Storm Desmond caused widespread disruption to the northern regions of the United Kingdom and the Scottish borders over the weekend of 5th and 6th December 2015. The most significant disruption was found in Cumbria with Carlisle, Keswick and Kendal suffering the worst of the damage.
Unlike the previous incidents of 2005 and 2009, the disruption caused by this weather was more widespread with many communities across Cumbria being affected, which caused some logistical challenges when accessing damaged property.
Whilst there have been some periods of torrential rainfall subsequently, incidents of further flooding have been minimal, although Glenridding was subject to flooding the night of Wednesday 9th December. The risk of flooding remains high and flood warnings remain in place in the North East, North West, Wales and the Midlands.
Operational Response
The Environment Agency issued a series of flood warnings ahead of the incident and we implemented our surge plan on Sunday 6th December, with operations being directed from our Manchester Property Administration Centre. Dave Greenwood is our Major Incident Manager and is continuing to oversee matters.
We received a significant volume of claims with the level of instructions that we would expect in 2 weeks being received in 2 days. A team of adjusters, including major loss specialists and Steve Willis who heads our Environmental service, were dispatched to the area to assist our local adjusters arriving on Monday afternoon and Tuesday. All initial site visits have now been completed and we will continue to maintain an increased capacity in the area over the coming weeks whilst initial loss mitigation measures are completed and in the ensuing period.
The impact of the flooding on those affected and local communities cannot be understated and we are maintaining close contact with customers ensuring that they receive adequate support particularly over the festive period.
You can get in touch with Dave Greenwood via our ‘Meet the Team’ page here.
