Flooding exercise in Topsham

This Wednesday evening residents with river frontage in the Estuary-side town of Topsham will be participating in a flooding exercise.

The town was flooded during the severe weather in February 2014, the same storms that breached the railway line in Dawlish.

Since then the local Emergency Group have been active in encouraging residents to protect their properties and by recruiting Flood Wardens to help out in an emergency.

Exercise Flood Board will also be a test for the Flood Wardens. They will be called out, equipped ready for a flood situation, then deployed along the Strand and Ferry Rd (the main areas affected in a flood incident). Members of the Emergency Group will use the Route 2 Cafe, near Topsham Quay, as a command and control hub, and will test communication with the Flood Wardens during the exercise.

What makes this exercise unique is that residents will be participating too. All residents in the flood zone who have invested in flood defences for their properties - we estimate nearly half have done so - will be putting up their flood boards that evening. Flood Wardens will be there to assist any who are having difficulty and will undertake an 'audit' of how many properties are now protected.

We are supported in the exercise by agencies including Exeter City Council, Devon County Council, the Environment Agency and the Fire & Rescue Service. From 7pm the Environment Agency will put on a demonstration at Topsham Quay on how to build a sandbag wall that is water-tight.

At the end of the exercise there will be a de-brief to ascertain what went well and what could be improved.