Lancaster City Council will be testing its preparations for potential tidal flooding with an exercise next week.
On Monday 21st March, storm boards will be put in place on Morecambe’s promenade so staff can practice their deployment in case they are needed for a real life situation.
The exercise will coincide with the highest tide for a number of years, but it is not currently expected that any flooding will occur as high tides alone do not cause any problems.
The Council says completion of the rock armour defences has greatly increased the level of protection, but high tides in combination with severe weather conditions require the storm boards to be in position to complete the effectiveness of the sea defences.
High tides occur in every month of the year and weather conditions for all tides above a certain level are monitored to determine if the storm boards need to be in place.
“Morecambe’s coastal defences provide a high level of protection from tidal flooding and the storm boards are therefore rarely used,” explains Councillor David Kerr, Cabinet member with responsibility for Civil Contingencies.
“Because they are so rarely deployed exercises such as this provide us with the opportunity to practice their deployment so staff can refresh their skills.
“The exercise will cause some minor disruption to normal access to the promenade and we’d ask for patience as we carry out this essential exercise.”
• More about the Council’s Flood contingencies plan here on the City Council web site
Council PDFs
• District Severe Weather Plan Version 2.0
• Lancaster District Flooding Plan Version 2.0
• District Flooding Plan Version 2.1 (Public) (PDF – 7.3MB)