yvonne Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 I live on the Somerset levels and would just like to say that we are NOT all under 6 feet of water as the media seems to be suggesting. With all due sympathy for the poor souls who are and for whom life must be just awful at the moment, a large part of the levels are actually fine with drainage working properly - fields etc. will flood as it is a flood plain, but please do not assume the whole of Somerset is flooded, it is not ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Chick Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 Glad you are OK Yvonne. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yvonne Posted February 9, 2014 Author Share Posted February 9, 2014 Thanks Space Chick ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 Glad you aren't up for swimming just yet Yvonne! We have rellies in that area - with a stream at the bottom of their garden but so far they are fine too. Unfortunately I don't think it would make much difference even if the rivers were all dredged - the water table is the key factor and the water will rise whether you are near a river or not. We are on a hill and yet the bottom of the garden has been under an inch of water for quite some time - it does eventually drain if we have at least 2 days dry and even then it leaves a half inch layer of mud behind. The in-laws aren't far from the Thames, and although it burst it's banks it hasn't reached anywhere near their home. However the water has risen up from the ground and their garden has been underwater - a foot deep in places. Rather unpleasantly the yukky stuff from the drains has also risen and they weren't able to flush either as it was also rising up in the pan! Feel very sorry for the people and animals that have nowhere else to go, but these are really unusual and extreme conditions that none of us have ever seen the likes of before! And I'd like the rain to stop now please as we are all fed up with it going on for such a long time - well at least we have had hail and wind to make a little bit of a change. I'm just hoping we don't get the freeze before it's all seeped back to where it should be! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WitchHazel Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 Thanks for this.. it really did sound from the news coverage as though "Somerset Plains" = Somerset. Must be awful for the people who *are* affected by it. Pleased to hear you are not Our village has received flood warnings (or is it alerts, I get the two mixed up. Whichever one means that flooding is imminent.. Some of the properties on the Thames have flooded again, and those nearby are watching the water levels rise. It'll have a way to go to reach us, luckily for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapdragon Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 Thanks for a balanced view - we seem so reliant on the media these days that sometimes it is hard to get a real handle on any given situation. Not at all meaning to be unsympathetic to those in real trouble who have my total support (I am familiar with 'the levels' and the need for land management which seems to have been lacking recently) but its good to know that its not all bad. Having said that... all sympathy with those under water...its occured in our small village in south Oxfordshire (Chalgrove made the news at 10 with folk canoing down the high street) so proves we are all at risk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 Yes, thanks for shedding light on all the doom-mongering. I drove down the M40 today, and the flooding south of Banbury (The Cherwell) down to Bicester and around Thame was really bad too..... just water as far as you could see I hope that you are all OK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlottechicken Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 Glad that you are OK and that a lot of your area is unaffected, Yvonne. It is good to hear Must say, I saw Worcester on the news tonight and the river Severn is really high there. We were in Stourport on Severn last Monday and it was in the Severn the few days previously Thankfully, no houses affected (according to the nice lady in the Shaw Trust charity shop), but the river was level with the footpaths and very fast moving, really scary looking, I've never seen it that high. Bring on some nice, dry, sunny weather, please! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
