Exercise to test emergency floods response

One of the biggest emergency exercises ever will take place across England and Wales next year to test responses to severe flooding from rivers, the sea, reservoirs and flash floods, the Environment Department said today.

Exercise Watermark will test emergency services and communities on a range of scenarios which could occur in the face of different types of flooding.

Hospitals, the Ministry of Defence, Network Rail and the Flood Forecasting Centre are among the organisations that have signed up to take part.

The exercise will begin with a pilot in November, the main event taking place across England and Wales from March 4-11.