Devastation: Croydon firefighters Sarah Mimnagh and Darren Emery were part of a team of specialists sent to assist the thousands trying to escape the floods in Mozambique
Two Croydon firefighters, Sarah Mimnagh and Darren Emery, have returned home following a 10-day mission to Mozambique to help people affected by devastating floods.
Following weeks of heavy rainfall, flooding across the southern African nation has been widespread, causing damage to homes and infrastructure. The floods have caused major damage to health facilities, while more than 4,300 miles of roads have been damaged across nine provinces.
Mimnagh, Emery and four other London Fire Brigade colleagues worked as part of a 36-strong International Search and Rescue – ISAR – team comprised of specialist personnel from fire and rescue services around Britain.
Teams were deployed with four rescue boats, drones and specialist equipment, enabling them to clear fallen trees and debris, assess affected areas from the air, and carry out search and rescue operations. Firefighters also co-ordinated delivery of aid by air.
The teams rescued more than 80 people, some of them often left clinging to rooftops above the floodwaters, some of them after being stranded for several days.
Life savers: Sarah Mimnagh from Croydon was part of a team from Britain which saved more than 80 people
Firefighters systematically checked and cleared residential buildi. Teams also delivered crucial aid such as water and food to small, isolated communities that had been cut off for up to a week.
London Fire Brigade’s UK ISAR co-ordinator Ian Simpson said: “Our deployment to Mozambique came during one of the country’s most severe flood emergencies. Over a 10-day operational period, our team carried out lifesaving operations rescuing more than 80 people. We helped transport 3 tonnes of humanitarian aid and assisted with operations carried out by helicopter.
“A few days into the mission we rescued an elderly blind woman and a small child. It brought home how important our work out there was.
“I could not be prouder of the team’s dedication, resilience, and professionalism, which directly contributed to saving lives and supporting the wider humanitarian response.”
Croydon’s Leading Firefighter Mimnagh was deployed to Maputo: “Some of those affected by the floods were children, with many hundreds of people trapped by rising floodwaters.
“My team mainly worked on complicated flood rescues. We helped with medical evacuations to hospitals as well as helping move doctors and healthcare facilities to those who were stranded. We also ensured that humanitarian aid drops got to the people who needed them most.
“We faced significant challenges, but everyone worked incredibly hard to try and make a difference to the people who really needed it,” Mimnagh, pictured left, said.
“Seeing that amount of devastation and damage has been a very humbling experience. Our thoughts remain with all the Mozambique people who have lost loved ones and are now trying to survive in very difficult circumstances.”
Jenny Chapman MP, the overseas development minister, said: “When I met the UK ISAR team in Mozambique, I was really impressed by their professionalism and commitment.
“The work they do is genuinely amazing and I’m proud that we could support it.”
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