General Chat

saw a nice phrase in the media today - "It's only when the effluent hits the affluent that something gets done" :-D :-D :-D :-D

AnnCardiff :-D :-D :-D yes that's quite an apt description of the governments initial response

Both the towns rivers have breached their banks a couple of times but nothing serious and the rivers were widened and re-routed years ago to reduce the flood risk to the town

Interesting piece this morning on news about the River Coker in Cumbria and teh town of Cockermouth. You will remember the terrible floods there is 2009 which affected many homes and almost every business.

They built new flood defences which look remarkably similar to the flood defences near me on River Rhondda. Both rivers are surrounded by high mountains that bring down masses of flood waters quite regularly. A lot of money has been spent locally in Rhondda at places like Trehafod to keep the valleys open and free of flooding. And Cockermouth has spent £4m.

Yes, lots of positives. Better flood defences, better community spirit etc. But the big problem in Cockermouth was insurance. Slow (not good when your house is filled with raw sewage) and businesses were refused insurance or premiums were so high that many are taking the risk themselves. So business life in particular is now on a knife edge in Cockermouth. That cannot be right. Can you imagine what the traders in Marlow will say if they cannot renew their flood policies.

There was a phone-in conversation on the BBC TV news from a flood victim in Kent. He was told that his claim might be reject, not because it was caused by a river overflowing but because it was caused by rising ground water. You can’t plan for that!

Although not as badly effected as Surrey or Somerset, some smaller areas in Kent have been affected. A supermarket checkout employee from Tonbridge said that the water in her home was up to her waist. But life goes on. :-0

There has been an argument going in Berkshire about who is responsible for clearing up the raw sewage in peoples houses/gardens. Both the Council & Thames Water claim it is down to the other.

Not much help for those residents. :-(

Namelessone you are right. I do have strong feelings about this. Having been homeless I know what it must be like for people you have been made homeless by situations beyond their control. I am not attempting to blame anybody for my problems. I only wanted to highlight the plight that many people are now in.
Maryanna I am deeply sorry for having offended you. I do not wish you any harm.

Well, I shall see the plight, as best I can from a small distance, tomorrow when we see the in laws. They have been been moving as much fodder and bedding as they can out of flooded barns and outhouses. There is still a few weeks to go before the animals can get out to graze,that's if the fields ever dry out and they have lambing to contend with.

They are fortunate to be on the edge of the worst of it,but have also been helping friends and neighbours worse off than themselves.

And I do partly understand the predicament of those made homeless through no fault of their own, my own best friend lost everything, somehow or another her husband allowed himself to be conned out of their home and business, all bought on borrowed money. She was homeless with three children under eight. She stayed with various people but none of us could take then in full time and they wouldn't have been given housing if we had. It was nearly four years in the end before they got a permanent home.

, I have been deeply upset by your comments, Graham, but apology accepted, thank you. Please just try, along with everyone else to stay safe and dry and let's hope the weather improves, people get help via funding and insurance to get back on their feet again but I fear that it will take a long time and some of them will never get back to what was normal before all this happened.

Thank God also there has been no great loss of life either to people or livestock, property loss is devastating enough as it is and some belongings can never be replaced. All my precious things are in the loft, safe if the house flooded but if the roof were to come off, or we had a fire that would be that.

Sun is out here today at the moment but everything is so wet underfoot, rivers such as The Tone through Taunton almost as high as they can get and others like The Perrot, as we all know, well over their banks, some serious water removal machines on the Levels at present as well as in Bridgwater.

Stay safe everyone., M .

Well said Graham and Maryanna :-)

That was nice of you to apologise Graham and for Maryanna to accept. I think we all realise how heated feelings can get when livelihoods are threatened.

We have just driven out to the Newent side of Gloucester. It was like driving along a causeway with the road elevated above what appears to be lakes but what should be fields. This of course the flood plain for the River Severn and the canal. Thankfully the flood defences that were put in around the power station, that flooded so dramatically in 2007, have held. The floods on one of the roads (A38 to Tewkesbury) have subsided, still in the fields but the road is ok. However the Maisemore road (don't know the number but it the road taken towards Malvern) is still closed so must still be flooded.