Wouldn't want to be in Cumbria now

LMH

Mar 14, 2005
5,684
0
0
Visit site
Val

I'm really disappointed now. I'm not being nasty but let's hope it's the same weather tomorrow so we can see it. LOL!

Lisa
 
Mar 22, 2008
97
0
0
Visit site
I was watching it on our local news earlier, there's a lake outside Booths supermarket! Now I know why our booking for Keswick C & CC was cancelled for this weekend!!

Lara.
 
Feb 16, 2009
1,144
0
0
Visit site
Went unto Barnsley over Woodhead Wednesday horrendous driving conditions glad l was in the Shogun and not the Rover, on the way back reservoirs water nearly coming onto the road, l see today its closed,

Also went for a walk Wednesday on top of the moors where we live (South Manchester) looked across to Cumbria said to the wife Lakes are taking a real Bashing
 
Jun 20, 2005
17,454
3,601
50,935
Visit site
I know from the floods of July 2007 just how devastating it will be for the residents of Cockermouth.

A lot of people will be uninsured and receive little or no useful help. Those who are insured will be offered temporary accommodation. In 2007 a number of people were provided with touring caravans. Some are still living in them!

A very sad time for all these people especially so close to Christmas.

Cheers

Dustydog
 
Apr 23, 2007
511
0
0
Visit site
Earlier in the week I was looking at the weather forecast for the north west, which includes Cumbria. This area was coloured red meaning 'take action'. Thats not a maybe something will happen, its pretty positive you have to do something.

I assume then that the houses at risk such as in the Keswick village will have sandbags in place and get furniture moved etc.

Very sad about the officer washed away on the bridge. But why was he there?

I live very close to the promenade in Liverpool and sometimes at high tide the waves are unbelievable. Some people go down to get as close as possible and it just goes through me to think what could happen. Its the last place I would want to be.
 
Jul 15, 2006
182
0
0
Visit site
It's heartbreaking. I was in Keswick on Saturday, it was raining then and I don't think it's stopped since. The river was really high then, higher than I've seen it before and we go there regularly.

I presume the policeman on the bridge was helping people, hope he is safe somewhere but fear not!!
 
May 22, 2006
266
0
0
Visit site
Just a couple of wees back my wife, daughter, son in law and I were sitting outside a bakers/cafe in Cockermouth main street in bright sunshine having a coffee, last night on the TV the street was underwater
 
Nov 10, 2008
154
0
0
Visit site
The officer was on the bridge because he was trying to stop members of the public from going onto it and putting themselves in danger. He died and leaves behind a devastated family and colleagues.

Hundreds of others have lost everything and face misery and hardship for a long time to come. Some people, for various personal reasons are uninsured, and have therefore lost everything.

If you watch the news and see some of the reports today you will see several mindless idiots in the background gesticulating at the camera and talking on their mobile phones - presumably telling their mates to watch their pathetic antics on TV.

We should thank our lucky stars for people like PC Barker.
 
Apr 23, 2007
511
0
0
Visit site
one has to ask the question as to why we are still building houses on flood plains?

Some (not all obviously) of the properties on the tv news look like relatively new properties.

They can't get insured because they are 'more than likely' going to be affected by a flood. I blame the councils who allow houses to be built in these locations. Maybe they should allow them, but only if built on stilts like in some other parts of the world.
 
Mar 14, 2005
2,422
1
0
Visit site
Scouse, both Cockermouth and Workington are ancient towns, established long before man was conscious of things like flood plains. Besides Workington is a port, once one of the biggest in the north. Where else can you build a port but on the coast?

I accept that the location of NEW houses should be better thought out, but also bear in mind that if idiots didn't buy them, builders wouldn't build them.

My brother lives in a 200 year old cottage only 100 yards from the River Marron, and has done for twenty-five years. It has never flooded in that time. I haven't been able to contact him since Thursday night, so am now just a little concerned.

Should he now move out of his home, in case this happens again?

Someone has said that its a once in a thousand years storm.

With freak weather like that, who can predict what's likely to happen?

Cockermouth is somewhat different,as it flooded just recently, but again, what would you have the people do? Abandon a town that's been there for a thousand years? This is peoples homes and livelihoods. You cannot just walk away from it. Flood defences for the town must be improved, but how far do you go?

There are already walls along the river bank - how high do we build them, in case this catastophe occurs again.Nature will have its way, and whilst you can divert water, it cannot be stopped.
 
Jun 20, 2005
17,454
3,601
50,935
Visit site
Our 9th Century Town lies on the River Thames on a flood plain. When the Romans built the Ermine Street they had to run it through what is now the High Street because the straight route flooded.

The engineers of 1974 overcame the problem and built the A419 dual carriageway right across the flood plain using piles / stilts etc. In effect it is a long low bridge.

We are 50 yards from the Thames but the houses are built on made up ground 6 metres higher than the top of the river bank. We have never flooded but others in the town have. Why? Because a lot of the natural and Victorian man made water courses have been allowed to block up and hence nowhere for the water to go.

The Romans and Victorians solved the problems but here we are in the 21st Century struggling. Amazing!

Cheers

Dustydog
 
Feb 16, 2009
1,144
0
0
Visit site
Agree totally Emmerson, but what annoys me is the insurance companies, they have taken premiums for years off all of us and when it comes to pay out they wriggle like a maggot on a hook, if they do agree to pay out they make sure that its dam bloody hard to reinsure.

Just like the bankers highway robbers in masks.

Sorry rant over
 
Jun 20, 2005
17,454
3,601
50,935
Visit site
Agree totally Emmerson, but what annoys me is the insurance companies, they have taken premiums for years off all of us and when it comes to pay out they wriggle like a maggot on a hook, if they do agree to pay out they make sure that its dam bloody hard to reinsure.

Just like the bankers highway robbers in masks.

Sorry rant over
Never a truer word spoken. Increased flood excesses
 
Mar 14, 2005
309
0
0
Visit site
I know from the floods of July 2007 just how devastating it will be for the residents of Cockermouth.

A lot of people will be uninsured and receive little or no useful help. Those who are insured will be offered temporary accommodation. In 2007 a number of people were provided with touring caravans. Some are still living in them!

A very sad time for all these people especially so close to Christmas.

Cheers

Dustydog
We were caught up in the 2007 floods, we lost our own caravan outside, and had our full downstairs ripped out and most of the upstairs (due to incompetent builders). Only moved back home in April THIS YEAR after living in a caravan on the drive for all of that time.

My heart goes out to those in Cumbria
 
Mar 14, 2005
309
0
0
Visit site
Agree totally Emmerson, but what annoys me is the insurance companies, they have taken premiums for years off all of us and when it comes to pay out they wriggle like a maggot on a hook, if they do agree to pay out they make sure that its dam bloody hard to reinsure.

Just like the bankers highway robbers in masks.

Sorry rant over
I quite agree, my premium went up by
 
Apr 23, 2007
511
0
0
Visit site
How many times do we hear 'once in a x year event'? Funny how that year comes around quite soon isn't it.

Emmerson, fair points, but, I did say only 'some' of these flooded houses are built on the flood plain.

I didn't specifically name Cockermouth or Workington, I don't even know where exactly they are. No offence intended.

I expect trying to get planning permission in the lakes to build houses is very, very difficult. Maybe they should rethink this for some of the people affected by 'at risk' houses. It seems we are going to get many more occurences of these type of flash floods for whatever reason. The twee cottage at the riverside surely now cannot be sustainable. Give these people a way out. Knock it down and allow them a plot higher up the side of the valley. Sounds sacrilegious? Its only going to flood again and destroy someones life.

We as caravanners try and get a lot of use from the lakes and so we pay for the infrastructure thats there. Allowing a few more campsites to open would also be beneficial, both to us and the local community there. Its the only way I can think of that I personally can offer any help to the area.

Anyway, I hope this rain stops for them.
 

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts