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Welsh flood campaign launched 17/9/2001
People who live in flood risk areas need to treat flooding as a normal seasonal hazard, said Environment Agency Wales Director Roger Thomas today
The Agency today launched its latest campaign to raise people’s awareness of flood risk.
“We want people in risk areas to start to treat flooding as a normal seasonal hazard which they prepare for at this time of the year,” Roger Thomas said. “Research shows memories of last autumn’s dramatic floods fade fast. Awareness of flooding is on the increase but too few people take action to prepare in advance to minimise the terrible damage floods can cause. We hope this continuing campaign will help to address that problem.”
Assembly Minister for the Environment Sue Essex has fully endorsed the latest Agency campaign. Sue Essex said: “I warmly endorse the Agency’s campaign to encourage the public to take appropriate action to protect themselves against flooding. Wales, in particular, has experienced severe flooding in recent times and this has had a profound impact on the lives of those affected. The Assembly will do everything possible this coming winter to ensure that the effect of any flooding is minimised.”
The Agency campaign, covering Wales and England, urges people to ‘Wise up to Flooding’. They can call the Agency’s 24-hour advice line Floodline 0845 988 11 88 for advice on how to prepare, for details of the local warning service and new practical advice guides on how to make their homes flood resistant and how to restore them after a flood.
Less than 12 months ago, the deluge of autumn 2000 saw up to 2,000 homes and businesses flooded across Wales. In severely affected parts of the country, such as North East Wales, some families have still not been able to return to their homes.
Up to a quarter of a million people live in natural floodplains in Wales and could be affected if flood waters rise again this year, endangering 120,000 homes and businesses. Property, land and assets worth up to £214 billion could be hit.
A television advertising campaign from today (Monday) draws on the memory of floods in 1998, 1999 and 2000, asking people starkly ‘Do you really need another warning?’
Hundreds of thousands of families across Wales and England are being urged to wake-up to the dangers of flooding – before they wake up to a flood this autumn or winter.
Research by the Environment Agency shows that nearly 50 per cent of people living in flood prone areas are oblivious to the risk and only one person in ten takes any action to prepare.
The findings come as scientists confirm evidence of increasing winter season rainfall and river flow extremes over the past 40 years. High tides during the coming week will be this autumn’s first risk for many coastal areas.
During last year’s floods, the Agency’s Floodline took 781,000 calls. At the peak of the crisis in November, Floodline was the second most commonly dialled number after 999.
Despite the dramatic events of last autumn, however, the Agency is anxious that memories amongst those who escaped the direct impact of the floods could fade. Research shows that awareness of risk is increasing; calls to the Agency’s Floodline are rising, and the provision of flood risk maps on-line last autumn triggered massive public interest. Awareness is still not being turned into preventative action, however, by the majority of potential flood victims.
Research carried out by BMRB since last autumn showed that nearly a third (29 per cent) of those who had been flooded before did nothing to minimise flood damage last year. Simple precautions like checking their insurance cover, preparing a flood plan, blocking doors with flood boards or sandbags, switching off gas and electricity and moving cars, furniture and valuables out of danger could have saved a lot of heartache.
Nearly half the people questioned who lived in risk areas but escaped earlier flooding took no action to be better prepared last year.
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