Mary Dhonau, Chief Executive of the Know Your Flood Risk Campaign explains: “As I see it, this is the antidote to DEFRA’s resilience action plan: the drive from government is that you must protect your property from flood, yet where on earth should people start? We’ve therefore launched a new edition of the Homeowners’ Guide to Flood Resilience, which includes a much-needed design of a flood resilient prototype home that walks readers through all the interventions that can be taken.
Having been flooded myself on many occasions I know just how appalling flooding is and the hardest part is the recovery. With people spending an average of nine months out of their homes after a flood occurring, I’ve made it my personal mission to help people reduce this time and by taking the steps included in the Guide, recovery time can be dramatically reduced.”
Mary has spent the last year interviewing people who have been affected by flooding and who have since made their homes flood resilient. This includes Mr and Mrs Buttery, a couple from York who have been flooded 10 times and, following a number of resilience measures, can now get their home back to normal within one hour. Another is Sue Cashmore from Cockermouth who, having been flooded several times – including water reaching 7ft in one flood event, has used funds from a Government grant to make modifications to her home, which makes recovery much quicker.
Mary added: “Via Know Your Flood Risk, I am on a personal mission to help people be more aware of their risk and take practical steps to become flood resilient. Being aware, having a plan and taking precautions to reduce our own risk is half the battle. Whilst it may not always be possible to stop flood water getting into a home, my hope is that by reading this Guide, people at risk can understand what they can do to reduce the awful aftermath and recover far more quickly than in the past.”
The new Guide is designed to make people aware, prepare and take practical steps to reduce the impact that flooding can have on their lives. It contains the resilient home prototype design, eight new case study interviews with flood victims from affected areas such as Cockermouth, York, Kendal and Leeds, all of whom have put measures in place to prepare for flooding. In addition, there is helpful guidance on all the UK’s risk management authorities to explain ‘who does what’ in the event of a flood, plus useful overviews regarding Flood Re and the range of property-level products that are today available to homeowners.
The launch of the Guide is in advance of the Environment Agency’s #floodaware fortnight campaign, which started on 1 November and encourages the public to be aware and prepared for potential flooding.
