surviving the flood talybont community flood group ‘talybont floodees’ chair person mick...
TRANSCRIPT
Surviving the flood
Talybont Community Flood Group‘Talybont Floodees’
Chair personMick Fothergill
1. The Event - The Devastation2. Forming the Group - Dealing with Insurance
and builders3. Developing a community flood Plan4. Defining our problem - Responsibilities5. The solution6. Where we are now
Surviving the flood
Surviving the flood
Surviving the flood
For 40 years we have lived in harmony with the river and enjoyed all its moods
Surviving the flood
The river was part of our lives – an excitement and an inspiration
The Event
The Event An intense low pressure system stalled over the catchment areas of the Rivers Leri and Ceulan.
Over 190mm of rain fell in 36 hours on already saturated land.The resultant flooding was widespread and severe.
27 properties in Talybont were flooded and the A487 through the village was closed for a number of hours.
Isohyet Diagram for 8th / 9th 2012 Flood Event
The Event
The Event
The River Gauge at Dolybont was overwhelmed
The Event
The Event
The EventWe were evacuated to the local pub – but that too was flooded
Evacuated a second time to the Village Hall
The Devastation
The Devastation
The Devastation
The Devastation
The Devastation
The Devastation
The Devastation
The Devastation
The Clean up
The Clean up
The Clean up
The Group
The Group
• Everyone was invited • Centred around the pubs – Very Important• Met every week (we still do)• Provided support and advice – a real safety valve• Helped reduce stress – The psychological impact was
immense• We helped each other
• Invited talks and lectures
• The Group now has a constitution and a formal committee
• Make sure you are not under insured – DO IT NOW (Principal of Average)• Keep contact information to hand • Inform your Insurance company immediately – 24 Hour hot lines don’t work
so have telephone numbers and email addresses • Ask for advice but remember that insurance companies are not necessarily
acting with your best interest at heart
• Get independent advice – The Scottish Flood Forum in the guise of Paul Hendy was of great help.
• They will appoint a loss adjuster. Loss adjusters are impartial but paid for by the insurance company. You do not have to accept this and you can insist on appointing one of your own. If a number of properties are affected its a good idea to join together with a single loss adjuster.
Insurance
• The Loss adjustor will appoint a surveyor who will produce a ‘Scope of Works’ . This document should be a draft document and you should study this carefully before agreeing to the final version.
• This will then be issued as a Tender document and sent to a range of builders to tender for the contract.
• Once builders have been appointed make sure you open a dialogue with the company and be around as much as you can to keep an eye on the progress – make a nuisance of yourself
IT WILL BE SLOW
Insurance
• It will take 5-6 months for your house to dry out – Insist on a drying certificate
• You can insist on using local businesses and products • Local businesses and contractors don't like working for Insurance
companies as they are very slow at paying• Don’t ask your builder to undertake extra work without a written quote
– They are likely to be very expensive• At the completion of the restoration the builders should provide you
with a pack of documents
INSURANCE COMPANIES ARE HONOURABLE AND WILL PAY UPEVENTUALLY
Insurance
Annual Insurance0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
Pre floodPost Flood
Insurance
61%
LVC Millenium0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
Pre floodPost Flood
Insurance
7% 226%
Developing a Community Flood Plan
• We were unprepared• Warning systems were generic for North Ceredigion and not
specific to our catchment
Developed a Community Flood Plan and organised a test day
• Ceredigion County Council• Natural Resources Wales • Dyfed Powys Police • Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service
Our Problem
The Leri/Ceulan catchment is a relatively small steep sided, funnel shaped catchment which reacts very quickly to rainfall.
It ranges from over 1300ft to sea level
Hydrographs for the rivers Leri, Ystwyth, Clarach and Rheidol.
The Leri exhibits a highly peaked graph which provides little opportunity for an adequate warning period.
Our Problem
Our Problem
ResponsibilitiesSurface water – Dwr Cymru
Responsibilities
The Solution - Information
Two river gauges Leri and CeulanTalybont
Two remote rain gauges at top of catchment
Farson digital webcams Talybont
The Solution - KnowledgePrimary defence – Flood arc system or Flood Gate
The Solution - KnowledgeSecondary defence – Seal drains
The Solution - Knowledge
The Solution - KnowledgeExpression of interest to the ‘Nature Fund’
Developing and testing a catchment-based approach for flood alleviation in upland Wales using ecosystem services
Aberystwyth University keen to use our catchment as a study area
Cobweb will play a central role in allowing us to collect information within the catchment and bring issues to the notice of the authorities
Allow the community to participate in and be pro-active in its own monitoring of the catchment
We will ‘own’ the information that will allow us to fight the flood risk.
The Solution - Knowledge
•Better specific warning systems •Community and personal flood plans •Better defences•More autonomous (Lottery funding for Sand Bags)•Better communication within the village •Defibrillators sited in the village •In discussion about the future of the bridge•Started a discussion with local farmers about a replanting scheme
•The council has carried out a feasibility study for a Talybont flood scheme to be presented to us on the 3rd Dec
in the pub
Where we are now
•Ceredigion Council •Natural Resources Wales•Aberystwyth University•The Scottish Flood Forum specifically Paul Hendy•Local Councillor, Leader of the Council, Regional AM•Emergency Services
•All of Talybont
But most of all
Thank You
The Talybont Flood Group