Bad Weather Grips the Country
As bad weather grips the country once again, calls are being made for urgent and fundamental changes if we are to avoid another Summer of 2007.
This week we have been told to expect rain and nothing but rain so those who have not put damage limitations in place could be hit once again as storms rage and rain poors.
In an independent report carried out by Sir Michael Pitt, previously commented on by us, facts have stated that better building regulations needed to be in place for flood prone areas and stricter planning.
The report states that it was unacceptable that utilities were cut and that firms would have to do more to ensure that this did not happen again through better protection.
The flooding of 2007 left 13 dead and 44,600 flooded homes, with nearly 5,000 of those people still in temporary accommodation, unable to return to their homes. The places that were worst hit were Yorkshire and the Midlands and the South West of the Country.
The fact that so many people have been unable to return home has been called 'shameful' by Sir Michael Pitt. He also commented on how the incorrect materials were used to build homes on the flood plains of last Summer and so it is taken an inordinate time for them to dry out. With this in mind, the report has stated that a huge overhaul of building regulations must be done.
The report outlines a 25 year plan to be drawn up and a dedicated cabinet committee to be formed, whose sole responsibility it will be to govern and create legislations to make sure that there isn't a repeat of 2007.
The report also documents how there needs to be: - a definitive map of drainage ditches and streams making clear who is responsible for maintaining them - a nerve centre to continuously watch weather and issue warnings to be monitored by the Met Office and Environment Agency - more onus on the utility companies to protect key sites that could be affected by flooding.
The recommendations were not going to be expensive and could be easily achieved within the government's current £800 million flood defence budget for 2010 to 2011. Sir Michael Pitt said that the threat of flooding was becoming more and more likely in today's climate and that unless precautions were taken now, we could be in danger of using up all of our nine lives.
Because the demand for housing is so high, calling for a blanket ban on building in flood prone areas was not realistic, but that the alternative would be far worse. If people are buying in flood risk areas, they should be made aware of all of the risks, prior to buying and that this should be documented in the home buyers information packs.
In addition, the water and power companies should be doing more to protect themselves against flooding.
It is widely suspected that in the drive for efficiency many companies have 'reduced the amount of spare capacity in their networks' so when there is an emergency the systems cannot cope with it.
Not only were the utility companies criticised on the report, but individuals also had judgement passed on them for not protecting themselves despite those in areas where flood alerts were given. This is especially relevant for those who were struck last Summer by the bad weather, but that have not taking and precautions to protect themselves this time around.
With the current flood 'strategy' being damned by the report, a big re-think needs to be put into place and a proper chain of command implemented in order to avoid a repeat performance of 2007.
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