Floods? What f loods?
Families’ fury at evacuation order over storm surge... that never happened
FAMILIES yesterday spoke of their fury at being ordered to evacuate their homes ahead of a storm surge – which failed to materialise.
Thousands of residents along the east coast were warned of a perilous combination of high tides and fierce winds.
But as the widespread flooding predicted by forecasters never arrived, those returning to their properties derided the evacuation order as ‘a load of rubbish’.
Some described the emergency measures on Friday night – which included help from the Army – as nothing but a ‘fuss’.
Rest centres intended to accommodate flood- stricken families went virtually unused as the vast majority of residents defied official advice by staying at home.
Instead of the sight of gigantic swells battering coastal defences, homeowners along Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex were greeted by calm waves on an almost millpond- calm sea on Saturday. Conditions along the coast were calm yesterday as Met Office forecasters predicted a period of mild weather across the UK into next week.
The Environment Agency said it had correctly predicted high tides and strong winds, but they had not peaked at the same time. Experts had feared the deadly combination would deliver a 9ft storm surge.
Some 7,000 homes were part of an evacuation plan for Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, Jaywick, Mistley and West Mersea in Essex, and along the Suffolk coast. However many residents ignored the advice and the busiest evacuation centre in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, saw just 230 visitors. Despite a full evacuation plan in West Mersea, no one attended its emergency centre.
There had been 17 severe ‘danger to life’ flood warnings in place.
Alison McGuire, who stayed at home, said: ‘I did not think it would come... I thought to myself, what is all the fuss about?’ Brenda Smith, 71, from Jaywick, said the warnings were a ‘load of rubbish,’ adding: ‘I did not think anything would happen.’
Katrina Russell, who was staying with her mother in Jaywick, said similar warnings had been given before and ‘nothing came of it’. She added: ‘I think 99 per cent of people stayed. I only know one person that did leave and that’s because they have children.’ However Charles Osborne, 52, of Great Yarmouth said: ‘I guess it was a lot of panicking but you can’t be too careful.’ Soldiers were also drafted in to reassure residents along the coast of Lincolnshire including the resort of Skegness.
Essex’s deputy chief constable Matthew Horne said the evacuation plan was the ‘right thing to do’ and insisted that the decision was based ‘on science and expert advice’. The Environment Agency said previous surges had brought ‘devastating flooding’.
Alex Burkill, a forecaster with the Met Office, added: ‘ While impacts were less than they could have been, it couldn’t have taken much more for there to have been a greater impact.’
‘It was a lot of panicking’