Storm Babet

Flood Watch

An all too familiar story for the team garage, as Storm Babet approached we watched as flood alerts turned to flood warnings. Unfortunately, the inevitable happened and the team's garage compound was flooded with over a foot of flood water.

Fortunately, the 'garage elves' were already on the case: team vehicles had been moved, water equipment had been prepared and any items stored near the floor raised to higher shelving. These actions largely saved the team from some very costly repairs, with only a few minor 'casualties'.

The Drying Room

As you would imagine, much of our team gear gets wet on callouts or training. We use a drying room that allows us to quickly dry out items and return them into service. This is a well insulated room within the building, but unfortunately does have wooden walls. The damaged walls and insulation have been removed and are awaiting repair. Shout out to Tippers for supplying the materials for this.

Equipment

The only item to be damaged by the water was our projection screen which we use for talks and team meetings. We are currently looking at the best option for replacing this. If you would like to donate one please contact us.

Cleanup

Once the water had receded a decent layer of silt (and other nasties) coated the garage floor. The other weekend team members and supporters dealt with the aftermath of the flooding and cleaned (decontaminated). The team vehicles have now been relocated, although the team remained operational throughout it is now much less of a burden on individuals to manage the abnormal circumstances.

Next Steps

There isn't much we can do about the flooding in the UK, or the damage that is caused to the garage. As proven during this storm, our current protocols prevent major damage and allow us to remain operational.

This is one of the factors spurring on our new base appeal which we hope to commence the build stage in the coming months. If you would like to support the project, you can donate below or sign up as a supporter or friend of the team.

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