Date: 18th September, 2023
Time: 12.59am onwards
Description: Between midnight and 7am on Monday 18 September, nearly ninety 999 calls were received by Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service in relation to flooding in the Swindon area. Group Manager Wayne Jones said: “In the majority of cases, advice was given to the caller by the Fire Control 999 operator. It’s not always possible for us to give practical help, there has to be a certain level of water before we can pump it away, and we have to be able to pump it somewhere without it having a detrimental effect elsewhere. Where the issue is surface water flooding or the drains not coping, there’s little we can do but, as we saw this morning, the water levels drop once the rain stops.” He added: “Each call was assessed for risk and, where we felt we could be of assistance, firefighters worked tirelessly throughout the night to help people as much as possible.” Advice on what to do if flooding happens can be found at www.dwfire.org.uk/flooding
Location: Swindon, UK