Flood Rescue team

The Flood Rescue team was formed in 2000 and consists of three teams of up to 20 people, which rotate their state of readiness. One team is on 24-hour stand-by, the second is at 14 days' readiness and the third acts as a reserve pool. All teams are ready to travel to assist in flood relief work at home and across the globe.

History
Lifeboats have been involved in inland rescues as far back as 1937. In January 1937, after 12 days of gales and rain, the River Dee flooded causing widespread damage and cutting off many buildings. The Aberdeen lifeboat was called out to rescue three people from a farmhouse and the Coxswain took the lifeboat stern-first through the front door.

Before the official formation of the Flood Rescue team, lifeboat crew members were involved in major international flood-relief efforts in Bangladesh (1970) and Mozambique (2000). The team was formed in response to the Mozambique emergency.

The Flood Rescue teams most recent deployment was in July 2007, when teams went to Gloucestershire and Worcestershire after heavy rain and flooding left hundreds of people stranded in their homes, many without a supply of running water.

The Flood Rescue team
The Flood Rescue team first official foreign deployment was in 2005, when weeks of heavy rain caused severe flooding in parts of Guyana, South America, making 250,000 people homeless.

A team of 20 lifeboat crew and staff arrived on 2 February with six inshore lifeboats and helped to get personnel from aid agencies like the Red Cross to some of the more inaccessible areas.

Before returning home, the Flood Rescue team trained members of the Guyanese Coastguard in rescue techniques. The lifeboats were handed over to the coastguard to help in future flood relief and rescue operations.

The teams
Each team has to be inshore lifeboat trained, as D class lifeboats are generally used in relief efforts due to their agility, their shallow draught, and their ability to deflate, transport and then reinflate. Each team must have a HGV driver, a crane rigger or slinger, a forklift driver, a linguist, a first aider, paramedic or doctor to tend sick or injured crew members, and someone with previous experience in disaster relief. They must also have a communications specialist and a logistician. The rest bring their general skills as lifeboat men and women.

While Flood rescue team members go about their day-to-day lives they undertake not to go on holiday for the period when they are on short-term standby. They must also keep up to date with inoculations. The cost of Flood Rescue deployment is generally borne by the UK's Department for International Development. However, the equipment, training, management and logistics can only be provided because of the continued generosity of the public towards the RNLI.

Specialist training
All Flood Rescue team members, and some lifeboat crews who live in flood-prone areas, undergo specialised swift-water rescue training, which prepares them for the complex behaviour of floodwaters and rivers. They take part in annual exercises to keep their skills and knowledge up to date.