UK Military and Emergency Services Practice Flood Response

In recent years British troops have found themselves on the streets putting up defences, not against the might of a military force but against an attack by nature itself.

The winter floods of 2015 and 2016 were the most extreme on record and brought devastation to parts of the UK.

Since then, the Government has said it aims to improve winter preparedness.

The Ministry of Defence has also reviewed the way that the military supports authorities such as the Environment Agency.

In a makeshift operation room in Scotland, the RAF, Army and Royal Navy recently practiced what they needed to do to help emergency services and local authorities in the event of another major flood.

Members of 51st Infantry Brigade took part in the exercise and said lessons have been learned from recent events and will helped them to coordinate with the Police, Fire and Ambulance services.

 “We’re working out how we would provide support to them if such an eventuality occurred”

On the civilian side, Police Scotland said training with the military helped the force understand what each other’s priorities are.

 “I perhaps naively thought that when the Army comes in they’re going to resolve all my issues”

The lessons from the exercise will be rolled out to troops across the UK.