mechanisms or expose particular vulnerablities. Vulnerable groups within the community will need special provision both in implementing any preparatory and precautionary measures for a potential flood event, and also in response to a flood incident. Any flooded households must also be:-

Visited by member of the homeless or community housing team and provided with temporary accommodation, if they cannot stay with family or friends;

Advised to make early contact with their insurance company;

Kept aware of the situation as it changes and alleviates.



Part 3 - Severe Flood Incident Management

3.1 Response The response to a severe flooding incident may involve the following:-

Provision of timely and accurate information to public and responders ;

Precautionary evacuation of communities at highest risk;

Assistance to displaced or cut off communities due to flooding ;

Rescue of people trapped by or in flooded areas;

Provision of environmental care and health advice to communities affected by flooding;

Restriction or closure of roads and public rights of way within or near to flooded areas;

Maintenance of public order;

Provision of evacuation routes;

Management of livestock - both living and dead;

Healthcare in flooded areas;

Mass fatalities;

Casualty Bureau. 3.2 Co-ordination Normally, the requirement to initiate action will fall to the emergency services. Although it is possible that Scottish Fire & Rescue will be first on the scene, Police Scotland will usually take control of the co-ordination of a Severe Flooding Incident. There may be a need to establish the local Resilience Partnership to ensure all partners are aware of the ongoing situation. However, as the incident develops, it may be that in consultation, the Chief Executive and Chief Constable or the local Police Commander agrees that the local authority, with its resources, should take the lead in the incident. The Chief Executive will nominate an officer to liaise with the emergency services and co-ordinate the Council effort at the incident site(s). This officer will play a crucial part in liaising with the Police and relaying situation reports and emergency services demands to the EMT. This role may be fulfilled by the attending duty CCO, who will remain to support the nominated Council Incident Officer (CIO) when he/she arrives. The nominated CIO may be a senior officer from the Department most directly involved in the incident.



3.3 Council’s Emergency Management Team (EMT) Due to the scale and duration of this type of flood incident, it will be necessary to establish tactical control in support of the emergency services and to corporately manage the Council's response to the incident. This will involve the establishment of an EMT, perhaps operating within an ECC. The ACCT, in receipt of confident information from any pertinent source that the incident has or is likely to fall within the Severe Flooding Incident definition (para 1.3.3), will activate the alert procedure to advise the Chief Executive to bring the EMT together for initial assessment (as per Figure 2 – page 8). The EMT will initially meet in the Local Incident Room or the Emergency Control Centre in the Council Chambers; both of which are within the Council HQ at London Road, Kilmarnock, to be fully briefed on the incident. The EMT will be represented by incident-involved Departments of the Council and Liaison Officers from the emergency services and other agencies. Additional specialist officers from relevant Departments, external and voluntary agencies etc, will be drawn forward to join and contribute to the EMT as the incident develops and as they are required. A checklist of items for consideration/discussion by the EMT is attached at Annex B. The Incident Co-ordination Team (ICT) will be formed to support the EMT; these shall be senior officers (not necessarily Depute Chief Executives or Heads of Service), with high levels of operational knowledge of their Department and its resources. It is imperative that they have sufficient seniority and executive power to enable departmental actions to be taken without constant referral or query. This aspect is particularly important out of hours. For further details regarding the ECC reference should be made to the Council’s Civil Contingencies Response and Recovery Plan and Emergency Control Centre Procedures.



3.4 Roles and Responsibilities The following roles and responsibilities shown here are not exhaustive, but are specific to a Major Flood Incident. These will be fully developed through incident experience, exercise and training. These activities will highlight the need for review and change. 3.4.1 East Ayrshire Council All Council Departments must

maintain a log of their actions during a Major Flood Incident;

when requested, send a senior officer with executive power to the EMT or ICT within the ECC;

consider invoking their Business Continuity Plans (depending on location of incident);

maintain normal Council services at an appropriate level during the incident;

provide a post-operational report and review their actions for the Chief Executive;

participate fully at the post incident debrief. 3.4.1.1 Chief Executive

leads and co-ordinates the Council’s response to any emergency occurring within the East Ayrshire boundary;

formulates the strategic framework within which the response to the emergency is delivered;

liaises, at a strategic level, with all emergency services and other external agencies (public utilities, SEPA, Central Government and the Armed Forces);

nominates an officer to liaise with the emergency services at the incident site (this person will wear the Council Incident Officer tabard) Annex C;

is responsible for invoking Military Aid to the Civil Community;

is responsible for requesting mutual aid from neighbouring authorities;

assumes overall responsibility for the recovery, and return to normality, when it is passed to the Council from the Chief Constable (if appropriate);

is responsible for briefing Elected Members on the Council’s involvement in an emergency response and, if necessary, convening a meeting of the Emergency Powers Committee.

3.4.1.2 Ayrshire Civil Contingencies Team

act as a single Council focal point for liaison with the emergency services and other external agencies (public utilities, SEPA, Central Government and the Armed Forces);

initiate cascade system to alert Council Incident Officer and Departments of potential incidents;

liaise with relevant Departments to establish emergency arrangements;

provide support and advice to the EMT and ICT.



3.4.1.3 Finance & Corporate Support

Through the Environmental Health Service o liaise with NHS Ayrshire & Arran regarding public health concerns of flood victims; o produce and circulate health advice notes or flyers to affected flood areas; o will also assist and advise on decontamination of affected areas and identify

contamination e.g. foodstuffs and debris.

Through the Trading Standards Service o co-ordinate all Services involved in the receipt of non-financial donations, their

storage and distribution; o monitor the performance of the insurance companies; o monitor, and warn the public of the possibility of bogus workmen operating in the

affected area.

Through the Legal, Regulatory & Procurement Service o provide legal advice in relation to the Council’s emergency response.

Through the Finance Service o provide financial advice to services on supplementary funding to meet operational

requirements in excess of service budget provision; o on obtaining financial assistance from Central Government; o to provide advice to the Council and Departments in respect of insurance claims and

related matters; o respond to specific enquiries from the public in respect of Council Tax and other

Finance services; o ensure that adequate arrangements are put in place for the financial administration of

public appeals/donations; o operate a system to record and allocate emergency costs; o insurance / risk management liaison with loss adjustor; o make available funds to alleviate the personal hardship of victims.

Through the Administration Service, Registration Service & Customer and Communications Services

o provide public relations and marketing support as part of the Council’s emergency response.

o control subsequent press briefings as requested (if appropriate, in liaison with the Police, if they are still co-ordinating the incident);

o assist in drafting public information releases with other services, in particular any relating to Public Appeals or Donations;

o co-ordinate and manage any VIP visit; o physically establish, equip and provide initial support staff to the ECC; o co-ordinate the staffing and rota of support from all Departments for the ECC; o invite the local Community Council to assist in the distribution process via community

volunteers to avoid any future criticism, the service shall maintain a record of receipt and distribution.

o May require to invoke the Registration Services Emergency Plan.



3.4.1.4 Safer Communities

Through the Housing & Communities Service o provide staff to act in a supportive role at Emergency Centres and provide alternative

accommodation for the homeless; o take appropriate action to protect their properties from flooding; o provide CCTV images from the affected area, where possible o provide data/information relating to vulnerable people living in the affected area o co-ordinate sandbagging deployment and filling (for additional assistance contact to

be made with Roads colleagues); o will make essential repairs to damaged property; o provide supplies, equipment, plant and labour, etc to mitigate the effects of the flood

and assist rescue; o co-ordinate effort and equipment to heat or dry out homes; o arrange for the collection and disposal of waste materials and undertake any street

cleaning where necessary; o may be required to remove dead or dangerous trees.

Through the Ayrshire Roads Alliance o ensure access to fuel supplies; o provide roads closure and diversions; o provide information from SEPA’s flood plain maps on disc; o assess watercourses considered to be in a condition likely to cause flooding on non-

agricultural land. Organise maintenance of certain watercourses, culverts, land drains, grills etc;

o when all legislative duties and responsibilities have been fufilled and when resources permit, assist with the filling and deployment of sandbags at the request of Housing Asset Services colleagues.

Through Facilities and Property Management - On Site Services o provide emergency access to premises, as required, for use as Emergency Centres

or catering and food distribution centres; o provide emergency feeding to Emergency Centres and other feeding points, as

requested; o provide vehicles, or arrange appropriate transport and drivers, to transport displaced

persons from their homes to the Emergency Centres.



3.4.1.5 Economy and Skills

Through Head of Schools o provide advice to the public regarding school closures, via the Public Relations

Officers, to local radio/television stations.

Through the Community Support Service o provide emergency access to Council Halls and Sports Centres etc. as required, for

use as Emergency Centres.

Through the Planning & Economic Development Service o provide appropriate mapping for use by officers within the ECC.; o assess the structural stability of damaged buildings adversely affected by flooding, as

per the Dangerous Buildings Procedures contained within the Building (Scotland) Act 2003;

o co-ordinate actions to remove the danger to the public and to evacuate building(s) which are considered as dangerous to persons frequenting or inhabiting the building;

o liaise with Corporate Infrastructure to provide structural engineers to ensure flood damaged buildings are safe and not in any danger and provide electrical engineers to ensure safe conditions are maintained and will be responsible for contacting external suppliers to source additional resources, e.g. plant, equipment not held within the Council.

3.4.2 Wellbeing Key roles and responsibilities in an emergency:

Provision of primary and community services to those affected by the emergency co-ordination of NHS resources.

Through the Community Care Service o be the responsible lead Department in establishing and managing Emergency

Centres, as per the Care for People Affected by Emergencies guidelines

Through Children’s Services o provide practical assistance to those in the community affected by flooding,

including Emergency Section 12 payments (Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968)



3.4.3 NHS Ayrshire & Arran Key roles and responsibilities in an emergency:

Provide a liaison officer to attend the Council Emergency Control Centre if opened;

Provide information and advice re public health issues pertaining to the flood waters and clean-up operation, this may be coordinated via a Scientific Technical Advice Cell (STAC);

Provide information and advice internally to ensure continuation of service delivery

Liaise with partner agencies as required. 3.4.4 Police Scotland The primary areas of police responsibility are:

The saving of life in conjunction with the other emergency service;

To alert partner agencies of the need to invoke the Flood Response Plan;

To evacuate a given area and the co-ordination of this evacuation;

The co-ordination of the emergency services, local authorities, media and other organisations acting in support at the scene of the incident;

Liaising with partners and the media to warn and inform the public of the ongoing situation;

To secure, protect and preserve the scene, and to control sightseers and traffic through the use of traffic control and cordons;

The collation and dissemination of casualty information;

The identification of victims on behalf of Procurator Fiscal;

To liaise with partner agencies;

To plan and assist with restoration of normality at the earliest opportunity. 3.4.5 Scottish Fire and Rescue Service The primary areas of fire and rescue service responsibility are:

Rescue people trapped by flood water or debris; as required;

Prevent further escalation of an incident by controlling or extinguishing fires;

Assist with the removal of large quantities of water;

Assist Scottish Ambulance Service with casualty handling, as required;

Assist Police Scotland with the recovery of bodies, as required;

Liaise with partner agencies.



3.4.6 Scottish Ambulance Service – Inland Water Operations The strategic aim of the Special Operations Response Team (SORT) Inland Water Operations (IWO) function is to extend the footprint of available care into challenging and hazardous (water related) environments, including those situations within which no care or ambulance support was previously available, with the aim of saving more lives and improving health outcomes for patients. Potentital role in responding to an emergency the SORT IWO seeks to deliver extended ambulance care, in or associated with a water based or flooding environment, to the benefit of patients and will:

Provide a patient centred underpinning to the A&E Service, with extended skills;

Provide improved patient access, paramedical assessment and care, including within environments where this was previously unavailable;

Ensure clinical paramedical care is available for patients unreachable by land ambulance

Offer continuity of care throughout the patient experience;

Improve patient safety through direct intervention by ambulance personnel;

Provide a co-ordinated, consistent and exercised multi-agency approach across Scotland, using specially trained and equipped SORT personnel;

Provide medical triage prior to evacuation of large numbers or vulnerable groups, in the event of such evacuation due to water hazards;

Further develop best practice and collaborative working to benefit communities.

There are 3 full time SORT teams based in Edinburgh, Aberdeen & Johnstone all have the following:

All staff trained to a minimum of Water Awareness;

Staff trained as Swiftwater Rescue Technicians;

Appropriate PPE;

Patient care equipment appropriate for water incident support. A similar capability is available within the Inverness on-call SORT team The SAS Inland Water Operations Support Capability should be requested for any inland water related incident with actual or potential casualties. It should be requested through the normal ambulance 999 system.



3.4.7 Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)

Maintain liaison links with Met Office colleagues to provide up to date weather forecast information;

The lead role for managing the dissemination of flood warnings and aims to give timely and effective warnings;

Provide information to partners in relation to river gauge monitoring levels;

SEPA also has a strategic role in flood risk management and is responsible for producing Scotland’s first ever Flood Risk Management Strategies.

Responsible for increasing public awareness of flood risk, flood forecasting and warning and for general supervision of all matters relating to flood risk management.

3.4.8 Utilities

Major Utilities such as Gas, Electricity, Water and BT have their own contingency plans, which would be activated as required. Close liaison between the utilities, emergency services, local authorities and the public will, in the event of substantial flooding, be provided through the Strategic Co-ordination Group (if established).

http://www.sepa.org.uk/environment/water/flooding/flood-risk-management/



Part 4 – Recovery Although the immediate protection of life is the priority, the way in which the recovery / reoccupation element is managed is very important. In accordance with the response to other types of major incidents this will be considered during the immediate response phase. A Recovery Group should be established as soon as practicable, so that when conditions are appropriate to transfer the co-ordination role from Police Scotland to East Ayrshire Council it will be a seamless process. As the situation begins to improve the Recovery Group will implement any remaining actions until these can be controlled and co-ordinated by normal managerial procedures and will be stood down. Further information on recovery can be found within the Council’s Civil Contingencies Response and Recovery Plan.



Part 5 - Other Arrangements 5.1 Military Aid to the Civil Community In view of the potentially large costs involved, only the Chief Executive (or in her/his absence a nominee) may request the involvement of the Armed Services. Further details can be found within the Civil Contingencies Response and Recovery Plan. Contact telephone numbers, the assistance request procedures and resources and capabilities of the Armed Services in Central Scotland are held within the WoSRRP Emergency Contact Directory maintained by the ACCT. 5.2 Financial Procedures During a Severe Flood Incident, expenditure of funds will necessarily be incurred and it will therefore be essential, due to the urgency of the situation, to circumvent the normal procedures for sanctioning expenditure. (For example the hiring of plant or provisions, etc. outwith normal working hours.) In these circumstances the Chief Executive, or other senior officer of the Council, may authorise the immediate expenditure of funds for relief and mitigation measures, under the scheme of delegated powers. Such expenditure would be later ratified by the Emergency Powers Committee, who would also be the appropriate Committee to authorise further emergency expenditure as the incident develops. The Chief Executive will inform the Leader of the Council about any action taken under this delegation. The need for immediate authorisation of expenditure for disaster relief measures is recognised by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, Section 84. This section empowers local authorities to incur whatever expenditure they consider necessary, without prior consent of the Secretary of State, in situations where an emergency or disaster involving destruction of, or damage to life or property occurs, is anticipated, or is imminent. The expenditure of funds for flood mitigation efforts incurred by East Ayrshire Council should be recorded by each Department. Accounts received relating to the flood effort should be passed to the Depute Chief Executive of Economy and Skills for payment. The Depute Chief Executive of Economy and Skills will maintain a complete record of expenditure, in order that the total Council expenditure during the incident can be assessed. The Depute Chief Executive of Economy and Skills will co-ordinate and progress any application for Central Government assistance through the Bellwin Scheme. Costs for Minor Flooding Incidents will be borne by individual Departments.



5.3 The Bellwin Scheme The Bellwin Scheme is a discretionary scheme which exists to provide special financial assistance to Authorities who would otherwise be faced with an excessive financial burden, as a result of having to provide relief and carry out work, due to large scale emergencies. When it becomes obvious that an emergency is taking place and is creating immediate demands on Local Government, the Scottish Ministers will decide whether a Bellwin Scheme should be triggered. Once the Scheme has been activated, affected councils are invited to submit claims detailing their expenditure as a result of the emergency. The scheme may be activated to meet the additional expenses incurred in providing immediate relief, safeguarding life and property and in keeping key communications open in the immediate aftermath of an emergency. Its purpose is not to put right all the ill effects of an incident but to provide financial relief to local authorities. The Bellwin Scheme addresses revenue costs only. Eligible costs are subject to a threshold which is set individually for each Council, according to a formula agreed with COSLA. This recognises the fact that local authorities are expected to make contingency provision for such events in their budgets. In the event that the Bellwin Scheme is activated, the Scottish Government will pay a grant at the rate of 100% on eligible net additional emergency related costs incurred by local authorities, above a certain threshold. Full details of the scope of the Bellwin Scheme are available via the Depute Chief Executive of Economy and Skills. 5.4 Donations Management Due to high levels of media coverage, it is likely that donations will be received, from both local and remote sources, throughout the duration of a Major Flood Incident. This will especially be the case in incidents involving large numbers of homes and members of the community. The scale and additional pressure, which will be placed on the Council and its officers, in trying to equitably manage such donations, should not be underestimated. Donations need to be controlled before the Council is swamped by goods. An immediate priority of the EMT and the Head of Democratic Services would be to clarify, through the media, what the Council is prepared to accept and distribute. The following donations will be accepted:-

Financial donations - are preferred and should be sent to a specified account which will be arranged by the Head of Finance and IT . The Depute Chief Executive of Economy and Skills will, following full consultation, co-ordinate an equitable, confidential and secure method of dispersal of cash donations.

Clothing, furniture and other goods donations - an insistence on new items only must be made and enforced. The Trading Standards Service will be responsible for monitoring the receipt, and making arrangements for, the storage and distribution of such goods received.



Should any second-hand or unsolicited items be received, then the Trading Standards, Environmental Health and Cleansing Services will be responsible for the disposal of these ineligible donations. In addition, there may be involvement by local Gift Furniture schemes.

Food donations - the storage and distribution of food donations will be monitored by the Environmental Health Department.

The local Community Council should be invited to assist in the distribution process via community volunteers. The Democratic Service will maintain a record of receipt and distribution to avoid future criticism.



Part 6 – Conclusion of the Incident 6.1 Stand-down When an emergency is over and the incident stabilised, the EMT shall plan the withdrawal of Services and agencies. It should be noted, however, that it may be appropriate to withdraw some Service responses whilst still maintaining others. Some Services may continue to offer support for long periods after the EMT has ceased to function on an emergency basis. In such instances a “Lead Department” will continue to manage the emergency response and keep the CMT adequately briefed. It will be the responsibility of the ACCT in conjunction with ECC Manger to dismantle the ECC and return it to its appropriate condition, including all equipment and resources utilised. Individual Service’s stand-down arrangements are contained within their Contingency Planning procedures. It is important to inform all staff / agencies placed on “stand-by” that their services are no longer required.

6.2 Debrief Procedures

The Chief Executive, or Strategic Lead, will chair a Post Incident Debrief and review meeting of the EMT and the ICT. Prior to this other Executive Directors / Heads of Service should do likewise, to ascertain the effectiveness of their own Service’s performance and highlight any areas of good or bad practice. Service Contingency Planning procedures should be amended to reflect the findings of the debriefs.

6.3 Final Report

On completion of an incident all Executive Directors and Heads of Service, involved in the response, are responsible for preparing a full report. These reports shall give details of:

The emergency;

Extent of participation;

All actions taken including original log sheets;

Resources used (both staff and equipment) and expenditure involved;

Any recommendations from the debrief;

Actions to be taken and lessons learned. This report should be submitted to the Chief Executive and a copy sent to the ACCT for submission to the WoSRRP Support Team.



6.4 Records Storage All records of events, including initial notes, incident log books and telephone messages, should be stored after an incident for at least three years. Records should not be destroyed until managers are satisfied that they are no longer required for the purpose of public inquiries etc.



ANNEX A Appendix 1

BACKGROUND LEGISLATION

Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 creates a new and more sustainable approach to assessing and managing flooding across Scotland, placing more emphasis on a proactive and catchment focussed approach. The Act is being implemented in stages, and will eventually supersede the Flood Prevention (Scotland) Act 1961 and the Flood Prevention and Land Drainage (Scotland) 1997. Local authorities will be responsible for the production of local flood risk management plans, that will supplement the district flood risk management plans, to be prepared by SEPA. The Fire (Additional Function) (Scotland) Order 2005 under the umbrella of The Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 requires a specified authority to make provision for the purpose of

(i) rescuing people trapped, or likely to become trapped, by water and (ii) protecting them from serious harm,

in the event of serious flooding in their area. "a specified authority" is defined as the Fire and Rescue Authority as well as the Joint Fire and Rescue Board. Civil Contingencies Act 2004 provides a single legislative framework for civil protection in the UK. In summary, it places a duty on category one responders (emergency services, health boards and local authorities) to put in place arrangements to:

assess the risk of emergencies;

create and maintain emergency plans, including training and exercising;

create and maintain business continuity management procedures;

warn and inform the public in the event of an emergency. The Local Government (Scotland) Act 2003 allows local authorities to take immediate action where an emergency or disaster either threatens or has occurred. It also allows the local authority, in the event of a disaster or emergency involving danger to life or destruction of property, to incur such expenditure as they consider necessary to alleviate the situation. Building (Scotland) Act 2003 allows local authorities to take immediate action when an emergency or disaster adversely affects a building or structure. It also allows the local authority, in the event of a building failure, or emergency involving danger to life or destruction of property, to evacuate building occupants and incur such expenditure as they consider necessary to remove the immediate danger and maintain public safety. Homelessness Act 2002 places a duty on local authorities to develop a Homeless strategy. The Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 places a statutory duty on Councils to provide shelter for homeless persons, including those who may have been made homeless by a natural or manmade disaster. Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 requires Councils (adhering to strict criteria and only under specific circumstances) to provide suitable and adequate facilities for "persons in need". Such persons include those who have been rendered homeless and require temporary accommodation.



ANNEX A Appendix 2

Reference Documents

1. Council Civil Contingencies Response and Recovery Plan

This is the generic Plan that covers any major incident within East Ayrshire, which is not covered by any other specific contingency plan. The Plan details the roles and responsibilities of each department within the Council, the focal point for the ACCT to contact. The plan adds to the internal emergency procedures plans that Departments may have in place to avoid duplication or confusion during a major incident. This plan will be reviewed on a regular basis.

2. Emergency Contact Directory

The Emergency Contact Directory is a restricted document containing office and home telephone numbers of officers who may be required during a major incident.

It is reviewed by the ACCT regularly, or when there are a significant number of amendments. Heads of Service should notify the ACCT, as and when any changes to the details held within the Directory occur, i.e. change of personnel or their telephone numbers. This plan is reviewed biannually or more frequently, if required. 3. Care for People – Affected by Emergencies Emergency Centre Guidelines

This document contains guidelines for those Departments who would be involved in identifying, establishing and managing an Emergency Centre during a major incident. It was developed jointly by the Care for People Working Group, whose members come from East Ayrshire Council; NHS Ayrshire & Arran, local Voluntary Agencies and Police Representatives.

4. Departmental Emergency Procedures

All Departments should have Emergency Procedures which detail their internal emergency arrangements, including their cascade call out arrangements. All officers involved in responding to emergencies should be familiar with this document.



ANNEX A Appendix 3

Flood Risk Management Glossary

Term

Acronym Definition

Catchment or catchment area

The specific land area that drains into a watercourse.

Civil contingencies

The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 establishes a framework for emergency planning and response at both a local and a national level.

Climate change

Long-term changes in climate, either through a natural variability or human intervention.

Coastal flooding

Flooding that results from a combination of high tides and stormy conditions.

Combined sewer overflow CSO

A purposely-designed structure to allow a controlled overflow from combined sewer systems and ensure any excess water is discharged in a controlled way and at a specific managed location. CSOs are necessary to ensure the system will not flood when capacity is reached

Consequence

An impact such as economic, social or environmental damage/improvement. May be expressed quantitatively (e.g. monetary value), by category (e.g High, Medium, Low) or descriptively.

Culvert

A closed conduit used for the conveyance of surface drainage water under a roadway, railroad, canal, or other impediment.

DEFRA

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. A UK Government Department.

Diffuse pollution

Pollution which originates from various activities and which cannot be traced to a single source e.g. contaminated run off from built up areas.

Ecosystem

An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of living organisms as well as all the nonliving, physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight.

Ecosystem services

The benefits that people and communities obtain from ecosystems.

Embankment

Artificial raising of the natural bank height of a waterway.

Environment

This term is used to encompass landscape and visual, flora, fauna, geological or geomorphological features and buildings, air, water, sites and objects of archaeological, architectural or historical interest.

Flash Flood

A flash flood is a flood that occurs in a short period of time after high intensity rainfall or a sudden snow melt. A sudden increase in the level and velocity of the water body is often characteristic of these events. Rising water levels in the river network can reach its peak within minutes to a few hours of the onset of the flood event, leaving an extremely short time for warning.



Term Acronym Definition

Flood alert

Flooding is expected. Flood Alerts are early warning messages issued from SEPA about possible flooding. They prompt the public to remain alert and vigilant and provide time to make early preparations for potential flooding. Flood Alerts are issued for geographically representative areas, usually matching local authority boundaries.

Flood event

A flood event can be defined as the period of time flooding is expected, occurring and draining away. It is the result of significant, prolonged rainfall and other natural conditions which lead to inundated or overtopped barriers or watercourses. It causes significant adverse impacts on people, property or infrastructure and is not a result of regular weather or infrastructure drainage.

Flood forecasting

Use of hydrological and/or, where available, meteorological data to forecast when river levels and flows would exceed channel capacity.

Flood frequency

The probability of a location being flooded in any year. For example, where the flood frequency is 1%, flooding will be expected to occur on average once every 100 years in the long term.

Flood hazard map required by FRM Act to show information that describes the nature of a flood in terms of the extent, water level, depth and velocity of water

Flood Protection Scheme FPS

A suite of flood defence measures formally promoted under the FRM Act by a local authority to reduce flood risk from specified sources and so help to protect the community from the impacts of flooding.

Flood Risk A measure of the combination of the likelihood of flooding occurring and the associated impacts on people, the economy and the environment.

Flood Risk Assessment Flood risk assessments are supplied in support of applications for development to local planning authorities. They detail site specific flood risk.

Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009

FRM Act

Legislation which transposes the EC Floods Directive into Scots Law and aims to reduce the adverse consequences of flooding on communities, the environment, cultural heritage and economic activity.

Flood Risk Management Plans (FRMP)

FRMP High-level plans prepared by SEPA under the FRM Act that set out the strategic direction of flood management, through to specific projects or schemes.




Flood Risk Management Strategy

FRMS

Sets out a long-term vision for the overall reduction of flood risk. They will contain a summary of flood risk in each Local Plan District, together with information on catchment characteristics and a summary of objectives and measures for Potentially Vulnerable Areas. Taken together, the strategies will satisfy the requirement for National Flood Risk Management plans, set out in section 27 of the FRM Act

Flood risk map

Supplement flood hazard maps and provide detail on the impacts of flooding on people, the economy and the environment.

Flood warning

A warning issued by SEPA when flooding is imminent to inform the public to take immediate action to protect their family and property from the impacts of flooding.

Flood warning area

An area where SEPA operates a formal flood warning scheme with the available technology to issue targeted Flood Warning messages for properties located in this area. The boundaries of these areas have been set to include any properties which may be impacted by the effects of river or coastal flooding.

Flood Warning scheme

A flood warning scheme is the network of monitoring stations on rivers and at the coast. These are linked to SEPA computers which allows SEPA to provide advanced flood warnings in a specific area.

Floodplains

Floodplains are low-lying areas of land adjacent to rivers which convey and store water when flows exceed the capacity of the channel or would do so but for the presence of flood defences.

Greenhouse gases

Naturally occurring gases, such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane and ozone and man-made gases like chlorofluorocarbons, which absorb some of the sun's radiation and convert it to heat.

Groundwater flooding

Flooding that occurs when the water levels in the ground rise above surface levels. It is most likely to occur in areas underlain by permeable rocks.

Hazard

A situation with the potential to result in harm. A hazard does not necessarily lead to harm.

Impermeable surface

A land surface that does not permit the infiltration of water and, therefore, generates surface water runoff during periods of rainfall.

Interconfluence catchments ICC ICCs are generated from each confluence on the baseline river network, i.e. where two or more rivers, each with a catchment area greater than 10 km², meet.




Land use planning

The process undertaken by public authorities to identify, evaluate and decide on different options for the use of land, including consideration of long term economic, social and environmental objectives and the implications for different communities and interest groups, and the subsequent formulation and promulgation of plans that describe the permitted or acceptable uses.

Local Flood Risk Management Plans

LFMP

Plans prepared by local authorities that provide a local expression of the strategic plans prepared by SEPA. Include a summary of how actions will be implemented in each local plan area.

Local Plan District LPD Geographical areas for which Local Flood Risk Management Plans will be produced.

National Flood Risk Assessment NFRA

A national assessment of the impacts of flooding on people, the economy and the environment. Taking into account catchment characteristics, climate change and long-term developments. It provides the information required to undertake a strategic approach to flood management that targets those areas at greatest risk from floods.

Natural Flood Management NFM A set of flood management techniques that aim to work with natural processes (or nature) to manage flood risk.

Pluvial flooding Flooding that results from overland flow which has been generated by rainfall before the runoff enters any watercourse or sewer. This is also referred to as surface water flooding.

Potentially Vulnerable Areas PVA

Catchment units in which the National Flood Risk Assessment has identified significant impacts from flooding either now, or in the future, as a result of climate change. They will be used as the basis for producing Flood Risk Management Strategies.

Preparedness The degree to which people can take the right action to protect themselves and their property when warned that flooding is imminent.

Prevention Activities to provide outright avoidance of the adverse impact of hazards and means to minimise related environmental, technological and biological disasters.

Probability The probability of an outcome is the relative proportion or frequency of events leading to that outcome, out of all possible events.

Residual risk The risk which remains after risk management and mitigation. May include, for example, risk due to very severe (above design standard) storms, or risks from unforeseen hazards.




Resilience

Resilience is a measure of the ability of a community to recover from a flood.

Restoration of natural flooding processes

This is the return of a landscape, ecosystem, or other ecological entity to a predefined historical state where the flooding processes are uninterrupted.

Return period

The flood return period is a measure of the rarity of an event - the longer the return period, the rarer the event. It is the average length of time (usually in years) separating flood events of a similar magnitude.

Scottish Environment Protection Agency

SEPA SEPA is the public body responsible for environmental protection in Scotland.

Severe flood warning

Flooding is imminent and could pose a risk to life and cause significant disruption to essential services, such as water and electricity supplies. SEPA issues this warning to the public to inform them to prepare to evacuate and co-operate with emergency services.

Sewer flooding

Flooding caused solely by a blockage or overflowing in a sewer or urban drainage system.

Surface water run-off

The flow of water from rain, snow melt or other sources over land.

Sustainability

Actions taken now to manage the risk of flooding that are robust enough to stand the test of time. There are three pillars of sustainability that must be considered - environmental, social and economic.

Sustainable development

Sustainable development is an approach to resource use that aims to meet human needs, whilst preserving the environment so that it meets the needs of present and future generations. The delivery of sustainable development is generally recognised to require reconciliation of three pillars of sustainability - environmental, social and economic.

Sustainable Flood Risk Management

SFM An approach to managing flood risk in accordance with principles of sustainable development

Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems

SUDs

A sequence of water management techniques designed to drain surface water in a manner that will provide a more sustainable solution than the conventional practice of routing run-off through a pipe to a watercourse. These techniques are designed to slow the flow of water and can contribute to flood management by retention and slow release of rainfall from storm events, therby reducing problems downstream.

The Pitt Report This independent report was commissioned by HM Government in the wake of the severe flooding in England in summer 2007.

Vulnerability This is defined as a combination of susceptibility and resilience.


September 2015 v2 Ayrshire Civil Contingencies Team 3399

ANNEX B

ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION BY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT TEAM

(Note: the following is intended as a guide only and additional items should be included as circumstances demand)

No Item Delegated to (where appropriate)

Action Status In Progress or

Completed

1 The current and forecast meteorological situation based on Met Office and SEPA assessments.

2 Current river levels by SEPA gauges and observation of fixed gauge boards (where appropriate/available)

3 Predicted/observed rate of rise in river levels

4 Applicability if current alert state/need to warn residents/owners of business premises

5 Procedures of identifying vulnerable people/special needs in threatened/affected areas

6 Incidents of non-river flooding and their implications

7 Visual check of bridges for accumulation of debris

8 Anticipated time and height of next high tide

9 Priorities for placement of sandbags and arrangements to deploy

10 Requirements for additional sandbags/sand and the need to fill sandbags early – consider the likely time which a supply of filled sandbags will be available

11 Requirements for additional personnel/forward thinking re shift changes at all parts of the response

12 Public information strategy

Elected Members

Scottish Government

Public Information Helpline

Risk Management Centre & Local Offices information

Liaison with the Media for road closures



ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION BY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT TEAM

(Note: the following is intended as a guide only and additional items should be included as circumstances demand)

No Item Delegated to (where appropriate)

Action Status In Progress or

Completed

13 Domestic/welfare support for emergency services and local authority staff at the incident site

14 Need to maintain contact with the public utilities

15 Care for People requirements

Emergency Centre locations

Resources

Welfare arrangements

Shift changes

16 Protection of evacuated properties

17 Need for structural surveys

18 Visits to the area

Local authority Chief Officers

VIPs

19 Any other business

20 Time of next meeting



Major Incident Tabards ANNEX C



Rail Incident Officer



Coastguard Incident Officer

Site Incident Officer

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