Floods - anyone else had a problem?

There is no escape from the weather-our hotel in Malaga flooded on Saturday-I think they said 179 litres per sq. metre in one minute and triggered a red alert. The river bed where boys were skateboarding when we arrived turned into a frightening raging torrent where people who had taken refuge under bridges from the deluge had to be rescued. Sadly there are soup kitchens and for the first time ever in Europe I saw someone shoeless sleeping in a doorway.

Our village flooded in 2007, the last time it flooded was 1947. When the Environment Agency put one of those depth gauges on the little stream that runs through our village I laughed like a drain (oops, sorry). When was our litle stream, only about 10 miles in length from source to Thames going to flood.

Over 50 houses flooded and we were close to marooned, but as we have discovered with a house our son used to live in 1 foot in height makes the difference between flooding and not floodin. Examining the flood maps the 100 year flood line makes a neat detour around the houses of us and two neighbours.

However our insurance agent told us this year that we will have to stay with our existing insurer because if we move we will not be able to get flood cover with any other insurer. We are just too close to the flood line.

I spent part of my mis spent youth in Boscastle and still can't get over the day it flooded; I'd always dreamed of moving back there [still do].

isthis we are on the Soar and the main road into our village used to be flooded quite regularly especially after the housing development was done along the route of the 'new' A6. To stop this happening, approx £1m was spent clearing the river of silt etc. This was so successful that we now get no flooding but, unfortunately, we still have difficulty getting in and out of the village because the villages either side of us get flooded instead.

Coming from Derbyshire, I love the expression round here 'the floods are out!' - I always imagine someone left a gate open and they escaped all over the roads, a bit like sheep or cattle!

Isthis, I don`t know about 1953, we weren`t here then, still in Lancashire, all I know for certain about those floods is that Mablethorpe and thereabouts got it very badly. Boston town centre was flooded in 1977 or 8, but it wasn`t TOO bad, I remember the tennis courts in the park being underwater. Like I said, we`re on a river/canal/drain bank, but have been lucky so far.

The landslide near us on Monday was caused by a blocked drain (stream culvert). The stream had to go somewhere, so it came down the farm track and took a good deal of the track with it across the road and into the sea. It wasn't the heavy rain that was the problem really, but the blocked culvert. The person who blocked it when he was upgrading his drive is not terribly popular with the neighbours right now .

It's the usual case of "be prepared" and check important things. Anyone who is surprised by heavy rain in November in W Scotland in living in a bubble.

No numberplease I'm not nearly as far East as you. I'm in the centre of Leicester.

Much of the city is in a river valley (River Soar) but those clever Victorians did lots of work on that, viz the wonderfully named "Mile Straight", NB never called the "Straight Mile" which was dug as a flood defence. And all of the excellent Aylestone Meadows which are a good old-fashioned flood plain. Even our half-wit council wanted to build football pitches (and pavilions, changing etc) on the bit that floods virtually every year. As it was designed to!

But Boston, Lincs? Doesn't that mean the dangers of THE SEA! Did Boston get affected by that lethal surge down the North Sea in Jan 1953? There was an excellent BBC documentary on the subject about 3 or 4 years ago. I had no idea that it caused so much damage. 307 dead on land in the UK + 224 at sea, including 133 who perished on the car ferry Princess Victoria which sank.

Around the North Sea altogether: 2000 dead

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Sea_flood_of_1953
www.metoffice.gov.uk/education/teens/case-studies/floods

As the BBC documentary made clear, much of the devastation was made worse by a near total collapse of the communication system (ie telephones), with appalling consequences. People literally didn't know what was heading their way. The Met Office page above confirms that.

Puts our present troubles in perspective I reckon.

I'm above the severn estuary, but, I'm so high up I think I'm even above Tsumani height.
Strangely though my next door neighbour has to be careful as if the drain outside his front door is blocked it goes into his hall! His doors ill is only about 1" above the surface, while I have two steps up. Also, my house is higher up th e hill although we are terraced! It's an old building and slopes from one end to another!

The River Avon has burst it's banks in numerous places. Areas of Warwick have flooded close to the river but hopefully we should be ok.

We live on a river bank, just the narrow road between us and the water, well, it`s a drain really, not a river, but that`s what we say it is, but we`ve lived here since 1985 and never been close to flooding, so fingers crossed that things continue that way.
Isthis, whereabouts in the East Midlands are you, anywhere near me (Boston)?

Our village has only one road out passable and that is 'up' for road works. Luckily, our house is on a hill and I just hope we can get back there tomorrow.

(((Hugs))) to anyone affected.

I am lucky enough to live on the side of a hill well above a little stream.
I really feel for those who have been flooded out. It must be so distressing to lose your belongings and be faced with the mess, stress and hassle of having to replace stuff even if you can be insured.
I would never really feel safe in that house again.
to anyone affected.

It does make you feel good when people are spontaneously kind.
Glad to hear that you are ok Mishap.

People can be so kind - when I had to rush back to England because my daughter was very dangerously ill, my French neighbours just took care of everything for me and I had never spoken to most of them.
I hope you continue to mend, Mishap, and that the waters stay away from your house!

The way it's raining outside we may be heading the same way (East Midlands). Am on a hill which is good but I have a cellar which floods. Not serious as I only store wine down there and it usually only floods a couple of inches. When I had a pre-purchase survey, the surveyor said "It's been doing that for 180 years, it's not going to harm the house now" it was built around 1838. Seems he was probably right!

Gives you a lovely warm glow, Mishap! I'm sure they know you'd do the same for them.

It certainly does, mishap. I feel quite emotional about your kind neighbours.

Things can only get better bags! Foot is still d**n painful but plaster is off. I'm keeping it moving as best I can and have got fingers crossed. But I am learning that I have to be patient and cannot keep hoping it will be quick.

Having such wonderfful neighbours makes an immeasurable difference during this crazy patch in our lives.

Oh mishap something you really didn't need!I am so glad your neighbours were there to save the day
Stay safe!

That's good to hear, mishap. GLad another crisis was averted! How's your leg been today?