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Cockermouth floods: ‘I’ve never seen anything like it.’

By Mark Cox
November 20, 2009 at 4:12 pm

Guest blogger Ian Rideout, Red Cross operations director, has been in Cockermouth since 3pm on Thursday with a team of 15 Red Cross swift rescue volunteers. He writes about his experiences below the audio player.

The centre of Cockermouth has been completely destroyed – I’ve never seen anything like it. The water has caused so much damage that many of the homes here are completely ruined.

We’ve been working non-stop since 8pm last night and between the Red Cross and RNLI we’ve rescued in the region of 200 people from their homes.

Rideout-in-boat-190Last night, I went up in one of the helicopters to get an idea of the full scale of the disaster and where we should focus rescue efforts. Almost straight away we found four people on the roof of their home who needed to be winched to safety.

Most of the people we’ve rescued have been in shock. One minute it’s raining heavily, then the next their home is filling with water and they’re being evacuated by the Red Cross. People have been very grateful though and the volunteers have done a tremendous job. They’ve worked right through the night in dangerous circumstances and have made a huge difference.

Although the waters have now started to subside, they’re still very fast-flowing and there is quite a lot of debris. Thankfully our boats are specially designed to cope with these conditions and are able to manoeuvre in very shallow water. If needs be, they can take a fair bit of damage.

We’ve also been using Red Cross Land Rover 4×4 vehicles to support the ambulance service.

Read our tips on how to prepare for floods and flooding

Listen to an interview with Ian.

Comments (25) »

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The Red Cross values comments both complimentary and critical. However, we will not tolerate the following: aggressive or personal criticism of the blogger, breach of copyright, obscene, defamatory, profane, sexually oriented, racially offensive or likewise objectionable comments.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 4:12 pm and is filed under Emergencies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  • http://www.Supreme-Success.com/ Aislinn O’Connor

    Have been watching the TV coverage in shock & disbelief – so glad the Red Cross has been there to help the victims of these terrible conditions.

    Thank you also for the tips on how to be prepared for flooding – given the apparent effects of climate change, it’s unfortunately all too likely that more of us will need them.

  • http://www.Supreme-Success.com Aislinn O’Connor

    Have been watching the TV coverage in shock & disbelief – so glad the Red Cross has been there to help the victims of these terrible conditions.

    Thank you also for the tips on how to be prepared for flooding – given the apparent effects of climate change, it’s unfortunately all too likely that more of us will need them.

  • irene

    Hello
    Have been watching the tv coverage so sad.
    want to help I have a Motor home sleeps four
    let me know if you need it . live in sutton coldfield west midlands

  • irene

    Hello
    Have been watching the tv coverage so sad.
    want to help I have a Motor home sleeps four
    let me know if you need it . live in sutton coldfield west midlands

  • Claire

    THANK YOU to the Red Cross, Mountain Rescue and RNLI volunteers – Cockermouth will always be grateful to you. Our little town is starting to dry out and we are begining to get ourselves back on our feet. Thank you, all of you.

  • Claire

    THANK YOU to the Red Cross, Mountain Rescue and RNLI volunteers – Cockermouth will always be grateful to you. Our little town is starting to dry out and we are begining to get ourselves back on our feet. Thank you, all of you.

  • David Hayman

    Though I live a long way from the affected area, I would like to offer a Christmas to a family that has been affected and therefore will not have anywhere to try and enjoy the Christmas period. Can anyone get back to me to let me know how I can arrange this.

  • David Hayman

    Though I live a long way from the affected area, I would like to offer a Christmas to a family that has been affected and therefore will not have anywhere to try and enjoy the Christmas period. Can anyone get back to me to let me know how I can arrange this.

  • Mark

    Hi Irene and David,

    Thanks for getting in touch and offering to help. Throughout this crisis, one of the more touching aspects has been the willingness of members of the public to step forward and help.

    It’s so nice of you to make an offer of accommodation, but please be assured that arrangements are already being made by local authorities and social services to ensure a safe, dry temporary housing for everyone currently unable to return home. However, I’m sure your kind sentiments will have warmed the hearts of Cockermouth residents, such as Claire (above).

  • Mark

    Hi Irene and David,

    Thanks for getting in touch and offering to help. Throughout this crisis, one of the more touching aspects has been the willingness of members of the public to step forward and help.

    It’s so nice of you to make an offer of accommodation, but please be assured that arrangements are already being made by local authorities and social services to ensure a safe, dry temporary housing for everyone currently unable to return home. However, I’m sure your kind sentiments will have warmed the hearts of Cockermouth residents, such as Claire (above).

  • Amparo Aleixos

    Hi there, we have three brand new single folding beds. new quilts and brand new bedding. We would be happy to help.

  • Amparo Aleixos

    Hi there, we have three brand new single folding beds. new quilts and brand new bedding. We would be happy to help.

  • ellie hanlon

    i cant belive this has happended this is terreble lots of people have syfferd from this

  • ellie hanlon

    i cant belive this has happended this is terreble lots of people have syfferd from this

  • Alison McIntosh

    Would like to thank the Red Cross for their assistance in getting our donation collected for and hope that it is useful to a deserving family.

  • Alison McIntosh

    Would like to thank the Red Cross for their assistance in getting our donation collected for and hope that it is useful to a deserving family.

  • megan

    Hello,
    i think the flood was terrible. i feel awful to P.C Barkers family. it must be really hard to lose a husband and dad of 4.

  • http://discountbeddingsets.org/ Bedding Sets For Sale

    Could you share to us your sales page?

  • matt lancaster

    wot iz allll da fussss about hey

  • matt lancaster

    is anyone up 4 grabs

  • luke chaplow

    i am

  • mattlancaster

    great

  • chris brown

    matt is gay

  • http://www.auto-owl.co.uk/ Roman

    I just sent this post to a bunch of my friends as I agree with most of what you’re saying here and the way you’ve presented it is awesome.
    ________________________
    Contract Hire

  • Jess

    We are doing a project on the flood. We found out that 3 rivers where conected! Also, the rain fall was worth 3 months of rain! That was only in a few hours!

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Mark Cox

Mark Cox

Mark Cox is UK services writer at the British Red Cross.

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