What would you do if flooded.....

Bedfordshire and Luton Fire and Rescue Service will be joining Emergency response partners from Bedfordshire and Luton Local Resilience Forum (BLLRF) who will be putting their flood response skills to the test in the first week of March.

The public are invited to two events where they can find out about the flood risk in their area and how they can protect themselves. A Flood Awareness Day will be held in Harpur Square, Bedford, on Friday March 4 from 9am to 4pm, and a Flood Evacuation Exercise at Cedars Upper School, Leighton Buzzard, on Saturday March 5, from 10am to 5pm.

An exercise to test emergency responses to severe flooding in Bedfordshire and Luton will take place on Tuesday March 8. As part of the national Exercise Watermark exercise, a range of possible scenarios will be acted out, included stranded motorists, flooded homes and isolated communities.

The exercise will involve all local authorities including police, the Environment Agency as well as the full range of NHS, ambulance and hospital trusts which serve the county.

Chairman of BLLRF, Asst Chief Constable Kath Govier from Bedfordshire Police said, “Exercise Watermark will be a real test of our ability to deal with a range of issues such as burst riverbanks and surface water flooding. The effects of flooding can be devastating so it is essential that we are all prepared to deal with the risk.”

BLLRF supports the 'What would you do if...?' campaign which aims to help everybody living or working within Bedfordshire and Luton to be prepared and consider what they would do if faced with an emergency. Log onto www.whatwouldyoudoif.co.uk