Regional Resilience tested by tidal surge threat

On the morning of Friday 9 November, it was feared that the combination of high tide levels and a tidal surge would threaten to raise the sea level higher than 2 metres above normal levels, which would have presented a real risk to lives and property in coastal areas of Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex.

To co-ordinate response, a round-the-clock Regional Operations Centre was established to co-ordinate and monitor preparations by the Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex response teams. The ROC also fed into regular meetings of the Government's emergency briefing committee (COBRA) as well as updating regional colleagues and the Regional Minister Barbara Follett on the latest situation. ROC also fielded representatives to sit in the Gold Command meetings set up in Norfolk and Suffolk to lead the county response.

Fortunately, the threat reduced over the course of Friday, as it became clear that the surge and the tide did not quite coincide in the way that had been forecast by the Met Office and Environment Agency. While the sea defences were breached at several places along the coast including Yarmouth and Lowestoft, and caused some localised flooding, emergency services were able to breathe a sigh of relief that the scale of damage predicted had been averted.

Steve Green, GO East’s Head of Resilience, said:

"Had the surge been as bad as was predicted we really could have been dealing with some devastating impacts across the Eastern edge of the region. And we always have to respond to that threat, and be prepared for the worst case scenario. We have been very lucky that the threat has passed we have emerged relatively unscathed.

“In many ways, the scare has given us a really good chance to try out our response, and work with local and regional partners to review how it worked, and whether we can improve anything. It has also given us a chance to prove, and reassure people, that we are ready to respond when needed.”

As a part of preparing for the predicted threat, over 7,500 people were advised to leave their homes in Norfolk, with between 700-1000 people evacuated to 6 rest centres overnight. Suffolk also opened 3 rest centres overnight. Schools and roads in threatened areas across the 2 counties were closed for periods of Friday. Meanwhile substations and critical infrastructure across the affected areas were sandbagged to protect them, and to try and ensure electricity and water supplies were not affected.

Regional Minister Barbara Follett visited Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft with Local Government Minister John Healey on Friday to see the impact, and to thank local people and emergency services for their response. Barbara Follett said:

"Things look a great deal better than I thought they would and I am very relieved. I'm also very pleased with the swift reaction of local authorities and emergency services and the community spirit displayed by the people of East Anglia."