In this section of our site we will publish important information that we feel is extremely pertinent and useful for those that have or may experience a flood event.
In the UK, in recent years, we have seen unprecedented levels of rainfall and subsequent flooding.
To mention only the major events:-
- The Easter floods of 1998
- The ‘Great Floods’ of 2000
- The New Year floods of 2003 on the Thames
- The Boscastle Flood in 2004
- Cumbria in 2005
- The catastrophic floods of June and July 2007 that affected over 55,000 homes and businesses
- The Morpeth floods of 2008
- Cumbria (again) in 2009
- Cornwall in 2010.
- Summer and Winter floods 2012
- Winter floods of 13/14
Having suffered first hand from the effects of being flooded, I know only too well what an appalling experience it is! Becoming a victim of floodwater ravaging through your home has far reaching and long term consequences for everyone concerned. Flooding is not just when the media and the minister come to visit. To watch, helplessly, as everything you have worked so hard for is being thrown into a skip is hard enough, but to lose precious sentimental items – such as children’s first drawings or photos of relatives who are no longer with us – is completely devastating. Many people have told me of occasions when they have gone to look for something only to remember it having been lost years earlier in a flood when, once again, the pain comes teeming back to haunt them. The misery is further compounded by having to move out of your home into alternative accommodation and to stand by helplessly and watch as your precious home becomes a building site. When this doesn’t go to plan, it can often cause more upset than the actual flood itself!
According to Environment Agency figures over 5 million people live and work in properties that are ‘at risk’ of being flooded. The floods of 2007 highlighted the significant risk we face with surface water flooding. (I have always looked on this type of flooding as the ‘poor relation’ as, despite progress being made, it still remains difficult to predict just where a heavy storm is going to dump itself.) Each flood seems to get worse and to have a more devastating outcome than the one before; yet despite free flood warnings from the Environment Agency, and Local Authorities doing their bit to raise awareness of flood risk, people are still having to leave their homes and possessions behind, or else finding themselves being rescued from upstairs windows. Why? It is essential that we all wake up and ‘smell the floodwater.’ We must plan, prepare, prevent and adapt. Government, too, must remain committed to investing in reducing flood risk and during these times of fiscal restraint they must remain focussed on the bigger picture~ that flooding is quite capable of bringing large parts of our country to its knees.
I have been committed to raising awareness of flood risk for 15 years now. I am also committed to providing information on how to reduce the risk from flooding (and hopefully maintain insurance cover). It is an uphill struggle, but by working in partnership, it can be done