A modular steel flood barrier that slowed the flow to buy time to move valuables upstairs or onto higher surfaces.Thanks to the renovations, in 2020 it flooded by 5cm and having swept out the water and sanitised the ground floor, Karen was back at home after 24 hours.Īnd the cost of loss and damage from the 2020 flood? £0.00. Appleby’s water levels rose to 5.15m, just 60cm lower than in December 2015. Last February, Storms Ciara and Dennis tested Karen’s resilience plans, bringing more than 15cm of rain in 24 hours.

Rather than replace like for like, they combined their savings with a government grant secured via Eden District Council and flood grants from Cumbria Community Foundation and Appleby Town Council to make their home flood resilient. Better managing the inevitable makes it quicker, cheaper, and easier to get back to normal. That meant a shift in mind set instead of keeping the flood water out they have developed ways to manage floodwater inside the home. The family spent eight months in temporary accommodation, and used the £48,000+ insurance claim to restore their home and possessions. They first flooded during Storm Desmond in December 2015, when the River Eden rose to record levels. Karen and her family live in a 17th century sandstone terraced town house in Appleby. Some solutions have focused on resisting floods others target faster recovery. Their stories are powerful, inspirational and demonstrate how we can deliver property resilience. I travel the country and talk to people who have adapted their homes and businesses to live with flood risk and to recover quickly if they do flood. Since then, based on the success of my own recoverable repair, I have concentrated on what families and business owners can do, at property level, to reduce flooding’s impacts. My own former home flooded more than 20 years ago. But the extreme rainfall we have seen in recent years has overtopped, overwhelmed, compromised and saturated our communities.Īt the centre of that jigsaw lie our homes and our businesses that are vulnerable to floods. How do you protect your home or business from the growing threat of floods? Campaigner Mary Dhonau has travelled the country to learn about property flood resilience – solutions that have helped her fellow flood veterans to protect themselves more effectivelyįlood-risk management is a jigsaw of many pieces, all working together to reduce flood risk.

Survivors the quest copper wire