D class lifeboats help nearly 600 people to safety from floodingThe sterling efforts of the crews of three North Wales lifeboats during the severe flooding which hit the area in late February 1990 have earned the stations special certificates of thanks from the Chairman of the RNLI.The lifeboats were in operation from 26 Februrary to 1 March and while working in difficult, dangerous and extremely uncomfortable conditions helped some 580 people and countless family pets to safety after the failure of the sea wall in hurricane force onshore winds and exceptionally high tides.

In addition to the inflatable lifeboats the crew also used their launching vehicles in the floodwater, where their high ground clearance and the ability to work in a wet environment proved invaluable.

The first request for help came at 1100 on 26 February when the North Wales Police contacted the honorary secretary at Rhyl, to ask for assistance in evacuations at Towyn, three miles to the west of the station. The lifeboat was on its way to the scene at 1130 with five crewmen and subsequently another three crew were despatched to help.

Llandudno's lifeboat was called at 1130 by Holyhead Coastguard and was on its way ten minutes later, and Flint's Land Rover setout for the 25 mile trip to the area just after 1230.

The conditions which greeted the crews were difficult in the extreme, with water up to 6ft deep, currents up to 5 knots, floating debris, and underwater obstructions ranging from collapsed walls to open manhole covers.

The crews from all three stations worked long hours, snatching refreshments at Rhyl lifeboat station and being at work until the early hours of the morning throughout the period of the alert.

Several areas were involved, with Towyn, Pensarn and Kinmel Bay all being searched and evacuated at various stages. Many of those evacuated were elderly, sick or disabled and all had to be taken by lifeboat or by Llandudno's Unimog tractor or Flint's Land Rover to a place of safety.From the first alert in the late morning of 26 February until the highest tides had passed nearly five days later virtually every lifeboatman and helper in the area was involved in the service, some spending up to 19 hours a day in the floodwater. No less than 51 people from the three stations are singled out for special thanks in the chairman's certificates of recognition.Although civil emergencies of this nature are thankfully rare, and unlikely to recur in the same area, the RNLI held a special debriefing after the event to see how well its equiment and organisation coped with a series of events which could hardly have been foreseen, let alone exercised.

It was generally agreed that the lifeboat involvement and liaison with the Coastguard were most satisfactory but that other emergency services' communications with their maritime equivalents could be improved.

Suggestions arising from the North Wales flooding are likely to be circulated to other stations in case a similar situation arises in the future..