Current Location: Hospital Ship
Susan Macintyre (Suzi Mac)
GCHQ executive.
Current Location: Cheltenham, UK
Major Robert Lord MC
Officer Commanding Special Monitoring Force, GCHQ.
Current Location: Cheltenham, UK
The British Royal Family
SNOW survivors
Current Locations: Sandringham / European Royal Palaces
Eve and John Stubbins
British holidaymakers trapped in Cyprus by the SNOW! and repatriated to Germany.
Current Location: John – on a hospital ship in the North Sea. Eve – somewhere in Holland.
Bryan Wester
Victim of the SNOW!
Current Location: Unknown
INTRODUCTION
Annually, in the United Kingdom, around November through to February, a small amount of snow will fall. Normally, it is reasonably localised and moderate. Nevertheless, every year, when this sprinkling arrives, all and sundry are taken completely by surprise, and general chaos ensues. Transport links and infrastructure instantly suffer severe strain, even though the snow often quickly disappears - usually within a few days. The British Airports Authority is on record as stating that they are ‘overwhelmed’ by as little as six centimetres of snow lying at one of their airports. Flights are cancelled and travellers suffer inexcusable inconvenience and disruption.
Therefore, just imagine, what would happen if, one winter, the snow didn’t stop and melt away, but kept falling - relentlessly - for more than just a few days?
THE STORY SO FAR
In mid-December it had started to snow in the United Kingdom.
It began innocuously enough on a Sunday evening, yet by the next day the entire landscape was beginning to become much more than a cute Christmas card scene.
The cause was complicated and unique.
The weathermen were frantically trying to make sense of it all. This fatal combination of complex low-pressure systems was unprecedented. As usual, no one had seen it coming until it was far too late. So now, a ‘Red Weather Warning’ had been issued for the UK – all of it. Northern Ireland and Eire might avoid serious disruption in the short term, but the majority of the British mainland was going to experience the ‘mother of all storms’. Moreover, the snow might last several days or even a week. The Environment Agency had tried to issue warnings, but as usual scant notice was taken by UK citizens.
In the final event, the snowstorm lasted, unrelenting, for three long weeks.
Twenty-one days of incessant heavy snow, which fell just about everywhere in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and eastern Eire. Nowhere was entirely untouched by the snow and even outlying islands like the Isle of Wight, the Orkneys and the Shetlands off northern Scotland, suffered horrendously.
As usual, due to mainly parochial reasons, the rest of Europe and the world in general took a while to comprehend just what was happening in the UK.
However, they quickly grasped the potential consequences when two feet of snow fell in one day? Communications failed and this severely affected business. Naturally, the world became intensely concerned when their bank accounts were affected!
Additionally, there was a great deal of interest being shown by British ex-pats. At any one time there are inordinate numbers of British émigrés living abroad. From Australia and New Zealand to the United States, France and Spain there are approximately 3.5 million people – either retired, or still working, with strong ties and close family back home in the UK.
On the evening (GMT) of the sixteenth of December, many of these ex-pats began to experience difficulty contacting their loved ones in the UK. Either the phone would not be answered, or just not ring. Mobile phones would go direct to message, and attempts at Skyping would fail.
Brits abroad were beginning to monitor the position very carefully indeed, and it soon became clear to many of them that the UK was experiencing unprecedented weather conditions. After a devastating, yet completely honest and open broadcast by the newly installed Prime Minister, which was picked up by many non UK-based television stations and internet providers, ex-pats all over the world started to panic. Some tried to catch immediate flights back to the UK, but to no avail – there was no air traffic into or out of Great Britain.
In addition, during the previous fortnight, around 1.5 million Brits had departed Britain for the Christmas holidays via aeroplane, car, train or ship. These people were now ready to return to the UK, but could not. Cruise ships and airlines dumped their passengers in foreign ports, threw up their hands, and left them to it. Consequently, the world only started to take action when 1.5 million British holidaymakers began jamming up airports and hotels causing confusion, distress, overcrowding and chaos.
Airlines quickly recognized the problem, as their aeroplanes couldn’t fly to or from the UK. Thousands of flights and sailings were cancelled, and thousands of airline and ferry staff were also stranded. Tens of thousands of freight trucks, vans, cars and coaches were marooned at the Channel ports – where the weather was also poor – adding to the chaos. The crowds of inbound ferry passengers had been disgorged at the European mainland termini and had been left to fend for themselves. Cargo vessels due for the UK were forced to seek refuge elsewhere, and many docks in Europe were rapidly filling to capacity.
Basically, there was nothing anyone could do – except employ crisis management. The weather was so bad by nightfall on the seventeenth of December that the UK had become, in effect, isolated and entirely inaccessible.
No one could get in, or out.
The knock on effect became devastating, as Brits around the world were obliged to sit it out wherever they were, relying on foreign hospitality. Many people suffered acute financial problems as their money ran out and hotels cynically eased them out onto the streets. This caused additional accommodation issues as 1.5 million British holidaymakers had nowhere to sleep, and little to eat.
It was not now just a problem for the UK, but a concern of international proportions.
Therefore, as night fell on Day 2 of the crisis, the repercussions were spreading around the globe. Not only were the inhabitants of Great Britain suffering life-threatening hardship, but also their families and friends abroad were experiencing heart-breaking anguish and crippling inconvenience.
Worse was yet to come. Much worse.
***
Even the British Government quickly realised the potential for untold disaster. The Prime Minister had been briefed by the Met Office – albeit too late - but was helpless to do anything – the UK just didn’t have the resources to cope, and his closest advisor, Sir Ian James, could only underline the severity of the problem:
‘The situation is extremely serious, sir. If what the weather experts are saying is accurate, we are to expect unprecedented amounts of snow during the next week. In general, this country is just not set up to deal with that much snow. Every year we get a few days of light accumulations and chaos is always the result. Councils are inadequately prepared – and who could blame them? Why should they spend scarce resources on anti-winter precautions and supplies, when there’s a damned good chance they’ll never be needed? Britain is not Norway or Finland, where deep snow is a way of life!
COBRA should be set up, but whom are we going to find to sit on it? Who’s going to be able to travel here to advise you? From that perspective, you are probably lumbered with those people already here in Downing Street. Of course, the telephone and internet can facilitate contact with Ministers and I’m sure that many are now trying to do the same with you at this very instant – Parliaments at Holyrood, Stormont and Cardiff included. However, very soon, if this continues, it's going to turn very rapidly into a personal survival situation – and even politicians have families! The essential issue to grasp is that this snow is not going to stop for at least a week – and we must identify how we are going to keep the population alive. That may seem overly dramatic – but how long wi
ll it be before water, electricity and gas supplies start to fail?’
And so it was. The PM was essentially hamstrung. Isolated and lacking in tangible resources, he could do little but give the British population the hard facts of life ….and death!
The media had already pre-empted his inertia. They were, by this time, broadcasting the bad news to their viewers in the absence of government action:
‘This is the news at noon, from London, with Quincey Roberts:
The arctic conditions throughout the UK continue to cause havoc and a few minutes ago, the Prime Minister declared a State of Emergency.
Let me sum up. All airports – civil and military - in the UK are closed. No trains in the UK are running and many people are marooned aboard, and hundreds of engines are stationary where the snow has overwhelmed them. The London Underground has ceased to run, with many thousands trapped within the labyrinth of tunnels and stations. All seaports are closed and no ferries are running. Many thousands of travellers are stuck at ports and airports across the UK, with no realistic chance of reaching home.
Now we come to the highway system. The vast majority of roads are now impassable. There are literally hundreds of thousands of vehicles abandoned in snowdrifts, and an equal number of drivers and passengers either trapped in their cars or inadvisably attempting to walk out. Emergency vehicles are in the same dire straits, and cannot access the sites of the countless traffic accidents which have occurred across the realm.
The snow continues to fall and the government is now becoming increasingly concerned about electric light and heating supplies plus, more importantly, the supply of fresh water.
This channel can only reinforce the government’s instructions.
DO NOT GO OUT INTO THE SNOW.
That means:
DO NOT GO OUT - UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.’
He paused again for the full impact of the message to sink in.
‘Stay indoors and keep warm. Keep watching the television and listen to the radio for advice and instructions. Those of you with internet access should stay on line, and keep abreast of the situation.
Certainly, you will not be able to DRIVE. The roads are in gridlock. No public transport is running. We cannot even provide you with outside broadcasts from around the country, as conditions are just too bad. There will be no mail until further notice, or home deliveries of any kind. Shops are generally not open.
If you are watching this at work, do not attempt to travel home – unless you are adequately clothed and it is a reasonable distance to walk – probably less than a mile. The informed advice is to try to set up a central congregation point at work, liaise with colleagues, work together as a team, and try to stay warm and keep fed. In addition, try to conserve drinking water. Energy expended to melt snow to drink is generally a waste of resources.
The government is also taking steps to keep power stations in operation, but cannot legislate for broken power lines and the inability of repair teams to reach and repair them.
The weather continues to deteriorate and the general population should now prepare itself for siege-like conditions. The situation is quickly turning into a desperate one. You should all be aware that everyone – nationwide - is affected by this crisis, and any help you might expect is probably not going to come.’
The newsreader had painted a grim but terrifyingly realistic picture of the situation. No punches were being pulled and it was becoming very clear to the PM that he must act – whilst he still could!
His broadcast to the nation at 2pm was on only Day 2 of the crisis. The Prime Minister raised his head and stared into the camera. He looked enormously worried, and his face was pale and drawn:
‘Good afternoon. I am speaking to you today as a result of the unprecedented snowstorms sweeping the country. As you may be aware, a State of Emergency has been declared, and is in effect for the entire mainland of the United Kingdom. In essence, we need to take important and rapid steps to stem a serious threat to human life. I am advised that the current snowfall is set to continue for at least another week and, as a consequence, the State of Emergency will last for a similar time period.
Many of you will realise that the severity of the snowfall has caught the nation by complete surprise. Weather forecasters were unable to predict such a scenario as it is unparalleled in the UK, and has many of us stumped as to how such a weather system is possible at all. Nonetheless, it clearly is a reality and we must now react accordingly.
I regret to state that the situation is becoming so serious, that it will soon become purely a survival scenario. Every man, woman and child will have to fend for themselves. If the weather does not break soon the entire country is going to shut down.
I am terribly sad to report that many thousands of our people have already lost their lives – mostly frozen to death. Tragically, a car ferry has been reported lost, with all hands, in the Bristol Channel. Perhaps that simple statement will underline the truth and gravity of the situation.
Panic cannot be an option. I urge you to keep calm.
Power suppliers will be under great pressure to meet demand! We are already receiving reports of downed power cables and blackouts.
Water is a serious problem. If pipework starts to fail and water supplies dry up, then this would present a serious threat to human life. Of course, you might think that there is an abundance of snow to drink, but the concern here is that it takes electricity or gas to provide heat to melt it. It's a decision that individual families will have to make for themselves. I do not recommend wasting energy by melting snow. Fill baths and any receptacles you have with fresh water – NOW!
I cannot over emphasise the seriousness of the situation. My own family is trapped out there in the snow, so I can empathise with those of you in similar situations. However, I warn you - venturing out into this weather will not help. You will only put yourself – and others - in severe danger.
In short, the country and its population are in an extremely precarious position.
We are all in it together. Nobody will be unaffected!
We are desperately trying to think of ways to keep essential services going and will continue to do so in an effort to save the population at large.
However, I am not at all confident that we will be successful. If the snow doesn’t stop soon then we are all facing a particularly uncertain future.
I don’t know whether I will be able to speak to you again, so I wish you all the very best of luck and may your God protect you.
Farewell and keep safe’.
Hence, this was the situation just thirty-six hours after the first flakes of snow had fallen on northern Scottish hillsides. Just thirty-six hours and a major industrial nation had been brought to its knees.
The savagery and relentlessness of the storm had caught everyone on the hop.
Of course, every winter in the UK, one area or another would be struck by ‘freak storms, floods, wind or snowfall’ causing untold but only provincial damage. It would affect relatively few people and as the snow receded, the majority of the population would quickly return to normal, silently thanking the Gods that they were spared too much personal inconvenience or damage.
Naturally, the media loved it!
Society in the South-East of England could not readily empathise with ten-foot drifts in the Highlands of Scotland, or three-metre floods in Somerset. Moreover, of course, it was the government in the south of England that made all of the financial decisions. Why should they spend millions of pounds on legislating for ‘freak, one-off’ incidents? They could readily set up disaster funds for those worst affected and surely the insurance companies would pay out – eventually. That’s what insurance companies were for. But, unfortunately, not everybody had insurance – or indeed could even obtain it in vulnerable areas. There were 200,000 householders in the UK that simply couldn’t purchase insurance for their homes!
Every year the newspapers bleated about the inability of the elected administration and in
frastructure to cope with snowfall, and every year it would all be forgotten as the sun came out and melted that same snow. Britain would just have to cope, as it always did. If a few hundred people suffered, then that was just their bad luck. The money could be far better spent on health and education – or on MP’s expenses!
However, the current storm was different. If the UK tottered after just one minor snowfall, then it was no surprise that chaos reigned after one day of continuous snowfall in blizzard conditions.
All travel was now virtually impossible. Road, rail, tube, sea and air. The UK was, in effect, cut off. Those who thought they could heroically struggle into work had long since discarded sledges and skis.
Many thousands of motorists were imprisoned in their vehicles and would certainly freeze to death when their fuel ran out, or they would die in the futile attempt to walk home – as most motorists were wholly unprepared for such conditions. It didn’t matter how many times the authorities advised the population to prepare for the cold – they just didn’t pay any attention, and now many thousands were paying the ultimate price.
Snow! The Series [Books 1-4] Page 75
