Market Rasen gets flood ready thanks to new virtual assistant
To mark the launch of their new virtual flooding assistant – Flood Ready Eddie – the Environment Agency recently engaged with Market Rasen to provide advice on how to prepare and respond to a flood.
During the event at Market Square, Market Rasen on August 19, residents were able to ask flooding advisors questions about what how they can prepare for flooding, what to do in the event of a flood and the latest improvements to the Environment Agency’s Flood Warning Service.
Children got hands-on with exciting flood-themed activities including a working flood tank and creative ‘climate emergency bag’ sheets for drawing up their own survival essentials. One imaginative girl even added seeds to her bag so she could grow her own in an emergency.
The event was an opportunity for the Environment Agency to make residents aware of their new virtual assistant, Flood Ready Eddie, which sends flood alerts and tells people what actions they can take.
Racheal McMahon, Flood Resilience Engagement Advisor at the Environment Agency, said they had a “really good day in Market Rasen”.
She said: “Residents had plenty of questions for us and it was a great opportunity to come and talk with residents about the improvements to our Flood Warning Service.
“It’s really important that people know about the flood risk and actions they can take. With Flood Ready Eddie as a new tool, we hope this will make it easier for people to find out more about how to be prepared.”
Councillor Stephen Bunney, chairman of West Lindsey District Council’s Environment and Sustainability Group, was also in attendance and filled up the flood tank which was used to interact with children.
He said: “This was a fantastic and really informative event and it was great to see the people of Market Rasen engage with it and have lots of discussions with the team from the Environment Agency about flood preparation.
“Flood Ready Eddie is a brilliant initiative that brings vital information quickly so people can act fast. As a council, we’re committed to supporting tools like this that help make our communities more resilient to threats such as flooding.
“The enthusiasm from both adults and children shows just how important it is to keep these conversations going to make flood preparedness an engaging and accessible topic.”