FLOOD TEAM FIRST FOR ALYTH
Team of nine to tackle the issue
Alyth is the first community in Scotland to have its own retained flood team.
The pilot project has been made possible after Alyth Development Trust (ADT) received money from the National Lottery Community Fund to form the team following a number of floods in the east
Perthshire town in recent years.
Known as the Retained Alyth Flood Team – or more commonly, ‘RAFT’ – the team of nine locals takes part in regular training and are paid for their time.
Alex Warrington, the RAFT communications officer, said: “The purpose of RAFT is to increase flood resilience in Alyth and improve our preparedness and emergency response to flooding and extreme weather to a professional standard.”
A new retained flood team has been set up in Alyth.
The east Perthshire town is the first community in Scotland to have its own retained flood team, which has been formed after a number of floods hit Alyth in recent years.
The pilot project has been made possible after Alyth Development Trust (ADT) received money from the National Lottery Community Fund for the initiative.
Known as the Retained Alyth Flood Team – or more commonly, ‘RAFT’ – the group is pioneering a proactive approach to addressing flooding risk within the town.
The team of nine Alyth residents take part in regular training and drills, and are paid for their time.
This ensures that there are trained people present during an extreme weather event who know what emergency protocols to follow and to provide assistance such as first aid, water safety and rescue methods if required.
During a flood event they will operate as volunteers alongside the rest of the Alyth community, the emergency services and other authorities.
So far the team has received training on cold water immersion hazards, CPR and how to use a defibrillator.
Members are also working on finalising an emergency flood plan for Alyth, which will detail responsibilities, flood risk areas, sandbag locations and other important information.
The completed plan will be made available online through the Alyth Online website.
Alex Warrington, the RAFT communications officer, said: “The purpose of RAFT is to increase flood resilience in Alyth and improve our preparedness and emergency response to flooding and extreme weather to a professional standard.
“We will also be launching a public education and emergency procedure communications programme for Alyth.”
The current RAFT members are Grant Train, Alex Warrington, Callum Brooks, Erwin Oosterhorn, Ivan Dieiev, James Young, Jock Manson, Stuart McNiven and Vladimir Lanin.
For further information or updates, follow the ‘Alyth Resilience Team’ Facebook page.