Met Office: SIGNIFICANT WEATHER EVENT will hit UK in days as HUGE Atlantic storm ROARS in

reply to post by AngryCymraeg


Scotland has had quite a bit more than usual though - I saw a pic on FB yesterday of a weather station buried under a huge mound of snow.

reply to post by stumason


They just showed Henley on BBC news, not good at all.

I wonder what they are going to do about the empty properties and looting? Families on telly were concerned about that earlier and were reluctant to leave as a result. They said there was no police presence.

They said the troops role was going to be expanded, not further details on that though. Probably just extra support to sandbag the place and help with rescue.

My thoughts go out to everyone involved though.

CX.

reply to post by CX


I honestly don't think looting will be much an issue. firstly, most people aren't criminals and secondly, most criminals will have just as hard a time getting about in the floods as anyone else - I may be naive here, but I just don't see it happening in the UK, we're just to damned polite

They did arrest two people in Somerset last week for trying to steal fuel from abandoned cars, but that seems to be an isolated incident as I've not heard of any more. I think most of the Military personnel are being brought in to assist in evac's and sandbagging.

Henley looks pretty cut off at the moment! I'm hoping it clears by Friday as I'm supposed to be meeting him and his missus in Reading for drinky poo's... Looks like that might be off the cards now.

Wednesday storm looking quite bad atm.

Meantime, more rain tomorrow.

But Thursday may be mainly dry before the next phase sets in Fri/Sat

No-one can say we weren't warned though

www.theguardian.com...

reply to post by stumason


Aye that was the WS on Cairn Gorm. Quite impressive

The Scottish Highlands, above 2,500ft, have had a lot of snow this winter, perhaps the most in recent times. But even in Scotland there's been less snow than normal at lower levels.

reply to post by AndyMayhew


It was on your FB, wasn't it?

reply to post by stumason


Aye impressive picture - just wish I could get up there myself

Fortunately floods here aren't serious. Yet. Models predict the normal total Feb rainfall in the next 6 days ......

reply to post by AndyMayhew


There's a graphical map on the BBC showing rainfall amounts so far in January - so many area's are just "black", indicating 225+% average rainfall!

The Thames has now flooded in various places. Luckily Wiltshire has escaped so far, we are on a hill and whilst the Thames flows through the area, it is unlikely to flood here, though rail links to Oxford and London have been affected.

BBC forecast video

BBC report and video

Recent update from the Environment Agency.

reply to post by stumason


And that was just January. Add to that the February deluge and it's no wonder so many places are flooded.

I say there should be a National Forestation campaign put into place immediately, on a major scale as well as flood measures for rivers, such as creating vast flood plains on uninhabited land, deliberate feeder lakes etc.

reply to post by theabsolutetruth


The Gov already have trials underway for replacing farmland on uplands with woodland, but apparently they've had mixed results. Sometimes, it alleviates the flooding by absorbing the water, other times it actually makes it worse, so before we rush into turning the country into a giant Ewok friendly forest, I think more research should be done on what's best and where.

reply to post by stumason


Obviously I recommend strategic, appropriately researched, responsible forestation in appropriate settings, ie after proper assessments on the viability of the area are ascertained, as opposed to the creation of an ''ewok forest''.

reply to post by theabsolutetruth


Of course I was just trying to be funny

But seriously, it is something they are looking at though

EDIT: Although I quite like the idea of turning England into Endor....

Maybe re-introducing Beavers might help as well? This is something that is also being discussed (although it has for quite some time and I think there are already schemes actively doing so)

reply to post by stumason


I remember reading about that, I guess it might work in some places but I doubt if British farmers and fisheries would entertain the idea.

Speaking as someone who has always longed to see an otter in the area (fat chance though) I wouldn't mind seeing some beavers. Actually I really wouldn't mind seeing some basic common sense in our local town planners!

reply to post by AngryCymraeg


I think it goes without saying that any red blooded male is always keen to see Beavers...






Sorry....

I really hope this guy manages to save his home, he's a builder who took all the right precautions before building this £1m house, apparently he researched the flooding history of the area and went on to build this house on ground 5 feet higher than any flood has ever been recorded reaching......despite building 5 foot flood barricades it doesn't look like he's got a lot of time left!



You can read more HERE

I live in Cambridgeshire, close to the Fens.

Most of the Fenland lies within a few metres of sea level. As with similar areas in the Netherlands, much of the Fenland originally consisted of fresh- or salt-water wetlands, which have been artificially drained and continue to be protected from floods by drainage banks and pumps. With the support of this drainage system, the Fenland has become a major arable agricultural region in Britain for grains and vegetables. The Fens are particularly fertile, containing around half of the grade 1 agricultural land in England.[/ex

The Fens - Wikipedia

Does anyone know why this can't be replicated elsewhere to help prevent future flooding?