On Saturday, I mentioned the little Nottinghamshire village where I parked ahead of my latest country walk. There was clear evidence of recent flooding - including thin pipes emerging from letterboxes. I have little doubt that they were draining water from damp extractors set up inside the houses.
At the football match, a man showed me mobile phone footage of his brother canoeing upon the huge flood that stretched right up the east side of The River Trent - the third longest river in England. Today I found this amateur drone footage of the village of Girton in the first week of this year. By the way, there is no music or commentary. You can see the little church where I parked Clint:-
Thankfully, I have never lived anywhere that might be liable to flooding. It must be awful to have to contend with the filthy water and all of the associated issues such as clearing out sodden fixtures and fittings, dealing with insurance companies, drying out your property and making it habitable once more. There must also be an emotional toll to pay as you contemplate possible repeat floods in the future.
In Girton, I noticed that one large property was up for sale but who the hell would want to buy such a house in the knowledge that it might be flooded again before this year is out? To me it would be too much of a risk.
Here in Sheffield, we live on a hill above the valley of The River Porter and flooding is quite impossible in our neighbourhood. I am grateful for that. Life can be challenging enough without having to deal with the aftermath of a flood.
I will never, ever forget the worse flood we were in when we lived in Louisiana. In Slidell. My second child was not yet three weeks old. We knew it was coming. Big Bear drove with a friend in a car-pool to New Orleans for work. I told the friend to please, PLEASE park his car on the driveway instead of the curb and leave me the keys. But, no he would not. By four in the afternoon, the water had risen to within an inch of the front windows, and in New Orleans, my husband was walking down the street with snakes from the bayou assaulting him and anyone else who had decided to work that day. There were some alligators, too!! He got home allright, the friend's car was totaled. But, my lovely babe and her brother and I were safe.....but just by an inch!!!
ReplyDeleteSorry to have stirred that rather terrifying memory Mama Thyme!
DeleteThey say the smell never goes away after a flood. It's a long and tough recovery.
ReplyDeleteI live on a hill, too and I'm pleased that there will never be a flood. Bushfires have been close enough to blow charred leaves around the house but hopefully they won't get us, either
I know that through your volunteer work you must have met a good number of people who have had to face the effects of flooding.
DeleteYou watch the flood coming and there' nothing you can do. We're in for more floods with climate change and the heavier rainfalls.
ReplyDeleteWho would want to live on a flood plain or in a valley where a river runs?
DeleteI'm very thankful I've never had to deal with a flood. I went to nursing school with a woman who had been flooded out of her home and burned out of another. She said the fire was worse, nothing survived. Somethings survive a flood.
ReplyDeleteUsually people know when a flood is coming so they might be able to get some of their stuff upstairs if they live in such a house.
DeleteAnd water is so destructive, before, during and after the deluge!
ReplyDeleteInvariably floods happen in the coldest months.
DeleteWow! That's a flood alright! I wouldn't want to live there. The mess and the damage would be horrendous. Our Australian state Queensland floods badly every single year, with enough water to supply the rest of our dry country, yet people continue to live there and the government does nothing to alleviate the problem such as having catchment dams built and pipelines to feed the water to the drier states.
ReplyDeleteI suppose it is all God's will.
Deletepffft!
DeleteI can't imagine living in area that floods to the point where your home is flooded, and then knowing it could all happen again. You think you are safe but is anyone? A friend who had a two storey shophouse in an area that has never flooded had a a creek running through her home and shop after localised heavy downpour. It tipped her over the edge to sell and move into retirement accommodation.
ReplyDeleteAt least she had that alternative. It must be so traumatising.
DeleteLike you, I am fortunate in that I live too far away from the river Neckar (and too high above it) to ever experience my home being flooded. Same goes for O.K. and his village, which is not far from the Rhine and the Kinzig but too far to be ever flooded.
ReplyDeleteMy mother-in-law in Ripon lives relatively close to the Ure, but it's still far enough for her not to be at risk. I can not imagine how she would cope with such a catastrophe. She'll be 90 in March.
Perhaps you should buy her a canoe for her birthday!
DeleteP.S. I'm just being silly.
Our town here often suffers minor flooding when the sea breaches the sea wall. The town council always has a ready supply of sandbags for households living in the centre of town. We are fortunate to be on a little hill so we avoid the flood waters, but catch the wind, as our recent loss of lead from the roof will attest.
ReplyDeleteI thought that was a van load of lads from Douglas - The Kelly Gang.
DeleteI also live. on a hill, way above the valley of the River Lea. It rarely floods and there are no properties in this area that get wet if it does! Must be dreadful to have river water in your house with all the " creatures" that live in the water too!
ReplyDeleteYou mean like fish and ducks?
DeleteWe get local flooding, not as bad as your video, but so far our home has been safe, we do live 10 minutes walk from the coast, so if sea levels rise too much, our area would be at risk, just hoping it's not in our lifetime. The big cities along the coast are improving their sea defences, but I can't see it happening here any time soon.
ReplyDeleteI know you live in Hampshire but I am not sure exactly where.
DeleteWell we live in a flood risk area, when the water runs off the moor down the hills into the valley and people start to worry. Living in an oldish house there are a set of basement rooms under it, therefore water will accumulate there. It has only happened once (2015) when the water rose up through the paving stones and reached about three foot high. We have a pump, and a humidifier down there, courtesy of a government grant. But like the Victorian drains and pipes we have inherited as a country, I would think it was almost impossible to stop flooding of houses, and of course houses falling off receding cliffs as the sea buffets the land.
ReplyDeleteElon Musk might think that Nature can be mastered but that is not true.
DeleteA lot of flood plains have been built on. Tory councils never replace or build new flood wall infrastructure, climate change, not dredging rivers because of fish spawning migratory routes... Flooding is not a new thing. Holmfirth in 1852 had a disaster and 81 people died
ReplyDeleteWe can do some things but not everything to prevent flooding. My wife grew up by The Trent, north of Gainsborough where sixty years the embankments were enlarged and heightened. It has worked so far.
DeleteDreadful for those people affected, my son's friend flooded before Christmas has said it will be at least a year before they can go back home.
ReplyDeleteInvariably plaster has to be removed and then there has to be time for drying out before replastering can occur.
DeleteOne of the reasons I am up here on the hill, and not down closer to the river. The condo I looked at near the river was in an area that had a history of flooding. I am half a mile and 160 feet higher in elevation.
ReplyDeleteWhy on earth do the authorities allow new building in such locations?
DeleteWe also live on high ground, for which I am always thankful.
ReplyDeleteThat fear of possible flooding must be a hard one to bear.
DeleteThose poor people! That is a mess.
ReplyDeleteI understand that that little village has known flooding before.
DeleteWhat a terrible thing to happen. Looking at the video it seemed that the whole area had become an inland sea, and very few properties had escaped the water.
ReplyDeleteI live on the side of a steep valley and when we have a torrential downpour the water runs down the driveway like a waterfall, from the property above, then down to the next property about 20m. below and so on until it reaches the valley floor. The odd small pond will form, but usually nothing deep enough to cause problems. In town it's a different matter - much of the area floods and the water is even deeper after the council made "improvements" to the worst affected areas!
Surely you cannot be suggesting that the council made things worse!
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