Residents’ plea for new flood report

People affected by flooding in Nottinghamshire during Storm Henk have called on authorities to be honest about the impact, ahead of a report on the response.

During the week of the January 2 storm, 98 mm (3.9 in) of rain fell in the county, which came after three months in which rainfall was 170 percent above average.

This resulted in the flooding of 344 homes and 40 businesses in 65 localities, with 69 roads officially closed.

Pete Mabbott, who says his home in Gunthorpe has been unoccupied for six months, said: “Nobody wants to admit they could have done things differently, so it’s hard to get straight answers.”

The Section 19 report is a legal requirement for councils where four or more properties have been flooded and examines the role of various public organisations, such as county and district councils, the Environment Agency, Highways England and water companies.

The report notes that the impact of Henk’s rains was magnified because the surrounding land was already saturated.

The flooding around Henk was different to that experienced during Storm Babet in October, it said, because the wet soil led to rapid runoff that swelled rivers larger than drains and ditches.

The Environment Agency issued 7 flood alerts and 46 flood warnings and the county council declared a major incident.

The worst affected area was Newark and Sherwood, with 60 properties in Lowdham, 32 in Newark and 25 in Girton recorded as flooded.

Mr Mabbott had to be rescued from his home by firefighters.

“The only council people I saw were a few days later taking pictures with a drone,” he said.

“The ground was wet from all the rain and the water was coming off the road into the house and slowly rising.

“But the real shock was when the river crested and the rain stopped, the water level rose suddenly.

“We have locks nearby and it seemed to me that the water should have been held back. An hour or two longer and he might have gotten away with it.

“But no one admits they have control over this sort of thing.”

In addition to the work of council staff, the report notes the contribution of nine Community Flood Warning Systems (CFSS) to the response.

These volunteer-led groups are said to have helped “by encouraging community resilience and promoting road safety”.

But Melanie Hibbett, who claims her car showroom suffered around £25,000 worth of damage, said these volunteers were not enough on their own.

She says cars ignoring road closed signs caused arc waves that went into shops and homes.

Mrs Hibbett said: “There was a lady who lives on the same road as the car lot and I can’t fault her.

“She was lovely but she really didn’t get any help from the council or highways and was told she shouldn’t close the road.

“I think they really need to look at establishing proper procedures for this road.”

Paul Peacock, leader of Newark and Sherwood District Council, said: “This level of flooding was the worst since November 2000 and we have worked closely with the Government and Nottinghamshire County Council to get grants to residents and businesses as soon as they became available .

“We apologize to the business owner if they felt disrespected, however due to the scale of the impact we have had to prioritize residential homes for face-to-face visits.”

The county council has been contacted for comment.

The report will be considered by the local authority on Monday to provide a background for discussions on further mitigation measures.

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