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Thread: Floods

  1. #1
    Not a spoon! Lou's Avatar
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    Floods

    I wanted to start a thread to check that everyone's ok. I used to dance a lot in the North M5 corridor - the bit that's been mostly affected by the flooding - so I know a lot of dancers around that area. Presumably, most people managed to get out of Evesham after Utopia? And there's some scary photos of Tewkesbury under water - doesn't John Baker (Kryton1) & his family live there? And Worcester's been bad too - anyone seen MartinHarper? Seems that Cheltenham & Gloucester are running out of drinking water - I don't know whether any forumites are affected there, but I know a lot of non-forum folk there who will be.

    Anyway - just hoping that you're all managing OK.

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    Re: Floods

    I work in Gloucester and live in Stroud and was sent home early on Friday. It was quite scary as I had to turn round twice (once in flood water) and had to drive through three 'lakes' to get home. From what I can gather though, I had it easy!!

    We had minor floods in Stroud (6 feet at the bottom of our hill - thank heavens that we are at the top!)

    But it is getting worse and worse up here! I went into work this morning (Quedgeley in Gloucester) to see water tanks on the side of the roads and no traffic lights. There is no water and no electricity and this is impacting on the supermarkets and petrol stations, as well as business.

    Two people that I work with have their houses flooded. One not too badly, but the other under 8 feet of water and it is still rising. A chap who Simon works with has had his house flooded out for the second time in two weeks - his is on the news in Longlevens in Gloucester.

    So, I have now been sent home as we have no water and no electricity in Gloucester. Stroud, where I live, is expecting to lose their electricity, but thankfully, we still have water. I think Mark in Cheltenham has about 20 hours of water left.

    Simon is still in the centre of Gloucester as they have a back up generator, but due to no water, they are sending most staff home.

    There does seem to be a good community spirit with people sharing what they have. Water is being given out as well by any supermarkets that are open - there were reports of fighting over water on Sunday though!

    This is expected to go on for about 3 days.........

    Elaine

    Just heard that some 'phones services are now down as well!

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    Registered User Almost an Angel's Avatar
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    Re: Floods

    Well, unfortunatedly you don't have to be living in the M5 corridor - please see attached picture of my house on Friday. I live in Surrey.

    Luckily the water stayed about an inch below the level of the ground floor this time. Last year we weren't so lucky it was worse and went through the ground floor.

    Oh and the water in the picture isn't water it's raw sewage that has been discharged from the main sewer behind the houses. This is the second time in a year that the sewer has blown. and flooded the 20 houses in the close.

    So my Saturday morning was spent on the phone to Thames Water and the Environmental Health department in an effort to get the raw sewage silt and rag (that's the items that people flush down a toilet that they're not supposed to) removed from around the house, gardens and garages.

    The rest of Saturday was spent cleaning up the said sewage from gardens, garages, collecting all the damaged items into 1 place and organising cleaning up. Sunday was spent more of the same and hosong down the paths bushes and putting disinfectant around as the smell is awful.

    Can i have my weekend back - I was supposed to be resting and reading Harry Potter.

    Angel
    Attached Images Attached Images

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    Registered User FirstMove's Avatar
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    Re: Floods

    I couldn't get to Utopia on Friday due to the rain. The very few that did manage to get there got stuck in Evesham overnight; the town became in island.

    Malvern was cut off for most of the weekend, so people started panic buying! There were lots of refugees moping about on Malvern's main street on Saturday moring not knowing what to do with themselves.

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    Re: Floods

    Took me ages to get home on Friday, and our trip to Evesham was aborted early on (a roundabout near Spetchley was under water). Also, the Upton Blues festival was cancelled (again, it became an island). So all in all, bit of a washout of a weekend. We cleaned my home, someone else's home, and watched Underworld I and Ghost Rider.

    In work atm. Should be much easier getting home today. Looks dry outside, too.

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    Registered User Tessalicious's Avatar
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    Re: Floods

    I'm in practically Central London, living in a first floor flat, and I have flood damage in my living room!

    I'm not going to pretend that it's as serious as those in AaA's position, or those in the floodplains, but it was a bit of a shock to come home from work on Friday and find my living room floor covered in water! It turns out that the guy living upstairs had gone out and left his window wide open, and the water that came in (in an hour of rain) was enough to flood that room and drip through my ceiling (down my light fitting) into my living room.

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    Registered User Beowulf's Avatar
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    Re: Floods

    Quote Originally Posted by MartinHarper View Post
    watched Underworld I and Ghost Rider
    You Poor guy

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    Re: Floods

    Sorry to hear about everyone's flood reports... Living in Doncaster and being very very lucky last time we flooded I know how scary it can be for you all.

    Don't know if anyone else thinks this is really quite scary as we are in July - summer - and floods shouldn't be happening.... I passed it off as a freak weather occurrence when it hit us up in South Yorkshire recently but now it is happening all over the country, one has to wonder what is going on

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    Registered User Beowulf's Avatar
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    Re: Floods

    Quote Originally Posted by Caz View Post
    Sorry to hear about everyone's flood reports... Living in Doncaster and being very very lucky last time we flooded I know how scary it can be for you all.
    I'm in a top floor flat in a fairly elevated area of Aberdeen.. and I suffered from the floods this weekend too.. mind you my water was not coming from the ground up.. more from the roof down was up in the Attic on Sunday morning with a plethora of buckets and basins catching all the drips !!

    mind you it wasn't so much DRIPPING in.. as DRIBBLING in

    Still I feel sorry for all the flooded out people.. my problems are not a patch on yours (a soggy patch on the ceiling that is)

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    Re: Floods

    Well Tewkesbury/Gloucester etc are now officially in a state of emergency!

    I work in Insurance and deal with property Insurance claims, but without water or electricity, and as we can do nothing, we were sent home. The calls have been routed through to another office and the disaster recovery plan is to be implemented from tomorrow. We are apparantly being sent to our emergency office - somewhere near the river severn!

    The only thing I can tell you peeps that have been flooded from above or below is to take lots of photos of your damage. The Loss Adjusters and specialist clean up companies were at full stretch from the last incidents and it will not be good for this lot of claims.

    Luckily, I still have power at home, but not sure for how long. As I said before, my heart goes out to those of you with damage!


    Elaine

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    Registered User Twirly's Avatar
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    Re: Floods

    I was visiting my father who lives near Swindon in Wiltshire over the weekend. Friday we went to an arts festival the other side of Oxford. Took us about 90 minutes to get there, in some pretty heavy rain - first time I'd driven in such bad weather (we did think about turning back at one point). I was driving as I’m still trying to get my driving experience and confidence up (I passed my test in February, got a little silver Fiesta in April).

    When we did get there, I had my first experience of parking in a field – a rather muddy field, and at 12 noon, people were already getting stuck and having to be towed out. But I managed OK. We then spent several hours visiting artists and their works in a series of marquees, in various stages of flooding, and getting covered up to our knees in mud. It stopped raining mid afternoon – and the sun did come out briefly (fortunately when we were in some really beautiful gardens) Some marquees had been abandoned, others you could only get to the artists if you had wellies on. We left at 5.30, and I was very relieved to see some heavy farm equipment around to haul people out if their cars got stuck. But I was most impressed with myself as I got out with no problems.

    Almost as soon as we hit the road from Oxford to Swindon (the A420), we got stuck in traffic. What should have taken 20 minutes took two hours – due to a roundabout which had about 3ft of water. My first go at driving through such an over-sized puddle. We thought we’d be OK after this – how wrong! It was about 8pm by now. We headed off to take the route we’d come, down country roads (this weekend was my first go at driving along country roads). The road was closed. So we went back and joined the main road – and another traffic jam. I followed my father’s instructions and headed off down another road eventually, only to discover this was flooded too (and appeared to have a double-decker bus stuck in it). 9pm and hungry. We turned back, and joined the traffic jam again (it felt as if people were just driving around in circles trying to find a way through).

    My father decided we should head for Swindon, and try to get to the town he lives in the long way round. By this time, a couple of community-minded locals had decided to spend their evening directly traffic away from areas they knew were flooded – thank God, as my little car would not have got through the 6ft of water we were told lay in the direction we wanted to go. Instead, we were advised to head up a country lane (by this time the word “up” seemed like the way to go!) and it’s chalk downs, so the roads did improve – after I’d driven through a 3ft deep 30ft wide “puddle”! I also had to learn rapidly how to use my full beam headlights – have only ever driven in London before at night, so never needed them! Anyway, off I went, up dark, windy, steep-banked lanes that not even my father knew, hoping for the best, with a queue of traffic behind me. Eventually we got back to main roads again, and headed off for home, knowing that the road we were headed for had a dip in it (the town is on a hill) and if that was flooded, that was it – we couldn’t get back. But it was clear, and eventually, at 10.45, 5 ¼ hours after we’d set off on what should have been a 90 minute journey we arrived. I was, however, just a wee bit stressed by this time!

    I realise however that it could have been a lot worse – am so thankful that I wasn’t on the M5, and my father’s house is fine. (My heart goes out to all those people suffering in this chaos.)

    I think that I’m probably entitled, after all that, to remove my P plates!

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    Re: Floods

    Twirly, did you see how Oxford Uni was coping? My sister works for them, and although Whitney is flooded a bit, she says their house is dry (at the moment). She was very (umm Not) distressed that she couldn't get into work this morning because all the buses are off.. apparently their routes are under water

    Deepest sympathy for anyone actually affected.

    Whitetiger

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    Registered User Twirly's Avatar
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    Re: Floods

    Quote Originally Posted by whitetiger1518 View Post
    Twirly, did you see how Oxford Uni was coping?
    No - we were on the ringroad, not central Oxford. Sorry.

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    Re: Floods

    That's ok - I just wondered if she was going to be off work for a while during the clean up. (Lucky girl) (you can't really tell I want to be out in the sunshine that Glasgow is basking in - instead of stuck looking at it from the office window - now can you?)

    Alternatively she could be draughted into the overtime squad - she is tech support so she could be overloaded with work if the computer labs go under water (This scenario I definitely don't envy!)

    Whitetiger

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    Re: Floods

    People now being evacuated from various parts of Gloucester, Tewkesbury, Upton on Severn and Evesham and being airlifted to safety! People are being asked if they have any spare accomodation and I believe that Cirencester Agricultural College are putting up about 200.

    We lost power today at home for about four hours, but back on again now...........phew! Don't know how long we are on for though, as the water is still rising!


    Elaine

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    Re: Floods

    [
    QUOTE=Twirly;395252]I was visiting my father who lives near Swindon in Wiltshire over the weekend. Friday we went to an arts festival the other side of Oxford. Took us about 90 minutes to get there, in some pretty heavy rain - first time I'd driven in such bad weather (we did think about turning back at one point). I was driving as I’m still trying to get my driving experience and confidence up (I passed my test in February, got a little silver Fiesta in April).
    Congratulations at passing your test. hope you come dancing in Swindon / Gloucester soon.
    I had to leave my car and walk 5 miles including wading through 2ft of water so missed Tango at Bath on Fri night
    Hope to dance with you soon.


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    Registered User Mini Mac's Avatar
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    Re: Floods

    well down here in letchworth wer not really badly affected so i guess i shouldnt moan about the tv blowing up every five seconds when theyre are lots of people out there with no home tonight

    My support goes out to them


    I do hope everyone on this forum who lives in the affected areas are alright.



    Love Mini Mac xx

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    Registered User stewart38's Avatar
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    Re: Floods

    I went to Worcetershire County hall from Bicester in Oxfordshire on Friday for a business meeting, arrived 10am

    It was raining a lot but took 90 minutes as expected

    How long did it take me to get back ?? and how many what’s a word that’s bigger then a puddle but not a lake ? Ill call it luddles did I drive through , praying the car wouldn’t stall in 2ft /3ft of water

    So how long

    And how many luddles

    Winner gets rep

  19. #19
    Registered User Twirly's Avatar
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    Re: Floods

    Quote Originally Posted by stewart38 View Post
    I went to Worcetershire County hall from Bicester in Oxfordshire on Friday for a business meeting, arrived 10am

    It was raining a lot but took 90 minutes as expected

    How long did it take me to get back ?? and how many what’s a word that’s bigger then a puddle but not a lake ? Ill call it luddles did I drive through , praying the car wouldn’t stall in 2ft /3ft of water

    So how long

    And how many luddles

    Winner gets rep
    Well judging by my experiences not far away, about 5-6 hours!

  20. #20
    Registered User stewart38's Avatar
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    Re: Floods

    Quote Originally Posted by Twirly View Post
    Well judging by my experiences not far away, about 5-6 hours!
    correct 7.5hrs !

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