It’s simply disgusting that only the big towns get help: NEIL TWEEDIE on the devastation of Storm Dennis as anger at the government’s response grows
Without warning, the tide of freezing brown water began pouring into Deborah Warfield’s home in the middle of the night, swirling around the furniture she’d been unable to move upstairs and destroying it.
As the waters of the swollen River Teme continued to rise remorselessly through the early hours, she waited for help.
Eventually, with her living room and kitchen submerged to a depth of almost 3ft, it arrived in the form of a rescue boat manned by firefighters.
Flood water pictured in Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire, in the aftermath of Storm Dennis
Cars and members of the emergency services on a flooded high street in Tenbury Wells
Yesterday, as Mrs Warfield, 53, surveyed the destruction in her house, in the Worcestershire town of Tenbury Wells, she knew she was facing at least five weeks without a home – and that may be an optimistic estimate. ‘Unless you were checking online there was no warning,’ she said. ‘I’m angry. Why is it that nothing seems to be done to protect our homes?’
Storm Dennis wreaked havoc from Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire to the valleys of South Wales. A meteorological battering ram – or ‘bomb cyclone’ – swiftly followed Storm Ciara.
Climate scientists have warned for years that our winters will become wetter, windier, stormier affairs as global warming pumps energy into the atmosphere.
In Tenbury Wells yesterday, there were few prepared to dispute that forecast.
As the waters rose in the early hours of Sunday, Market Street, the main thoroughfare of this rural market town on the Shropshire-Worcestershire border, was transformed into a tributary of the Teme – a normally tranquil river that rises in Mid Wales and joins the River Severn south of Worcester.
It claimed the life of 55-year-old Yvonne Booth, from Great Barr, Birmingham. She was swept to her death on Sunday when her car stalled on a bridge crossing the river near Tenbury.
Alerted by the council, shop-owners waded in the dark to salvage what they could.
A woman walks through a flooded convenience store in Tenbury Wells, western England
Mandy Lloyd, owner of Soap Opera salon, said: ‘How long will I be out – a few months maybe? We are insured but there are losses that you can’t claim for, like lost passing trade. The climate is changing – I believe that.’
Richard Sharman had no time to mourn the flood damage to Garland, his florist shop, yesterday – he needed to provide flowers for a funeral in nearby Ludlow today. ‘The flood barriers don’t work – just 2ft high,’ he said. ‘I knew it would flood here when I moved in … but thought it would be once every 30 years, say. Well, that is looking hopelessly optimistic.’
Graham James, owner of the Little Fish Shop, said: ‘A lot of independent businesses like mine are on the borderline of survival – an incident like this knocks your percentages. It’s pretty impossible to get insurance – the heavy premiums – and hard when it comes to getting a decent payout.’
Storm Dennis is a cruel blow to these people – many of whom have been here before. In June 2007, torrential rain, a month’s worth in two days, caused severe flooding, followed by two more immense downpours a month later.
On a wall of a building near the high street, a sign reminds passers-by of that ‘Great Flood Disaster’. It will now have to be updated.
Neighbours help each other bail water out of their homes after the River Wye burst its banks in Ross-on-Wye, western England
Staff members cleaning outside the Celtic Flooring store, which has been damaged by floodwater in Nantgarw, south Wales
There is resentment in Tenbury that the powers that be have done little to minimise the town’s vulnerability – aimed particularly at central government.
‘There’s been no support,’ says Tim Singer, a 45-year-old office worker. ‘The big cities get all the support and we are just left to pick up the pieces ourselves. Britain just doesn’t cope with major incidents like this. It’s always a shambles.’
Hairdresser’s owner Mandy Lloyd stands outside her shop in Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire
As the effects of Storm Dennis continue to be felt, with flood water cascading from high ground into the Severn, Wye and other rivers, more towns are threatened. Yesterday, the Wye in Hereford rose to its highest level in 200 years.
The market town of Crickhowell was also inundated as South Wales experienced its highest water levels for more than 40 years, and towns along the Severn are also under threat.
But after every deluge, the clean-up. And yesterday it was up to the 4,000-strong population to get on with it. After the rescues, locals were on their own, clearing the high street of mud. The drains belched water as the Teme, in retreat but still swollen and covering large stretches of surrounding fields, flowed furiously nearby. Families whose homes were flooded spent Sunday in a school hall as rescues continued. Some said they had kept a watchful eye on the local council website and had warning.
But for many, the flood was a complete surprise. Valerie Davies, 74, was angry with both official inaction in the past and in the current neglect of flood defences for smaller towns – ones with fewer voters. ‘We are the end of the line here – we don’t even get sandbags. I think it’s disgusting that only the big towns get help. We’re the poor relations in all of this.’
Residents are rescued from their homes in a boat by the emergency services amid flooding in Hereford
Audrey Edwards, 82, a grandmother of four and retired shop assistant, agreed: ‘The politicians haven’t done much – but the locals have been great. Some lads have been bringing sandbags and helping my street. And they’ve been very good at the school – 12 people stayed there overnight and they’ve been serving drinks and making breakfasts. It’s all been local people donating – help hasn’t come from outside.’
Shirley Collyer, 83, is pictured being carried to safety on a raft by emergency services at her home in Hereford after the river burst its banks
Simon Waite, 61, a freelance cameraman, was evacuated from Tenbury with his wife Susan Waite, 54, an office worker.
He was less critical of official arrangements, pointing to the floodgates installed at the entrances to homes and shops, barriers that can be slid down to block water.
‘It was like it was in 2007 but we were better prepared this time with floodgates,’ he said. ‘The water came in pretty quickly… then seeped over the floodgates, which are about 2ft high.
‘We wanted to stay in the house but then the power went out and we had to get a lift from the fire brigade in a boat. It took six months to move back in last time and there is no reason to expect it will be quicker this time.’
Richard Dobson, 45, who runs the Temeside Inn with his partner Rachel Millward said they and their two sons, aged four and nine, were evacuated once the water got to knee-height.
A secluded farm seen surrounded by flood water near Carmarthen, South Wales, on Monday
‘We got a flood warning on Sunday and at 5.30am we could see it was in the car park. People from the local community turned up in lorries and helped us to move out furniture and equipment. We ended up leaving when it got 3ft deep at about 1.30pm.’
Now they must return to pick up the pieces.
‘My four-year-old son was sitting on the stairs absolutely distraught,’ Mr Dobson told the Mail. ‘We’ve been back and it’s a mess. It’s smelly, dirty and there’s rubbish, branches and debris everywhere. It is devastating to see our home and business like that. It’s a disaster for the pub because it’ll take months to reopen. Twenty-four hours ago we had a full restaurant.
‘I don’t think any flood defences would have stopped it to be honest but something needs to be done because it is a recurring problem.’
The Teme will resume its peaceful course at some point. But it is always there, waiting to bite.
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