Christmas flooding

GeeJay57 said:
Well, one of my daughters lives just north of Leeds and the other near Selby. Luckily the flooding has been all around them, but has not directly affected them. Got to feel for the people that have been hit by this, just awful.

Not sure what anyone could have done to prevent the extent of the flooding though. When that much water falls out of the sky, it has to go somewhere. Building higher flood defences just diverts the problem somewhere else and also concentrates the water so that it becomes more destructive. Main thing now is to support people who have had their amenities, homes and businesses damaged.
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The problem is it's not an unusual occurrence any more, it seems lots of water is falling out of the sky a little too regularly. Simply saying nothing can be done is to condemn thousands of people to similar disasters over the coming years. I obviously don't know what needs to be done but clearly something does, not only for those that suffer flooding but the economic damage that it will cause the country.
 
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Thank you all for your very kind wishes, power is now restored at home. The carpets and ruined furniture has been photographed in situ for evidence and skipped and the house is now drying out with a dehumidifier. At the end of the day these are just material possessions and can be replaced. I'm ok and there are far more many people in a worse of place than me.
 
Blank_Canvas said:
Thank you all for your very kind wishes, power is now restored at home. The carpets and ruined furniture has been photographed in situ for evidence and skipped and the house is now drying out with a dehumidifier. At the end of the day these are just material possessions and can be replaced. I'm ok and there are far more many people in a worse of place than me.
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Glad your life is returning to something like normality and I admire your spirit.
 
Blank_Canvas said:
Thank you all for your very kind wishes, power is now restored at home. The carpets and ruined furniture has been photographed in situ for evidence and skipped and the house is now drying out with a dehumidifier. At the end of the day these are just material possessions and can be replaced. I'm ok and there are far more many people in a worse of place than me.
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As Steve said I'm glad your life is returning to something like normality and I admire your spirit. :thumbs:
 
jakeblu said:
Glad your life is returning to something like normality and I admire your spirit.
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Cobra said:
As Steve said I'm glad your life is returning to something like normality and I admire your spirit. (y)
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is that an echo l hear ?

glad things
are improving (y)
 
Gremlin said:
is that an echo l hear ?
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Don't you have the Sincerity button?

It's right there next to Condolences, Compassion and RIP buttons. But not next to the "Great picture Dave", "It's not sharp" and "I like number 3" buttons.
 
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jakeblu said:
The problem is it's not an unusual occurrence any more, it seems lots of water is falling out of the sky a little too regularly. Simply saying nothing can be done is to condemn thousands of people to similar disasters over the coming years. I obviously don't know what needs to be done but clearly something does, not only for those that suffer flooding but the economic damage that it will cause the country.
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Well I'd be very interested to hear, see or read any proposals you or others might put forward that would actually deal with the average of a foot of water landing on a county-sized area in 24-hours. That is a hell of a lot of water and doing the odd bit of dredging here or there, or building a few dykes ain't gonna get it done. Sadly, there isn't anything that can be done to stop the rain in the first place. If it's due to climate change resulting from human industrial activity over the last 100-years or so, then that is not going to be slowed or reversed anytime soon. On the other hand if it's due to El Niño, then hopefully conditions will revert to normal soon.

Secondly, as we continue to concrete and Tarmac and build on flood plains, the water that does fall, quickly runs off and accumulates in the water courses increasing its destructive power. Thirdly, where does the money come from to build whatever 'system' is decided upon and what other essential projects are shelved or abandoned in order to protect against events that even though seemingly frequent at this time, are historically infrequent?

Building homes and businesses on ground with higher elevation might be one way of avoiding/minimising the impact of such floods. Though again, where do the money and resources come from.

This is a very sticky topic. There are no easy solutions IMHO.
 
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Yes. It's not easy or cheap. But more money will surely be forthcoming. The best answer is a full management of the water, from top to bottom, including dredging, barriers and new canals, which will be able to reduce the areas affected. But not all. Some areas cannot be protected from the full surge, without extreme and costly measures.

I recommend a knee jerk reaction that is too little and too late.

Invest in the sandbag and wader industries then go back to smoking a pipe.
 
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ianp5a said:
Yes. It's not easy or cheap. But more money will surely be forthcoming. The best answer is a full management of the water, from top to bottom, including dredging, barriers and new canals, which will be able to reduce the areas affected. But not all. Some areas cannot be protected from the full surge, without extreme and costly measures.

I recommend a knee jerk reaction that is too little and too late.

Invest in the sandbag and wader industries then go back to smoking a pipe.
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Not sure what you mean by the 'go back to smoking a pipe' remark... I mean, WTF?
 
Sorry. I'm imagining rich investors living above flood plains not caring about the flood victims. Just profit opportunities. All of them smoke pipes apparently.

Did that help?
 
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Thanks for clearing that up.....
 
It seems easy, really.
Don't live in areas that are prone to flooding.
Or build houses on stilts.

I live on a hill.
I think the Beetles had a relevant song.
 
kendo1 said:
I live on a hill.
I think the Beetles had a relevant song.
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What? We all live in a yellow submarine?
Or the octopuses garden one?
Or maybe "Turn off your mind relax and float downstream"
The fool on the hill?
I am a walrus?
Help?
 
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kendo1 said:
It seems easy, really.
Don't live in areas that are prone to flooding.
Or build houses on stilts.

I live on a hill.
I think the Beetles had a relevant song.
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More simplistic than realistic, really !

My area in York has never flooded before, not even come up on the radar. I was one of the flood victims.

Ah yes the relevant Beetles song if I recall was "Fool on the Hill"

Sorry, I couldn't resist ;)
 
Yes - but how would most folk finance that - take out a new mortgage ?
 
camerassassin said:
Yes - but how would most folk finance that - take out a new mortgage ?
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It depends on what insurance you can get doesn't it. Hearing that flooded home owners don't have or can't get insurance or it's a crazy amount then if you live somewhere that floods a few times the costs of getting straight again will add up to a considerate amount.
 
kendo1 said:
Don't live in areas that are prone to flooding.
Or build houses on stilts.
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I know a lot of people take the p*** out of Milton Keynes, for one reason or another, be that the roundabout breeding ground or the ( none breeding) concrete cows.
But the whole area has several large ( and very large) balancing lakes, that are used for water sports, fishing etc.
No problems here :)
 
None hear, but in the areas I deliver too, a couple of miles of woodland track, it's a nightmare.
As was said today, I know which are potholes and which are just puddles, anyone else would knacker the tyres
 
I know it's not the case everywhere, but I'm pleased to say things are more-or-less back to normal again here (touch wood etc).

Last week was quite an experience and it's taking a while for me to wind-down completely (sounds daft but I'm still waking up in the night to check the drains even though there's no need to anymore).
 
Blank_Canvas said:
More simplistic than realistic, really !

My area in York has never flooded before, not even come up on the radar. I was one of the flood victims.

Ah yes the relevant Beetles song if I recall was "Fool on the Hill"

Sorry, I couldn't resist ;)
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That's what I was thinking of :)
 
It's been fun up at Balquhidder recently. First pic is the boathouses on Loch Voil a few years ago on a typical winters day, next is a couple of weeks ago.
Loch Voil boathouses by Ken, on Flickr

boathouse.jpg
2nd pic from a mate who lives there.
 
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