The Grimsby & Cleethorpes Flood Warning System

Lincolnshire's Flood Defences were bolstered by the installation of the Grimsby and Cleethorpes Flood Warning System in February 2007.

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The system consists of a network of sirens located at 18 sites across the city, protecting some 25,500 homes in the region.

For this development, the authorities eliminated alternative telephone-based proposals. This followed the discovery that the telephone switching equipment was located in a site that lies below sea level.

Testing was scheduled to take place over a 2-week period. In fact as the Environment Agency reports, the system operated exactly as anticipated and the testing time was reduced to half the scheduled period. The area's Flood Risk Manager commented: ""

The system was designed to provide early warning of coastal flood threats, however the sirens were activated for real in January 2008 to warn the public about dangerously high inland river levels.