Cleveland RAYNET Group

The Lake District Floods

Update: Tuesday 24 November 2009

The English county of Cumbria has been badly affected by floods, due to record amounts of rainfall and rivers flooding into farmland, roads and towns. Cumbria Emergency Planning Unit (EPU) has established two rest centres. Many people have been evacuated from their homes. They can't return to their homes and business premises until flood damage has been fixed. That could take weeks, months or years.

The areas affected include, but are not limited to, Cockermouth, Workington and Keswick in West Cumbria.

Mains electricity and the 999 emergency telephone service failed in some areas.

Some towns now have poor road access due to river bridges being destroyed or unable to be used as they are unsafe. In Cockermouth, a 2 minute journey across a bridge to the other side now involves a 28 mile detour taking about 70 minutes.

In general, the flooding incident is over and is in the recovery state.

The Calva Bridge is unsafe and can't be used. It carries telecommuncations cables. The bridge will have to be removed as it is likely to fall down.

RAYNET groups currently on standby are: North Pennines, Richmond and Cleveland. Many other RAYNET groups are on some lower level of alert in case the emergency services require us to provide extra communications.

Cumbria EPU and police provided RAYNET with the latest situation report at 16:00 hrs today.

The police believe that the bridge is probably going to collapse and chop the cables. For an unknown area, that will cut off telephones, private speech circuits, private data circuits, radio networks which use BT circuits and the internet. BT are working to re-route services.

The following is not definite, but is the best guess. If the bridge collapses, police will call out RAYNET to pass messages between 3, 4 or 5 locations which will probably be police stations. RAYNET manning will be continuous for possibly 14 days.

The Cleveland RAYNET Group covers Teesside and the North York Moors. It is part of the UK Radio Amateurs' Emergency Network, which is a Registered Charity (Number 1047725).

The national organisation consists of individual RAYNET groups which may or may not be registered charities. Cleveland RAYNET Group is not a registered charity.

We may operate out of our normal geographical area and other RAYNET groups may assist us in our area.

Group Profile

RAYNET provides backup communications for the emergency services and other organisations during major disasters when normal communications may have failed or become overloaded.

RAYNET is a voluntary organisation and members use their own amateur radio equipment and group equipment to provide communications for others.

RAYNET takes part in exercises and can provide voluntary radio communications for the community at the request of a User Service.

Cleveland RAYNET Group was established in November 1972.

Cleveland RAYNET Group are Honorary Members of Cleveland Search & Rescue Team.

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