Great work from our Coastguard Rescue teams last weekend during tidal surge alerts

A volunteer from Whitby Coastguard Rescue Team
reviews the damage after a tidal surge.
Credit Chris Evans
This time last weekend, many of our Coastguard Rescue Teams were dealing with the aftermath of tidal surges across the coast. We were out in full force supporting the Police, Fire and Mountain Rescue Teams to ensure the safety of people in flood risk areas. 

Our teams faced challenging and often atrocious conditions and this is a massive shout out to all our volunteers, the emergency services and Mountain Rescue Teams working last weekend and this weekend to always keep you safe. 

Tony Garbutt UK Coastguard Coastal Area Commander for the Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex area said:  “With severe weather warnings last weekend, all precautions were taken to ensure the safety of those living and working on the coast.  Our Coastguard Rescue Teams from Mundsley and Happisburgh, Hemsby, Lowestoft, Gorlestone, Clacton, Mersey, Walton and Winterton worked around the clock to support the Police in their efforts to keep everyone safe.  They monitored and patrolled the main areas of concern at Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft, Essex, Jaywick and Hemsby where the oncoming surge of tide meant some evacuations could become necessary.

Steve Hart, Senior Coastal Operations Officer for UK Coastguard, said: 'Tactical Coordinating groups met and over the days leading up to the event tried to identify the main areas at risk and plan accordingly. Through a multi-agency response our key principles were to keep people safe and prevent: loss of life, danger to the public, damage to properties and the environment and assist with the speedy return to normality. This resulted in some teams being pre deployed and co-located with partner agencies to provide an immediate joint response. I’d like to thank Humber Coastguard Operations Centre for their regular weather reports, calls and support during this time.'

We may have seen the last of the bad weather but we would remind people that in weather like last weekend the seas and tide are unforgiving.  We cannot stress enough that cliff edges, piers, rocks, harbours and the water’s edge are not safe places to be when the weather is bad.   The force of the waves could very easily sweep you to sea or cause serious injury. Remember if you do find yourself in trouble or if you see someone who you think might be in trouble 999 and ask for the Coastguard.

Further thanks to Coastguard Rescue Teams from Redcar, Staithes, Skinningrove, Whitby, Ravenscar, Burniston, Scarborough, Sunderland, Blyth, Amble, Bridlington, Hornsea, Withernsea, Easington, Hull, Cleethorpes, Donna Nook, Mablethorpe, Skegness, Chapel, Sutton Bridge and Wrangle.


Popular posts from this blog

Label your kit at the coast

Image
Kayaks. Canoes. Paddleboards. What do they all have in common? They’re quite often found on the coastline or drifting out to sea. And if we don’t know who they belong to, we can spend time searching for an owner when they’re home safe and sound. So please help us to help you. Label your kit so that if you do get separated from it, and it turns up somewhere, we can get hold of you. In recent weeks, our Coastguard Rescue Teams have found numerous items such as kayaks and canoes drifting out at sea or abandoned near the shoreline. Unfortunately, some of the items we have found have not had their owners’ contact details written on them nor been reported as missing to the Coastguard. As a result, it makes it difficult for us to find out who it belongs to and also means we can never be completely sure if someone is safe or in the worst case, in trouble at sea. This can place a huge strain on our resources especially during the busy summer period when we have to call upon our Coastgua
Read more

A short history of HM Coastguard

Image
Today HM Coastguard is a world leader in maritime search and rescue. Looking back almost 200 years, the goods, which now travel by road, were carried by hundreds of small ships. Year in year out dozens of ships and hundreds of lives were lost within sight of the coast. Public shock and dismay at the tragedies drove forward the creation of national life saving organisations. Though it’s beginnings lie in those decades HM Coastguard originated not to meet the dangers of the seas but to combat a threat to the country’s economy and security – smuggling. As soon as medieval taxes were charged on imports and exports, people began smuggling. By 1743 th e estimate was that half the tea drunk in Britain was illegally imported and shows that smuggling was highly profitable. Smugglers have often been romanticised but the reality was brutal. Local people lived in fear, with violent reprisals on informers and the murder of revenue officers, while corruption enabled smugglers to evade harsh p
Read more

BOSCASTLE FLOODS: TEN YEARS ON

Image
Boscastle Flooding 16 th August 2004 The storms of Monday 16 August 2004 saw three weeks worth of rain fall in one day. The resulting water began to be funnelled down the valleys surrounding Boscastle and soon the steep roads became rivers. By the time that the water reached the picturesque village, it had picked up enough momentum to become a raging torrent, sweeping into buildings, washing cars away and felling huge trees. Graham King runs the Witches Museum in Boscastle and was also the station officer for the Boscastle Coastguard Rescue Team at the time of the floods: “ My museum is situated next to the harbour near the river ,” says Graham “ and I can see the coastguard equipment store from there. Initially I was concerned that the vehicle and equipment were going to become stranded but I soon began to realise how quickly the situation was deteriorating and called Falmouth Coastguard ” From that point on the villagers and tourists stranded in flood waters were he
Read more