Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think that the Gvt should get its head out of the sand and declare a national emergency?

175 replies

Destinysdaughter · 10/02/2014 19:24

I fortunately do not live in any of the areas affected by flooding but bloody hell, if this isn't now a national emergency I don't know what is? Just been watching it on the news and the complacency from our so called leaders is staggering! What's it gonna take? The Thames is now breaking its banks. Will it take the Houses of Parliament to be flooded before they take it seriously and help people...?

And anyone who says this isn't to do with climate change is off their rocket! (IMO)

OP posts:
RigglinJigglin · 10/02/2014 20:36

OhYou I am skeptical of your statement, they may not have a out of hours contact for the public - but they will have out of hours on call for major incidents. They have to for their duties under the law.

They may pass it over to another organisation, but someone at senior and junior level will be on a rota to cover these events.

HollyMiamiFLA · 10/02/2014 20:37

I live in York. We flood - well the Ouse floods the paths but not the town (like the media care about the difference)

We are used to it. We have established flood defences, early warning systems and a flood plain.

But it must be awful to be flooded. There were properties in Yorkshire that were flooded 3 times in a month.

Crowler · 10/02/2014 20:39

I'm not clear on why (inevitable) flood zone clean ups should be the problem of non-flood zones.

RigglinJigglin · 10/02/2014 20:39

Holly I should hope York fairs well, it's where the emergency planning college is based Wink

HollyMiamiFLA · 10/02/2014 20:40

That's handy Grin

Mojang · 10/02/2014 20:41

Tbf, i don't think this is a "normal" flood. Some of these poor people have been underwater since Christmas. Its not just because its in the South that it's in the news

Mylittlepotofjoy · 10/02/2014 20:43

We were flooded on 5/12/13 and are still not back in our house ,we are lucky to have insurance but to date nothing has happened! The local council have never been in touch despite what they say on the radio :( my property is not protected and every day we have to go over and make sure it's secure. No idea if we will be able to get insurance again and this time the costs are over £100000 ! It's not a national emergency but it is a bloody disgrace the way people have been left.

mrsjay · 10/02/2014 20:46

I dont think it a national emergency it is tragic and people have been flooded and had to walk to work and the government seem to be ignoring it which is sad but a national emergency no i dont think it is

OhYouBadBadKitten · 10/02/2014 20:46

Will pm you Rigglin :)

RigglinJigglin · 10/02/2014 20:47

Mylittlepot what would / would have liked the council to do?

Seriously - any suggestions feed it into them, it helps their response. Also get in touch with the flood forum (I linked earlier) to help fight your corner too.

Were you aware you lives in a flood plain / zone?

RigglinJigglin · 10/02/2014 20:49

*Lived not lives

StealthPolarBear · 10/02/2014 20:51

So they're contracting out to rodents? Will the beavers get min wage?

HollyMiamiFLA · 10/02/2014 20:53

How beavers can help.

But not cubs.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-26122318

Mylittlepotofjoy · 10/02/2014 20:56

I don't live on a flood plain !!! My house is 200 years old and has never been flooded before. I expect them to do more than tell people to go to an evacuation point on the other side of a flooded river that cannot be crossed !!! As we have 2 disabled people in our home that the council know about it might have been a good idea for them to check they hadn't drowned maybe ???? Our council has apparently spent thousands what on ? Well us locals have no idea

OhYouBadBadKitten · 10/02/2014 20:59

Hopefully my pm will have satisfied you Rigglin.

WooWooOwl · 10/02/2014 21:10

It's not a national emergency, but I can't believe that everything that can be done is being done. It's just not true.

There's loads that could be done, as pointed out by PPs, and there could at least be some kind of emergency charity fund set up that people can donate to. I'd donate if I could, and I agree that foreign aid should be suspended

FlockOfTwats · 10/02/2014 21:17

They need to do something but in not sure national emergency is fitting. The majority of the country is not flooded.

Can they declare like local emergency? For the areas effected? I don't know but its awful :(

Mylittlepotofjoy · 10/02/2014 21:18

People presume that my family is ok as we are renting another house for the next 6-9 months . However one of my children doesn't have a room to come home to ( opposite sex to others ) my animals are all in kennels Catteries but my insurance is being very slow paying their bills so it is very stressful. We are also having to pay 2 lots of council tax, gas electric phone bills ect ! Eventually hopefully we will get the money back but it is a struggle. We are now a long way from my children's school and the older ones work so I spend every day ferrying people around. This costs loads and I doubt I will get any petrol money back.
So all in all I would like to think my council,care or that they could even get new bins to my property as we have no where to put rubbish at either bloody house !!!! Eerrgh I am so angry

ConferencePear · 10/02/2014 21:26

Perhaps we should set up an organisation of volunteers or fundraisers ourselves.

musicposy · 10/02/2014 21:28

Sandbags would be nice.
We got a phone call from the environment agency at the weekend to say put all pets and possessions upstairs. Pets was no worry but possessions is not practical apart from small valuables (lugging a very heavy piano upstairs didn't appeal). When the same thing happened 10+ years ago we got sandbags. Nothing this time.

However, the environment agency have been out pumping 24/7 for quite a few weeks now, or we'd be completely underwater. So credit for that. Although to a certain extent they've had to as they've had to discharge sewage into the river and if it floods houses it's going to be a real health hazard. We've been told not to let pets drink the river or floodwater - not that that has got through to our dumb dog!

There's a lot of gossip going round the village as you can imagine - we have 2 tankers pumping 24/7 on our housing estate and another two in the middle of the village. But very little real information. I'm not sure how information could be disseminated more effectively, but updating the flood warnings site a bit more often would be a start, or some information posted up at the village hall or leaflets (agree this would be expensive). However, there are plenty of busybodies willing volunteers in the village who would be happy to take information round to people, so it needn't all be about money.

And I really wish they would dredge the river!! It's a winter river and when I was a child it was cleared of weeds every autumn, ready for it to run. Nowadays by September you can hardly tell there is a river there at all, there is so much crap growing in it. Then they wonder why it floods within a week of starting to run. A little more preparation might have saved half the expense now.

OhYouBadBadKitten · 10/02/2014 21:34

Conference, someone is already on the case :-) follow the link through on mns post

LtEveDallas · 10/02/2014 21:35

As much as my heart goes out to those that are flooded, could I just point out that the Army can no longer be the sticking plaster for emergency call outs. As much as it did a fabulous job alongside the RAF and RN for the foot and mouth disaster, the Firemans strikes and the bin man strikes, we are no longer at the strength whereby this comes easily.

Tranche 3 Redundees will currently be in the midst of resettlement for their forced discharges and of no use. Tranche 4 Redundees are sitting waiting with their fingers crossed and won't find out if they are being culled until June.

The one Regiment full of 'handymen' and a broad spectrum of trades will be no more by the end of the year (they were the backbone of both the fire and refuse strikes) and to a man are gutted to be disbanded.

The last uplift into Afghanistan will be a big one - because those troops will be bringing everything home.

We aren't that big any more, spare capacity is extinct and we are losing even more. I'm no longer at the 'sharp end', and I have been working at more than 66% undermanned of our basic peace time establishment for the last 5 years. It's better on the front line, but not much.

If we were to have 'gone in' it should have been before now, when defences could have been built and engineers used to their best extent. Now it's just mopping up and already I have heard talk of pissed off Marines being used as 'grunts' for the big wigs of the EA. You really dont get the best out of people by talking to them like shite.

I hope that this doesn't become a national emergency - I'm not convinced we can help.

OhYouBadBadKitten · 10/02/2014 21:38

That's really interesting to hear it from your perspective LtEve, thank you. I was wondering how much the cut backs have affected the ability to have a military response.

musicposy · 10/02/2014 21:38

Thanks for the links, everyone. DD1 usually has a nice field view from her bedroom window. Every day she says "come and look at my lake view" and it's getting steadily worse. I will take a photo and post on the MN thread once it's daylight.

mummywithsmiles · 10/02/2014 21:39

Wow I get it may not be national but some people r really harsh towards the south ... The Thames is struggling ....it goes through London and stai es being hit and becoming closer n closer to London. If the Thames for some reason begins to effect London then the whole country will be effected if only about money but can we afford are economy to get any worse.

Swipe left for the next trending thread