Calderdale Council is urging local residents and businesses to make sure their property is as flood resilient as possible.
Flood risk can never be eliminated, but it can be reduced and the impact lessened through good planning, preparation and practice. This will also help to avoid last minute panics for equipment such as sandbags – which are often of limited value in any case.
Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economic Development, Cllr Barry Collins, said:
“Over the past 18 months we’ve made a significant investment in both our flood recovery programme and to improve the resilience of the Calder Valley. We’ve repaired and restored highways and bridges and made available grants to help householders and local firms protect their property.
“Whilst we’re doing all we can to protect against flooding there’s still no guarantee that another incident won’t occur in the future. That’s why we strongly encourage everyone to have their own flood plan, to make sure they can protect themselves and their property.
“Preparation is the key. I’d recommend that you think now about what you would need to do if another incident occurred. Find out the location of your nearest flood store for example, prepare a flood kit of essential items and consider purchasing sandbags, if you think they would be useful, to prevent flood water entering your property. You could also consider investing in non-return valves, natural flood management and sustainable drainage systems in your garden and pumping equipment.”
Part of the Council’s flood recovery programme is to work with community flood groups and flood wardens across the Calder Valley to make sure that local flood stores are fully stocked. These are located across Calderdale in Elland, Copley, Sowerby Bridge, Mytholmroyd, Luddendenfoot, Hebden Bridge and Todmorden.
The stores are run by local flood groups with support from the Council, and contain items such as a small store of sandbags,rakes, clean up kits and torches.
Chair of the Calderdale Flood Resilience Community Board, Mick Davies said:
“We’re working closely with Calderdale Council to make sure that we’ve done all we can to be ready when the water rises again. The flood stores are designed to help people in an emergency and then throughout the clean-up afterwards.
“Along with our Community Flood Groups and the Environment Agency Flood Wardens, the flood stores are a very practical way to help our communities to come together to respond quickly to flooding, to minimise damage and to get our towns open for business as soon as possible after an incident.
“Despite all the work being carried out on our behalf, I’d just like to re-emphasise the need for all of us as individuals and businesses to take responsibility for our own property and to think about our neighbours, who may be less able to deal with these issues. Now is the time to do all we can before another event comes along.”
Residents can find out more about their local flood group at www.eyeoncalderdale.com(external link).
For lots of useful information, hints and tips on how to develop a flood plan visit https://www.gov.uk/prepare-for-flooding/future-flooding(external link).