It’s been an exhausting couple of weeks dealing with the consequences of the floods that have overwhelmed our local community.
Roads closed. Houses evacuated. Vehicles abandoned. Businesses ruined. These are the consequences of the floods that have recently besieged the Midlands of the UK and many other areas.
At first the drains overflowed causing the local roads to flood. Streets became canals and even with the best efforts of neighbours and friends, property floated away like a stick on the river Thames.
Quite strange that the rivers were high but not as high as we’d seen them before, yet many roads were deep under water 🤔 Another observation made by a work colleague of mine noted that a busy duel carriage way had been closed due to flooding, but not on the side of the road which cuddled the river. The 2 lane carriageway had been closed on the opposite side due to a saturated drainage system overflowing and making the road impassible.
Once the domestic disaster happened and the community demanded action from those who’ve positioned themselves as governors, the water receded from the streets. Of course that water had to go somewhere…
To my understanding the blocked drainage system created a bottle neck and once the water companies and councils finally acted on the problem their reaction was to rare down the damn wall.
A torrent of water flowed through the drains towards its final destination and within hours of the water receding from the roads the river levels rose high enough to burst its banks.
Problem. Reaction. Solution. Bigger problem…
I managed to take the drone out a week after floods had peaked and although the water level was considerably lower you can still get the feel for how bad things were.
Before the floods happened we’d had some rain but nothing that was out of the ordinary. It was constant drizzle, not torrential rail. However, the school field I walk the dogs on had failed to drain, which was very uncommon. The rainwater had nowhere to go and for about 2 weeks I walked the dogs wearing wellington boots. This abnormal occurrence didn’t go unnoticed and after seeing what happened over the following days it all begins to make a lot more sense.
Since the floods we’ve had corespondents from the water company, saying they are going to “carry out extensive drainage works”. For my boss and many other businesses this is too little too late. For those who’ve had to evacuate their houses I feel this is little conciliation, other than the hope it might not happen again. Personally, I wouldn’t hold my breath in hope that either the council or the water company will carry out adequate repairs. 10, 20, 30-years of neglect, and you think these greedy businessmen are going to forsake next years bonus to help out the little people. Ha! Yeah right. A sane person would sell the house and buy themselves a river boat.
As time goes by it’s becoming more apparent how reliant we’ve become on big brother to help bail us out. Maybe it’s about time we abandoned this sinking ship once and for all…
