Date: 22:03:90
INCIDENT REPORT

At approximately 1050 on Monday 26th February, Mr Dennis Casement of the County Emergency Planning Office contacted me (GW4PUX) at my place of employment requesting I should put the local Raynet Groups on Stand-by. This was due to the expected flood warnings due to extremely strong North Westerly winds and the impending unusually high tide.

I immediately contacted seven members of the West Clwyd Raynet Group and five members of the East Clwyd Group requesting them to get their equipment ready for an emergency call-out and listed their immediate telephone numbers. 144.825 was monitored by all available activated Raynet Members. We began making out lists of operators and equipment available. During the course of the day constant updates were given on the weather conditions and the state of the sea wall at Towyn.

At 1640 I was again contacted by Mr Casement and asked to open up Colwyn Bay Communications Centre. Also to establish a radio link between Abergele Police Station and Bodelwyddan Castle. A further station was to be made operational at the High School in Abergele. Colwyn Bay Communications Centre was operational at 1655hrs manned by GW4PUX and GW4IEQ as Control Station. By 1815 hours all requested stations were on frequency 144.825 and emergency traffic was being handled. Abergele Police Station became Incident Control. Abergele High School opened as a Registration and Clearing Centre. Bodelwyddan Castle opened as a Rest Centre for Displaced Residents. Initially 400 residents were evacuated and accommodated at Bodelwyddan Castle.

It soon became apparent that a section of the sea wall at Towyn was under great pressure from the unusually high tide and strong gale force wind from the North West. Raynet Control was requested to set up communications at a further two rest centres. These were at Kinmel Hall and Kinmel Military Camp. These two further rest centres were operational within 40 minutes of the request. Another stand-by rest centre was located in the Hotpoint Canteen at the request of the CEPO. By this time there were in excess of 1500 displaced residents. The majority had been registered and arrangements made for friends and relations outside of the incident area to arrange for transportation.

An appeal had been made on Clwyd Radio and Marcher Sound for dry clothing, socks, shoes and blankets etc. This appeal had a fantastic response, thus creating a further major task on the 2 metre network. As the Abergele High School was the first assembly point for the evacuated people, it was decided that most of the dry clothing would be better located there. The dry blankets were immediately dispatched to the rest centres. Out of hours telephone numbers were obtained for further emergency supplies. At this point Raynet was requested to supply s direct radio link between Abergele Police Incident Room and North Wales Police Headquarters at Colwyn Bay. Immediately GW8XLL got together the necessary radio equipment and went to North Wales Police Headquarters. On arrival he was informed that this action was not necessary. GW8XLL then returned to Bodelwyddan Castle to continue duties there.

Within four hours the request for the direct link was made again. Equipment was immediately sent to Colwyn Bay and once more the link was refused. They informed us that a number of Vodaphones had been loaned and would suffice. With prior knowledge of the Vodaphone cell situation and lack of chargers, it was decided to have equipment ready for priority use. The call came once again within two hours and this time the link was set up. Traffic began to run smoothly between all RAYNET operators.

It soon became apparent that there was a need for North Wales Police HQ and Abergele Police Incident Room to have in their possession a list of all evacuated people. A RAYNET operator was sent mobile around all the rest centres in order to collect a list of names from each station. These were delivered to North Wales Police HQ where they were photocopied and a copy was delivered to the Abergele Police Incident Room. A causality Bureau was set up at North Wales Police HQ and at the Abergele Library. A telephone number was then transmitted to all stations manned by RAYNET with the instructions that any/all enquiries regarding the whereabouts of evacuees unable to be traced should refer to this number. All through the incident, a large percentage of radio link requests made to RAYNET were from the North Wales Police HQ and Abergele Police Incident Room, who were requesting information on missing evacuees phoned in by anxious relatives from all over the Country. The Library at Abergele was also under the supervision of Social Services and the EPO.

Traffic relating to various requirements was passed from all services including Police, Ambulance, Social Services, Emergency Planning, WRVS and all other Emergency Services involved. This request varied from toothpaste, hair shampoo to clothing, newspapers, cigarettes, baby powder and disposable nappies, writing paper and envelopes. A complete list is appended. Some of the traffic concerned lost and abandoned pets, birds, tortoises and children’s rabbits and hamsters. Some evacuees were even concerned about having left kettles and pans on the stoves. Social Security was available for those who required immediate funds. The Salvation Army and Samaritan personnel were called upon to pacify some of the elder displaced tenants. Cots were in great demand through the crucial first 48 hours of the incident. West/East Clwyd Raynet Members coped admirably.

I decided as Incident Controller to call in some members from adjoining counties. Most of the traffic now consisted of general information. The main evacuation of the flooded area was almost complete. A few stragglers were still being rescued and transferred to the Rest Centres. The West/East Clwyd Members were tired, but by no means too fatigued to carry out their duties. Having Raynet Members from Gwynedd and Wirral checking into Abergele Police Incident Room, where they were immediately sent out to replace the operators who required rest. I visited each of the stations constantly during the course of the incident, and was pleasantly surprised to find all the operators in first class condition, fully capable of carrying out their duties without error of judgement. Food and drink were being provided as and when requested. In one case it seemed a gap between meals in excess of 20 minutes was cause for complaint. Humorously, I hasten to add.

For the whole of the five days of the incident, stations were kept manned and operational until stood down by the CEPO. This was usually after the late high tide had passed without further problems.

We received verbal thanks from Inspectors of the North Wales Police as well as some extremely nice compliments from the CEPO. All services involved had nothing but praise for the communications that had been provided by members of Raynet. On the Thursday of the incident both I and GW8XLL were presented to Prince Charles and Lady Diana. They visited the evacuees at Bodelwyddan Castle, spending well over their allotted time talking to residents and members of the voluntary and professional services involved.