RNLI Flood Rescue Team and emergency service partners in Exercise Polygon river search and casualty recovery training

RNLI Flood Rescue Team members recently took part in Exercise Polygon, which was held in South Wales and was one of the biggest exercises of its kind in Wales this year. Co-ordinated by South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, it brought together more than 250 people from 15 emergency services and rescue agencies including RNLI, Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service, North Wales Fire and Rescue Service, Maritime & Coastguard Agency, SARA, RSPCA, police forces from South Wales, Dyfed Powys, North Wales and Gwent and the Welsh Ambulance Service, CAVRA and Rapid Relief Team.
The exercise recreated a major flooding event where a period of heavy rainfall had seen flood water engulf a large number of homes around Cardiff. Emergency services received numerous 999 calls from persons trapped in buildings, rivers and vehicles across south Wales, testing emergency services resilience and teamwork in the face of a major incident.
Specially trained RNLI Flood Rescue Team volunteers from across the UK and ROI worked with partner agencies on a number of mocked-up scenarios.
Here RNLI Flood Rescue Team volunteers work alongside Welsh Ambulance Service Trust HART team members to search and recover casualties on the muddy banks of the River Usk in Newport.

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The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.

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