Floods

[Stewy]

Are any WAB members flooded? It's been a nightmare here in Berks but luckily we escaped unscathed, can't say the same for the poor folk down the road and in other parts

[John]

Originally Posted by Stewy

Are any WAB members flooded? It's been a nightmare here in Berks but luckily we escaped unscathed, can't say the same for the poor folk down the road and in other parts

Thankfully it would be virtually impossible for that to happen to my Bungalow as it was built onto a landfill type of site. By the side of my property is a forty foot drop and any water coming my way would drop over the edge. I am thankful of that because two roads away is seriously flooded.

I went out to Kings Bromley today to top up on bird feed. This is 40 miles away from where I live. I drove along the M6, M42, A446 and A38 before crossing the last four miles across country to where I was going. There was a lot of water around but it didn't effect the main roads.

I decided to drive back along one of my favourite birding routes and that is when I met trouble. I was skirting fields where the water was lapping the edges of the road but at least I could get through, until I passed Tamworth. Then the rot set in.

Just past Dosthill was flooded but I managed to put my right hand wheels onto the kerb and edge my way through. I wasn't so lucky just past Kingsbury where a barrier was across the road with serious flooding. I had to back track and go a back way. That ended up with a flooded road and from then on it was a case of trying out roads until I found one that would get me back to the Motorway. All the time the rain was slashing down.

It is absolutely frightening the amount of rain that has fallen and yet near where I live hasn't suffered the worst. Spare a thought for places like Tenbury Wells, Evesham, Pershore and Upton on Severn where they have had serious flooding.

As I type this I was running a Moth trap outside. It was dry at 10pm, by midnight it started to rain now it is pouring again. When will it end.

John

[Stewy]

It really was bad, I've never seen anything like it in all the 19yrs of living here, the old couple down the road from me had the pond wiped out and he's lost all of his Koi let alone the damage to the house.

[jennyb]

We are lucky enough to live near the top of a hill, so the house was safe enough. However, our village was cut off for a time in all directions. As well as that, our lane was flooded making it impossible to get into the village from here.

My husband got stuck in a swirling torrent in a hefty 4 X 4 He thought he might get swept away, but was pulled out by a kindly farmer with a tractor. The farmers did stirling work around here helping people

It must be dreadful for those poor folk who have had their homes flooded.

I've lived here over 20 years and have not seen rain like that before. We have a pond which is made from a dammed up trickle of a stream. The dam has 2 overflow pipes - the first is one metre below the top of the dam and the second is about 18 inches higher. The water rose right over the top of the dam and poured over like a waterfall.

Mrs moorhen's eggs hatched just last week, so I was worried about her babies. I went to take a look when the rain stopped falling. The old nest had completely disappeared of course but she had build a new one at the new water level (a meter higher than normal). Amazing how quickly she builds them. I saw that at least one of the chicks had survived. However, I thought that when the water receded, her nest was going to be far too high for the chicks to get into! Sure enough, I went to take another look yesterday morning and the water was back down again to normal levels with a beautiful nest a couple of feet up in the reeds. But, she had built yet another back at the old water level. She is really quite expert at this. I did not see any chicks yesterday so hope all is okay.

Jenny

[Kymba]

here in Kent we have had hardly any rain at all.. It seems to of missed us completely..Really feel for those who have lost everything.. Just seen on news except for Tuesday they are forecasting quite a bit more rain for most of country

[agrumpycow]

We were travelling back from the west country and seemed to be travelling east with the storm for 4 hours (the journey should have taken 2) We got caught in the M4 landslide between Reading and Newbury but I think had we been just half hour later we'd have been stuck for a lot longer. Pangbourne on the Thames has over a dozen people in temporary accommodation.
Our house is at the top of a hill so we are lucky to have no flooding here but the road which goes down from the village to the station was obviously affected because some of the tarmac had been washed away.
I really feel for all those who have been badly affected, and those whose houses have been built on a flood plain. A quick look a the environment agency flood plain map show just how many are built on an area liable to flooding - and not just new houses either.

[Purplepixii]

Thankfully where I live (south coast) has mostly survived - well we have nothing like the problems they have had in Yorkshire for certain!

I did have a mad panic on Friday last week as it had been raining continuously and I was terrified of getting home to find my pond (and the fish) all over the back garden! Luckily when I got home the water level in the pond had just reached the top - another few hours and I would have been wading through water & fish!

My thoughts do go out to all of those who have been badly effected.

Pixii

[solus]

We're not flooded, thank goodness, as our house is on rising ground on the edges of the City of Gloucester, BUT we have no tap water as from about midnight Sunday and are not likely to have any for up to 2 weeks as we're supplied from the Mythe Water Treatment Plant near Tewkesbury (you'll have all seen it on the TV and in the papers). They reckon it'll be Wednesday at least before anyone can get in there and up to 14 days before supplies are restored.

If the water round the big electricity sub-station right by the River Severn on the flood plain, currently surrounded by a fragile-looking, hastily erected defence, and being pumped out by several powerful Fire-service pumps, is breached overnight, as it may well be, then we'll be in real trouble as that could take 5 days to restore...

Our hearts go out to all those whose homes are flooded - we have been so lucky by comparason.

[Dan Salter]

Originally Posted by Kymba

here in Kent we have had hardly any rain at all.. It seems to of missed us completely..Really feel for those who have lost everything.. Just seen on news except for Tuesday they are forecasting quite a bit more rain for most of country

OMG Kymba? do you live in kent UK or another kent? ha ha

It has rained solidly here in kent for like 2 months with maybe a handful of scattered days of sun...my veg patch i have virtually given up on.
I admit i havent heard reports of flooding anywhere near me but my god it has rained forever!

[John]

Like others I have been watching what has been happening not that far away from where I live with great sadness. I just can't believe the pain of losing everything like many have in these conditions, some of them at least twice in repeat floods.

Thankfully the predicted high levels were not attained and the sub station wasn't breached. Let's hope that the rain starts to ease and allow the levels to drop away.

Good luck to all the poor souls that have to start to rebuild their lives when the levels return to normal and good luck to some of those living in Bedfordshire and Oxfordshire as they seem to be the next on the hit list of major flooding.

The lasting legacy is how on earth do you deal with living in these suspect areas now that we know that it is possibly the start of what could become the norm in the future with the possible effects of global warming.

John

Originally Posted by solus

We're not flooded, thank goodness, as our house is on rising ground on the edges of the City of Gloucester, BUT we have no tap water as from about midnight Sunday and are not likely to have any for up to 2 weeks as we're supplied from the Mythe Water Treatment Plant near Tewkesbury (you'll have all seen it on the TV and in the papers). They reckon it'll be Wednesday at least before anyone can get in there and up to 14 days before supplies are restored.

If the water round the big electricity sub-station right by the River Severn on the flood plain, currently surrounded by a fragile-looking, hastily erected defence, and being pumped out by several powerful Fire-service pumps, is breached overnight, as it may well be, then we'll be in real trouble as that could take 5 days to restore...

Our hearts go out to all those whose homes are flooded - we have been so lucky by comparason.