General Chat

I'm quite sure I am no the only one on these boards who would offer shelter to a family who have been flooded out - think we're all a very caring lot on here :-D

I agree Phyll, but am in danger of provoking 'wrath' if I say so, so will keep quiet on that subject! That is a very kind gesture Ann C, We used to live almost on top of a river, but moved in 2011 to be nearer to family (grandchildren we never saw and now do!), and thank goodness we did as I understand that since we went the rain has been horrendous both in 2012 and this year. We now live well away from any rivers or sea so are not affected, but we do feel very very sorry for ALL the people living through this nightmare.

I think its time that these"Placement " people of the Quangos Et Al should be told "Shape up or Ship Out" there are too many of them incapable of doing the jobs they are allocated,The Idea of spending Millions on a Wetland for Birds rather than protect peoples homes and livelyhoods is a national disgrace. As for the Prime Minister being a Pillock,Sorry I totally disagree, Saying so is an Insult to a Pillock.**M**.

It is not as though they were unaware there would be problems, a month ago, on the 7th January, the Environment Food and Rural Affairs Committee, issued a highly critical report which questioned, how further budget cuts of over £300 million over the coming two years, would affect the ability of the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), to respond to emergencies such as the devastation caused by the flooding over Christmas and the New Year as it was already struggling to cope with the £500 million of cuts from it's budget since 2010.

The politicians, instead of posing for the camera while they try to score political points, need to get a grip and declare a national emergency in the worst affected areas, while they posture and play the blame game, peoples lives, homes, and livelihoods are being destroyed - do they not realise that they are acting out the saying - Nero fiddled while Rome burned.

I drowned my car last night .....flash flooding cought me out!

I live on the Somerset levels. It has flooded here every year since the last ice age. It is what is known as a wetland area. It is naturally boggy. Since the middle ages people have attempted to drain the land here with varying degrees of success. But you can't stop nature doing its thing. There will always be a certain amount of flooding here.
There is talk about dredging the river; but I've seen land flooded that is nowhere near the river; so this will only have a limited impact.
The main problem is people keep building houses on the flood plain. Then they wonder why those houses get flooded.

While agreeing with Graham that dredging wont solve the Somerset Levels flooding completely, surely greater river capacity coupled with land drainage will help in the future?

Chatting with people who live in Horley, Surrey – they said that the town was cut off for about 3 days when the weather system first struck. New houses had been built on one flood plain, with fantastic flooding defences. Unfortunately the water was displaced elsewhere. Now permission has been given to build on a different local flood plain. Although the defences might be just as good, the problem is only being shifted elsewhere.
The plans show plenty of tarmac and buildings, but very little natural/grassed open areas (including gardens) for water to soak into.

An enormous number of front gardens have been converted to hard standing areas which stop ground water being able to soak away.

The combination of these little bits of ground is actually a huge acreage which no longer soaks up water.

OneFootInTheGrave.....beautifully put:)


The water level is going down very slowly, but the wind is getting up fast!!
Might all change again in the morning.

jude

PS...thank you Phill

On the news the other day a farmer had asked for people to stop driving up and down the roads by his farm. His farm is under water and every time a car/van etc drives past it causes a wave which spreads itself across the fields and into his house, causing more damage :-( :-(

jude

PS..Phyl, sorry for spelling listake.

One of the fields near here that is under water is where a local builder wants to build part of a 1000 house estate. A couple of years ago protests stopped the planning go through as people said it was on the flood plain and would cause houses further in to flood. Now theya re trying for it again with the call to build more houses. I wonder if the latest flood will have any impact.

AnnCardiff what a lovely gesture. :-D :-D

...and don't forget the old reservoirs that were drained and built on - hence the hosepipe bans.
Those reservoirs were built where they were built because water settled there.
It's about time governments/local councils/builders stopped trying to fight nature. She's a lady with attitude - they'll never win!

Interesting article in the Western Evening News - To Dredge or not to Dredge.

http://tinyurl.com/kllnhy5

Also an insight into what might happen to the Somerset Levels if we stopped trying to fight nature - doesn't sound too good an idea either.

I note a couple of the people who have posted on this thread have referred to new house building.

I have to say that I believe the planning that goes into new housing schemes leaves much to be desired and as a result of bad planning controls - flooding has occurred.

For example, you have a village of a few hundred houses, someone decides it would be a good idea to build a new housing development of 1,000 houses a couple of miles up the road from that village, however to often they fail to make adequate provision for the drainage needed to cope with the increased sewage and waste water from the new development and expect the existing drainage system that was designed for a village of few hundred houses to cope.

During prolonged spells of heavy rain the existing drainage system quickly becomes overloaded and the result is floods occur :-(

just watched Eric Pickles being interviewed by Dermot Murnaghan on Sky - well impressed with the man who always seems to be viewed as a figure of fun presumably because of his size - how refreshing to hear his sensible views on the flooding situation - I shall look on him in a much different light in future

My wife, children and I have been sitting upstairs in our Somerset home, totally cut off from the outside world, with the downstairs flooded for the last five weeks.

Today the Red Cross pulled up outside in a boat. "Thank God!" I shouted. "Have you come to save us?" "No," they replied. "We're collecting donations for Syria."

(C&P from elsewhere. Worth a smile at least!)

:-D :-D :-D

and to think that twit Chris Smith - Lord Smith - my ****, visited the bird sanctuary first when he arrived at the Somerset levels - what an idiot - he should resign toute suite

Water is much closer our f/door this morning. l am sorting things to move higher and packing suit case!! Vic is out on a bl--dy ramble...lol

jude

I have to admit that Eric Pickles is probably the only government ministers that I have any respect for. To be honest I was actually quite surprised when he admitted the government got it wrong when they ignored pressure over the past 3 years to dredge rivers in areas susceptible to flooding - and that he apologised unreservedly for this.

The reason it surprised me was, that it was only on Friday past, that the Prime Minister on his visit to the Somerset Levels, tried to put all the blame for the flooding on the last Labour government and the Environment Agency.

I wonder if the Prime Minister will now put his head above the parapet wall and apologise unreservedly, and ask Lord Smith the Chairman of the Environment Agency and Owen Paterson the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - To Resign?