Flood rescue has unique risks and challenges but, with specialist skills and determination, achievement against the odds is possible as our volunteers found in Umberleigh and St Asaph recently

A shrill scream for help chilled Paul Eastment and his team as they arrived to rescue a terrified mother clinging frantically to a tree in a treacherously flooded river.

‘It was a sound that will stay with me for a long time’, says Paul, an RNLI Flood Rescue Team Leader. ‘It was desperate and full of emotion. I will never forget it.’

Vanessa Glover was with her family when their vehicle became trapped in floodwater at Umberleigh in Devon on 23 December 2012. Her son and husband were rescued by firefighters, but she was swept away as she scrambled to safety onto the roof of the car. By the time the Flood Rescue Team (FRT) arrived at 1.45am, Vanessa had been struggling for 40 minutes.

Ideally the rescue should have been a helicopter or twoboat operation, but with only seconds to spare, Paul launched the one boat available. In complete darkness volunteer Helmsman Chris Missen battled against the ferocity of the water, which gushed relentlessly downstream. He steered the boat backwards down the river and then sideways into the trees to drag the exhausted woman onto the lifeboat.

Robin Goodlad, the RNLI’s Incident Commander during operations in the Barnstaple area, says the team were amazed that she had survived. ‘Had they not picked her up in that boat she would have been floating away downstream,’ he says. This rescue 2 days before Christmas is one of the riskiest performed by a flood rescue team. Robin adds: ‘This was a very heroic rescue; there are no two ways about it. This was a highrisk operation with a high potential benefit and they decided that benefit outweighed the clear risk to their own lives.’ 

When the River Elwy burst its banks in November 2012 and began flooding St Asaph in north Wales, the FRT faced a different set of challenges. At the water’s highest point, the small town was like an island with contaminated floodwater swamping homes, leaving hundreds of people stranded.

‘It was horrendous. The debris was colossal; wheelie bins, rubbish and benches were floating around,’ says Coxswain Martin Jones, 42, a father of three. ‘Manholes had lifted up and the water had risen over the roofs of the cars; in fact one car had disappeared.’

Martin and his five-strong team from Rhyl worked solidly for 8 hours to lead men, women and children from their homes to boats and paddle them to safety through waist-high water. At one point the team were tasked with rescuing an elderly gentleman from a first-floor flat, but found him panicked and reluctant to leave.

‘He said he couldn’t leave, because he had only just come out of hospital where he had contracted MRSA and could not risk being in contact with floodwater’, says Martin. The team decided to break a first floor window, lift him through and lower him onto the boat using the boat’s drum (waterproof kit container) as a step. ‘He was so grateful afterwards. He wouldn’t stop thanking us,’ says Martin.

In all the RNLI deployed three teams to help during the drama on 27 November. Collectively they rescued 43 people in a day that would test not only their training and physical endurance, but their mental resilience too. ‘One elderly lady was in tears when we saw her, as she had lost her only photo of her husband,’ says Paul Archer-Jones, 45, who has been a systems technician for 5 years with the RNLI.

‘That’s when it hits you. These people are losing their whole life’s possessions. You can’t imagine the emotional cost.’

The incidents at St Asaph and Umberleigh prove the flood rescue teams can face dynamic risks in the harshest of conditions and it is thanks to their specialist training that they are ready to respond. Matt Crofts, RNLI Divisional Operations Manager and Flood Rescue Team Leader says: ‘They had confidence in their equipment and each other because they used every ounce of their training and good judgement.’

As the heavy rainfall saw the RNLI FRT called into action more times in 2012 than ever before, the need for this specialist training continues. The second wettest year on record saw the volunteers deploy 8 times across the UK and RoI. Met Office analysis shows that the UK may be getting increasingly wetter as climate change causes warmer air to carry more water. But, whatever the need, the RNLI Flood Rescue Team will always be available 24/7.

As Matt says, it is this unique quality that means the largely volunteer flood rescue teams will continue to do the RNLI and the public proud.

For the Umberleigh rescue, Paul Eastment, Chris Missen and Martin Blaker-Rowe are to be presented with RNLI Bronze Medals for Gallantry, the first ever to be awarded for flood rescue. They will receive their medals at the RNLI’s Annual Presentation of Awards in May.

You can see film footage of this rescue at: RNLI.org/frtgallantryvideo.

The Flood Rescue Team (FRT)
The RNLI Flood Rescue Team members are drawn from lifeboat crew from the UK and RoI as well as staff.

They train regularly, including undertaking joint exercises with emergency services and other charities, to ensure they can respond effectively to flooding within the UK, RoI and IoM or overseas.

Training covers skills such as operating boats in fast-flowing water in narrow spaces similar to the streets of a town; navigation; and how to deal with submerged hazards.

Formed in 2000, the FRT now has six strategically placed teams positioned to respond to a flood anywhere in the UK, RoI and IoM within 6 hours of request.

The FRT relies upon voluntary donations, and is supported by Toolstation. The cost of international deployment is borne by the UK Department for International Development.

How to to stay safe during a flood
• Move your family and pets to somewhere with a means of escape.
• Gather essential items (like water, blankets, a torch, first aid kit and food) and put them out of the way of floodwater.
• Plug sinks and baths; weigh them down with a heavy object such as a pillowcase or plastic bag filled with garden soil.
• Turn off gas, electricity and water supplies.
• Call 999 if you are in danger. Listen to local radio for updates, or call Floodline on 0845 988 1188.