Madam, Whilst there are some I know who have again suffered locally, it seems that in the latest flood emergency Ross escaped relatively unscathed. At least this time. But one has to wonder how lucky we will be should the 'unprecedented weather that no one could have predicted' gets repeated a tad sooner than its next scheduled hundred year event slot. Living at a low point in the town I must declare an interest, and I am keen to find out what there is by way of information on prevention, warnings and cures. With all the recent excitement (not as striking as 1998, if I recall) when the waters were lapping at our front door, or the flash event that made Safeway's less than well named, I am in the process of trying to find out some basics. Starting from a number - 32.78m AOD. That is the height, in metres, that the lowest corner of my house at damp course level is 'Above Ordnance Datum'. I know this because a few years ago some chappies were at the end of the road doing hard hat/high-vis jackety-type things with levels, and I asked them to give me that measurement. I figured it would come in handy one day. Hopefully it still will. I am a great believer in prevention being better than cure, so rather than mopping out the utility room and having a fight with the loss adjuster, I would like to try and make my house as flood proof as possible, against the chance that this 'one in a hundred year event' might happen again next month. The most the Environment Agency floodline could come up with was the offer of a sandbag. Now I am sure they are better than nothing, but I have a few grander plans in mind. Slotted posts with neoprene sleeves to accommodate tapered slats, for one. Quick to erect. Easy to store. With luck, using the best of Junkk.com, I have already sealed the (now defunct) dryer outlet with a nifty sweet can lid that slid over a treat. But to figure out what's for the best I need to know what height to allow for. And this is proving an effort. I can't seem to get any sense out of anyone yet on what 'might' happen. Which makes planning tricky. The council has promised to get back. All I have managed so far is to get on a list that sends an email to tell me I'm about to be flooded if I'm in. And a text if I'm out. And as to the brook alongside that is copping the run-off from hillside farmlands, that's not included as it is another department. What would be good would be to have a proper strategy in place to know what to expect, and what we do to deal with it if... when... it does. That way when the media dash round in their wellies it's not to sympathise, but to marvel at how we have defended ourselves. Sound like a plan? I know we have some smart eco-cookies around. Peter Martin, Ross
