Just testing, this time, as flood sirens sound again in Calderdale

Calderdale was one of the worst-hit areas in the county with recent figures revealing 2,135 homes and 945 businesses were submerged by some of the worst floods in living memory.

Yet the flood sirens sounded across the valley once again in an effort to test the borough’s resilience in the face of a large-scale disaster.

Operation Calderdale 16 saw Calderdale Council, the emergency services and its partners join forces in one of the largest training exercises ever held in the borough.

Emergency service teams conducted a live search and rescue and a new radio network was trialled as part of their efforts during the major incident training.

Calderdale Council’s leader Tim Swift said it was vital to be prepared for any major incident and praised the efforts of the communities as the flood waters receeded.

He said: “It’s vital for the council and all our partners to be prepared for any major incident which might occur and this exercise helps us rehearse our response and identify if we need to make any further changes to our practices.

“I was extremely proud of the way our communities, partners and council services worked together on the recovery after the Boxing Day floods.

“We learned a lot and we wanted to put this to the test to make sure that our, and our partners’, responses are as effective as possible.

“We wanted to make sure that we had learnt the lessons from the floods and that we can reassure people that if the worst happened, we are fully prepared and could keep people safe and secure in the future.”

The exact details of the operation were not fully disclosed prior to the exercise to ensure that all involved responded as if it was a real-life incident.

Flood sirens were tested and community hubs were opened in areas badly hit by flooding, including Todmorden, Hebden Bridge, Mytholmroyd, Sowerby Bridge, Elland and Brighouse.

Residents and businesses were told they did not need to take any action as the noise sounded across the valley.

Joanna Arnold, Environment Agency flood resilence advisor, said: “It is important that we test the sirens to check that they are working properly and can be triggered remotely from our incident room in Leeds.

“This exercise is a great opportunity not only to test the sirens, but our response to a flood incident with our partners.”

In Sowerby Bridge, a live search and rescue operation was carried out on the Rochdale Canal to test the response to a boat trapped in rising flood waters.

Other exercises took place across the valley and teams used a new radio network, which aims to improve communication between teams during any emergency incident.

Dominic Furby, of West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, stressed the importance of the exercise.

He said: “We go to lots of different incidents, but the Boxing Day floods were something out of the ordinary.

“We need to make sure we have got the resilience, the skills and the crews are trained to support the public of Calderdale.”

Many residents are still out of their homes, nearly 10 months on from the devastating floods of last winter.

Calderdale Council has said it is “actively targeting” around 200 homes which are still unoccupied after the unprecedented Boxing Day deluge.

A recent survey by the Local Government Association (LGA) reveals that around 3,224 homes and 1,638 businesses in the region were swamped after storms Desmond, Eva and Frank swept across the country.

Calderdale was the worst-hit area in Yorkshire, with 2,135 homes and 945 businesses flooded after the deluges. More than 15,000 homes and businesses were flooded in areas across northern England, according to the LGA’s snapshot survey.

In Leeds, 298 homes and 375 businesses were affected.

This compares to 404 and 96 in North Yorkshire, around 350 and 157 in York and 37 and 65 in Kirklees.