The Selsey Tornado 7th-8th January 1998
The Selsey Tornado was a freak of nature- no one could have predicted the events of the night of January 7th 1998
E xperts say that tornado's are not uncommon in Britain, the havoc caused locally was precedented only by the great storm of 1987.
The people of Selsey were clearly most appreciative of the breadth and depth of support they had been given so immediately after the tornado.
The dedication of all the services and volunteers is a tribute to the planning, training, and all the support work of the many that worked in the emergency centre in county hall and other co-ordination centres and saw that the whole operation was held together.
Everyone worked tirelessly throughout the night and the following day to ensure the safety of the residents and buildings in the town.
The multi agency approach proved to be an outstanding success, with everyone working together to return the town to some semblance of normality by the end of the following day.
The Selsey tornado hit the small West Sussex town at 11.40pm on January 7th 1998 leaving hundreds of homes and buildings damaged.
Winds of over 100mph cut a swathe of devastation half a mile wide through the quiet streets, uprooting trees in just 30 seconds. Hailstones the size of golf balls smashed windows and car windscreens.
By 11.41pm both the West Sussex Fire Brigade and Sussex Police began receiving the first of around a thousand calls.
While some residents reported lightning strikes and flooding, most of the damage was caused by very strong winds.
Within minutes of a major incident being declared the joint county and district emergency planning team put the emergency plan into action.
The EP team began the well rehearsed procedure,marshalling all the county's resources to Selsey and setting up a control centre at the police station.
Many smaller buildings, including greenhouses conservatories, garden sheds and the school equipment store, were completely destroyed by the tornado.
Media calls began to flood in and were dealt with jointly by the West Sussex Press office.
Astronomer Patrick Moore's telescopic observatory was destroyed in the tornado giving the story a celebrity angle.
Fire-fighters dealt with a range of dangerous structures such as damaged roofs, toppled chimneys, shattered windows and garages.
Priority was given to carrying out temporary repair work to ensure homes remained safe and habitable.
When emergency calls were at there peak, the Fire Brigade committed 20 fire appliances and crews, involving about 150 fire-fighters, to deal with incidents.
Relief fire crews remained in the town for the following 30 hours to undertake a range of salvage operations and to make properties safe.
Emergency helplines, staffed by volunteers from County Hall, were set up to give help and advice from the concerned callers. Throughout the day, 2,000 calls were received ~ many from people concerned about there relatives and empty properties.
The Fire Brigade's response was co-ordinated from the Brigades Incident Command unit at Selsey fire station. During the incident, the Brigade attended 1,300 calls for assistance.
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