IBS – Mary Dhonau ‘The floods of this winter (2019/2020) have been relentless, the 5th wettest on record and the wettest February since records began, with nearly 4 times the average monthly rainfall in some areas. The surrounding countryside of my own home, in the City of Worcester, has looked similar to the lake district, miles and miles of nothing but water.
To date some 4,600 people have been flooded by filthy, stinking water (and if you’ve not smelt floodwater, let me tell you, it’s horrific!) The huge impact on people’s lives can never be underestimated. I have been involved in flood risk since my own home flooded 20 years ago, and have seen many floods, but this winter really has been ‘something else’ and I fear, unless things change, this may become the new norm.
I don’t work on the front line, but I do work very closely with those who do. I know how incredibly hard all those who managed this flood have worked – and we mustn’t forget that 128,000 homes weren’t flooded, due to existing flood defences. Volunteer Flood Wardens have also worked tirelessly to support their communities and should be saluted. I also know the utter devastation that so many people have suffered as a result of being flooded. Being flooded destroys lives. Even on ‘my patch’, over 1,000 homes have been flooded, and some for the second time this winter. I have travelled around the country and seen first-hand the suffering of so many people. Every time I appear on television or radio, I’m contacted afterwards for help. I’ve spent hours talking to and messaging people who just don’t know which way to turn. People already have ‘stuff’ going on in their lives and being flooded can literally break them. And let me tell you that the recovery from the flood is far worse than the flood itself! People struggle to carry on with daily lives, whilst trying to ‘project manage’ a building site, that is their own home and, to put it mildly, managing an insurance claim causes huge levels of stress.