The Tower Hamlets family was forced to rip up the carpets after horrific floods wreaked havoc on their flat for weeks

A Tower Hamlets family has been forced to tear up their carpets after floods ravaged their home for two weeks. Rabia Begum, who lives in Vollasky House, Whitechapel, described the situation as a “total nightmare” and said her family were suffering from post-traumatic stress after water started pouring into the flat on April 30.

Tower Hamlets Community Housing (THCH), which holds the lease on the east London block, confirmed the leak was from a pipe connecting to a water tank. Ms Begum told MyLondon that the incident had a big impact on her household as her mother is 85, while she also lives with her sister, who has been housebound for 20 years due to schizophrenia, and her son 13 year old with autism. and dyspraxia.

The family first noticed the flood when they saw water running down the bathroom wall. This was followed by water rising through the kitchen floors and landing. After a week, the housing association sent a plumber to inspect the problem, but Rabia claims the flooding has since worsened.

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“I couldn’t sleep at night,” she told MyLondon. “We’d sleep for a few hours, but then we’d return to massive puddles in the kitchen. It was like someone was throwing buckets of water on the floor.

“I would stay up until 1am and my mother would get up at 5am to clean the puddles. There was a night when he didn’t sleep at all.

“On landing, the flood was up to my ankle. The smell of standing water got so bad I had to tear up the whole carpet and throw it away. It was a nightmare, I’ve never experienced anything like it.”

Tower Hamlets Community Housing offered temporary alternative accommodation for the family, but Rabia said the move would be too stressful for her sister and son because of their disabilities. She fears major work is needed on their home to make it safe again, which will only be possible if they move for a while.

Other properties in three other Vollasky House properties were also affected by flooding. Mim Bapari was forced to send his wife and 18-month-old son to live with his in-laws in Birmingham due to fears for the toddler’s safety.

Mim, who lives in the apartment above Rabia, claims that his apartment is no longer habitable, but he has not been offered alternative accommodation. He also believes the problems were partly caused by the housing association neglecting pipes in his properties and other properties that showed signs of rust. THCH did not respond to this claim.

The 25-year-old first noticed a leak above his refrigerator on April 30. After calling his landlord who was on holiday at the time, Tower Hamlets Council finally sent an emergency plumber at 2am who said he couldn’t stop. drain without interrupting the water supply to the entire building.

As more water began to leak from other parts of the ceiling, Mim was forced to place buckets on the floor, but this did little to solve the problem.

He told MyLondon: “The the entire ceiling came off due to flooding and moisture. The property manager came and said he would send a large team to deal with the incident, but the next day only one worker showed up. They don’t take it seriously enough.

“THCH made a lot of promises but didn’t deliver on any of them. It was very stressful, my parents are away on holiday so I’m in charge of the house while our landlord was on holiday in Germany.”

Mim, who lives in the Vollasky House with his parents and a sister, added that it was the financial impact that affected him the most. Despite being without power in the kitchen for two weeks, he was forced to spend £120 on takeaways.

The family can now use the kitchen again, but can only cook during the day because the ceiling light has not yet been repaired.

“It cost us £7 a day to run the dehumidifiers and there’s only so much they can do,” he said. “Thankfully it’s a warmer time of year, but if nothing is done then it’s going to get really moldy in the kitchen.

“I understand that things like this can happen, but THCH needs to show its priority by taking action on this. It’s been three weeks since this happened, but it’s still affecting us.”

Tower Hamlets Community Housing said it would carry out repairs to affected homes and advised tenants about their insurance options.

A spokesman said: “Repairs at Vollasky House were completed last week and water has been fully restored to all homes. We apologize for any inconvenience caused and appreciate the patience of our residents.

“Dehumidifiers have been provided to the affected properties and inspections are ongoing to ensure they are thoroughly dried. After these checks, we will carry out the repair and decoration work necessary to remedy any damage caused by the leak.

“Once we were notified of the leak, a full investigation was conducted. The leak came from a pipe connected to the water tank that supplies apartment 6 and some water to other homes. We offered alternative housing to the residents of Apartment 6, who refused.

“Unfortunately, the repair to the pipe was delayed because access was refused by a resident. However, once I had access, I completed the necessary repair within 24 hours.

“To ensure long-term solutions, we are doing additional maintenance at the Vollasky House, including remedial work to the roof and renewing the ducts. We will also conduct proactive surveys of the condition of surrounding blocks to prevent similar leaks in the future. We understand the frustration and inconvenience caused and are committed to ensuring residents’ homes are safe and comfortable.”

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