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ClimateNE & Climate Change Schools Project support the move to a low-carbon, resilient economy and help businesses avoid risk and realise commercial opportunities. Posts by Jen Atkinson, Krista McKinzey and Harriet Thew » "Rain rain go away and come back another day", as a child my Grandmother did the weekly wash on a Monday and as such required a dry day to hang the washing out....40 years on and with 4 young children in my house the washing machine is in a constant spin....as is the electric dryer on days like today.
Yesterday our house and that of my aunty next door came within a few centremtres of flooding in a matter of hours but luckily our houses were safe.....unlike many local families, including my retired village school headmistress a mile away.
What can we do to avoid these things happening and how do we keep safe...?
At this point I declare my provenance in terms of flooding, first my farm Lee Moor Farm has been periodically flooding for over 200 years and so no surprise my crops are willow and poplar. Indeed as a tenant of The Duke of Northumberland's Estate I was wryly amused to see a previous rent review go wrong for the landlord as it occurred at this time of the year with a third of the farm underwater and some crop actually floating on the water...no change there then!
Let me make this very clear, flooding is a financial and emotional disaster for business and homeowner alike. It disrupts the rhythm of life much like a burgulary or even assault and for individuals the destruction of personal items is very traumatic. As for farmers I had my share of wet harvests and excessive drying charges and know the pain.......the irony of lowering prices for crops just when local farmers needed a good harvest is very unjust.
Secondly my knowledge of flooding is right up to date because I am a regional Chairman for the Environment Agency in the north east and Yorkshire and Humberside. Thus I sit on the two regional flood defence committees and know all about the politics and economomics of flooding. As a past County Councillor of Northumberland I also know about local representation and so will be involved in the inquest about why Morpeth flooded so badly. At this point can I pay tribute to our north east Chairman and the Environment Agency staff who have focussed on what can be done for Morpeth and rural riverside caravan sites many years ahead of this incident, The weather is an unpredicatable/predicatable force - the reason local money is being spent on extra weather radar is to see these super cells of heavy rain as they come into a watershed and give people the best warning they can....but people should register if they are on a floodplain.
My thoughts are with all those effected and lets work together to put things back as they were and learn any lessons.
Ian Brown - Chair REPAC
ps can I congratulate the local newspapers for their immediate use of photos and stories on their websites, weekly newspapers are now a resource that can outflank the BBC and SKY in relation to breaking news such as our local flooding. Well done Jane Coltman and Helen Woods on your photos straight onto the website.
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