Flood Problems

[Margaret Pilkington]

Many many years ago I remember staying at 2 Square Road Walsden.....watching the water level rising....putting the flood board up.....lifting the furniture up with my auntie.....getting sandbags. Rolling up the rugs and taking them upstairs.
The floors were stone so once the water receded, it was just a job of getting rid of the filth and the smell.
My thoughts go out to those in these areas.....there is a lot of BAS work ahead of them(for those who do not recognise my acronym....it is britches ar$e steam).

[Gremlin]

My brother was out in it all at Walsden. Square road was badly flooded.
Water running down the railway like a river went through the tunnel and out at the station.
What couldn't get through backed up and added to the water in front of Square road and the river runs behind, as you will remember, so the residents were having it from both sides.
They had no power either and my brother rang about 10 PM and it was still off.

[Margaret Pilkington]

I remember like it was yesterday and it is more than fifty odd years ago....I was 14 at the time.
The cleaning up after was horrible.

[US Angel]

How is Accrington holding up ?
The other place have been hit bad

[cashman]

Not that bad at all angel, had heavy rain but escaped pretty well.

[US Angel]

That's good

[wadey]

I tell this story Margaret but nobody believes me, I went to a friend's Gran's at Walsden mid 70s and she had lines drawn up the vestibule wall. I asked her why and she explained that it was always flooding so she marked the heights. After each flood they would put the furniture and rugs outside wait for it to dry and then start again !
If you walk up Rochdale Road you can see slots either side of the doorways into which they put planks of wood when it rained, having spent hundreds of millions of pounds my son's flooded yesterday !

[wadey]

2007 floods

https://www.flickr.com/photos/portla...-fjTRHA-fjDLEx

[Margaret Pilkington]

Originally Posted by wadey

I tell this story Margaret but nobody believes me, I went to a friend's Gran's at Walsden mid 70s and she had lines drawn up the vestibule wall. I asked her why and she explained that it was always flooding so she marked the heights. After each flood they would put the furniture and rugs outside wait for it to dry and then start again !
If you walk up Rochdale Road you can see slots either side of the doorways into which they put planks of wood when it rained, having spent hundreds of millions of pounds my son's flooded yesterday !

My auntie had those slots too....she threaded a floodboard into the slots once the river reached a certain height...and then we went about lifting the rugs and the furniture.
She had no electricty, only gas.
I am sorry to hear about your son. I really feel for those who have been flooded out. I know what it is like and the mess it leaves behind.

[dotti34]

Likewise, him and me are both so sorry to hear of the devastating floods and the situation people have been put in. Even when the water has subsided there will be so much heartache as people discover all that they have lost. Irreplaceable items. So much work to do in the aftermath.

[Studio25]

Originally Posted by Exile on Spencer St

Hope you've copyrighted that first photo, Gremlin, as the media will be all over it.

A bit off-topic for this thread, I know, but there's no need to copyright photos. It is granted automatically for any created media - in the case of photos simply pressing the shutter release confers copyright, which is why this caused such a fuss at the time.

The media will make a token effort to find the owner of a photo before using it. It's cheaper, on average, to steal images then pay royalties (or, more usually, a settlement) if the copyright holder shows up and makes a fuss than to make concerted efforts to find each owner and ask permission.

Sticking a copyright symbol © at the corner is no protection, they just crop it off. Having a semi-opaque symbol over the top of the whole image is the only protection, but it ruins the effect...

[Accyexplorer]

I see Cameron has 'visited' the victims of the floods....

...just goes to show,you think the worse is over and another sh*te floats in

[Margaret Pilkington]

get over it Jason..it is what politicians of every colour do...if they didn't do it they would be slammed as uncaring...when they do do it they are subjected to the kind of ridicule that you have posted....it is a case of damned if they do and damned if they don't.

Visiting an area is just a Google Page Ranking thing...much as is the visiting of contituencies during and election.
It serves only the media circus in real terms.
What is really needed is the clearing of drains, the widening and deepening of rivers which are prone to flooding, the cessation of building on flood plains, the planting of more trees.......and lastly(but no less important) financial aid for those areas affected...not just to build back the infrastructure but to help those whose homes have suffered damage.

In the past when there have been natural disasters in other parts of the world, the good old Brits have put their hands deep into their pockets and given money.......do you see any country doing this right now to help our flood victims?

[cashman]

Cameron @Co cut the flood defence budget in 2011 as i recall.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Who did what and when does not help those who are in dire straits right now.
What matters now, is that those in power recognise that something decisive has to be done.
We wait and see what actions take place.
The cutting of flood defences is only one aspect of the problem.
As I said in a previous post there are actions which should be taken to minimise the risks.
You are never going to be able to prevent all these floods... But much more could be done.
The plain of York is a flood plain.....those residents who live there should know that.....there are other similar places where building has been permitted despite the risks. How are those people going to get insurance in the future.
The answer is they are not. In such situations then there should be some kind of government scheme which they pay into and they are insured for floods.