Serious flood incident - training exercise
Wednesday, 12 October 2016
Calderdale Council's will be holding its biggest ever live training exercise across Calderdale on Friday 14 October 2016.
Operation Calderdale16 will test the emergency response of the Council, the emergency services and partners to a major flooding incident, including a live search and rescue.
Taking part will be a range of Council services, together with the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, West Yorkshire Police, the Environment Agency, the Canal & River Trust, Yorkshire Water, Calder Valley Search and Rescue, Northern Powergrid, Yorkshire Ambulance Service and Together Housing.
Calderdale Council's Leader, Cllr Tim Swift said, "It's vital for the Council and all our partners to be prepared for any major incident which might occur and this exercise will help us rehearse our response and help identify if we need to make any further changes to our practices.
"I was extremely proud of the way our communities, partners and Council services worked together on the recovery after the Boxing Day floods. We learned a lot and now want to put this to the test to make sure that our, and our partners' responses, are as effective as possible."
The exact details of Operation Calderdale16 have not been fully disclosed, to test preparedness, as it is essential that staff and partners deal with the exercise as if it was a real-life incident.
As part of the exercise the flood sirens will be tested and the community hubs will be opened in Todmorden, Hebden Bridge, Mytholmroyd, Sowerby Bridge, Elland and Brighouse.
Teams will also use the opportunity to test the Council's new radio network, which should improve communication around the affected area during any incident.
You can find out more information about the exercise on Calderdale Council's social media accounts by liking our Facebook page, following us on Twitter @Calderdale using the hashtag #OperationCdale16 or by visiting www.eyeoncalderdale.com.