20 cm before a flood

Last weekend was sheer hell for many people as Storm Babet raged its way across the country. My heart goes out to anyone impacted by the misery caused by flooding. I can understand the stress, anxiety and sheer mental impact of dealing with a potential or actual flood by my own first-hand experience. Below is the picture I took outside my front door on Friday night. By 1am Saturday morning the flood level was just 20cm below entry to my home. By a stroke of luck the waters started to recede by 2am.

Managing flood risk in the community

My village community is very strong. The flood group is well organised and is very active in driving ways to reduce the risk to the whole area. This includes a proposal to the EA for a reservoir upstream to hold water running off the land which the brook has no capacity to contain. The reservoir itself should reduce flood risk by 30% to 50% but the process is tortuous.

Cost benefit on who's terms?

Our cost benefit proposal for flood prevention projects is based on Government criteria which does not take account of the full impact of flooding to the community. The actual real cost is significantly more than their models allow for. The reality is our reservoir is likely to take 3 years until it can be finished. During this time the impact of further floods will be significant. The harm to life, mental well being and the local economy will leave its mark. So, what can we do? We’re going to find ways to raise the ￡2m we need for the project, as we can’t afford to wait. If anyone in the insurance industry can support us in any way then I'd love to talk.