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	Flood Letter Your Name Written by Mrs Linda Sollitt On the 25th of June last year my life along with thousands of other people's lives in the East Riding of Yorkshire and Hull was changed forever by the flooding which affected these areas. To me the bungalow is now just a place. When it became clear that flooding along Church Lane and Vicarage Lanes was inevitable my brother picked me up along with my family photographs, some important documents and a few clothes which I had put into a suitcase. It took us four hours to travel the twelve miles to his home, a worrying time indeed. After the flood water began to recede I ventured back to the bungalow, on opening the door the dank smell which would last for months was the first thing to 'greet' me, the dirty water which lapped over the tops of my shoes as I wandered from room to room being the second. I would like to thank some of the people who then proceeded in so many ways to make my life bearable. Cathy, who promptly arrived clutching a large bar of chocolate for me, knowing it to be my favourite stress reliever. Cathy was soon followed by Joan, who had difficulty walking even then but she managed to struggle across the road with her gifts of teabags and a jar of coffee. Then Sonia. Sonia who was going on holiday and promptly handed me her door keys saying that I was more than welcome to move in if I wanted to whilst she was away. Wow! How many people would do that? Needless to say I readily accepted her very kind offer. I want to thank Blanche for looking after my paintings and Lin who offered me use of her washing machine, the Post Office staff at Costcutters for taking care of my mail for me and the wheelie bin lads who worked so hard during what was a difficult time for them as well. I remember them trying to cheer me up as I watched them taking all my furniture, which included the writing desk my parents bought me as my 21st birthday present and all the things that my late husband and I had bought together, away to the tip. Many thanks too to Margaret and Harold for their continuing friendship, support and Harold’s expertise. Fifteen months have passed and the re-building work on my property is now completed. Initially my insurance company told me that they would allocate a builder, but so many people were in the same position as me, and there are only so many building companies out there. After many months I was informed that a company based in Wakefield would be arriving in a few weeks to begin the work. My heart sank, suddenly Wakefield seemed a long, long way away. As it turned out they never did turn up, deciding without informing my insurers or myself that they had gone off to work elsewhere. Eventually my insurers agreed to me finding a local builder, and how fortunate I was when Mr Kemp, who already was so busy with many other flood repair projects came to my rescue. The re-building work on my property is of the highest standard and I wish to thank Mr Kemp and all his workforce for that. No one can deny that there wasn't a lot of additional rainfall that fateful month but the main reason for the chaos that followed was the years of neglect and mismanagement which proceeded the flooding. Firstly our waterways must be dredged. I find the Environmental Agency’s statement that dredging is not one of their policies as simply frightening. The Burstwick drain used to be 16 feet deep, this depth has been reduced to just 6 feet because of the buildup of silt in it. My common sense tells me that if you remove the silt the water level along the length of it is going to drop. The drainage system must be properly maintained, the Environmental Agency and Yorkshire Water must listen to the local farmers and other people whose families have worked this land for generations, these are people who know what they are talking about. Regular checking and rapid cleaning out of any blocked gullies would help, especially in places where problems are known to occur. Correct sized pumps must be sited in places which themselves are not prone to flooding. I would like to thank Bill, and his family for all their help during these past months too. I have lost count of the cups of tea and super 'fry-ups' that Bill has made for me during this time. Bill, you are a gentleman. You may wonder where I have been staying since June 2007. the answer is with a wonderful modest family who live in the village. We had never met, but on hearing about my situation they immediately took me into their home and have made me feel like a member of their family ever since. To have your home destroyed by flooding is a terrible experience and as we have seen living at the top of a hill or a distance away from a watercourse are not reasons to be complacent. My life is now ruled by the weather forecasts. If a dry day is 'on the cards' I can do my shopping or go out for a ride in the car without having to worry, but on hearing that heavy rain is on the way I am filled with dread. I do not want to live the rest of my life with this fear hanging over me. So come on the 'powers that be', work together, sort these problems out, you can do it and give myself and the rest of the people affected by the flooding what we desire most. Our peace of mind.
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	The great flood of June 07 Your Name Diane Steel I had this poem published in a book called Angels breath and thought you would like to read it Rainy weather What a drag Damp, dark skies hanging down Opening up saturating us Spoiling parties, flooding rooms,bringing gloom Insurance companies wont pay up, Angry people storming round,being rescued,feeling proud Protecting their properties Dunkirk spirit in the shelters But missing their beds Every thing inside their heads The Government could help more If this was London during this torrential downpour? Freak weather is more to come in June `07 The great flood again just like before.
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	tilbury tales: trying to get the school back to normal Your Name Phil Harrison Log: 22-10-atl-a-ph I’m the caretaker at Tilbury Primary. We came to work the morning of the first flood (15th June) and saw water coming down the main corridor from what is now the disabled toilets. Water was coming up through the drains. It flooded the corridor, all the carpets. We were all frantically trying to stop it, or at least contain it, which we did. A week later was the big flood – we had water coming up in three areas: the nursery, the library, and again in the main corridor, but that time it just kept coming and coming. We had to cancel the school and turn the kids away, send them back home. We announced it on the radio, as many other schools did, that we were closing. The water just kept coming and coming and we had to ring the fire brigade to help us pump out the boiler house. We had a local drainage company that helped us with the drains – he brought a pump in. we had a fire engine with two pumps pumping it out. It got to about 6 or 7 o’clock that evening, and we had to switch all the electrics off. So we were pumping out the boilerhouse until about 4 o’clock. There were only two classrooms that weren’t hit. It all had to be fully renovated. Then I got a phonecall from my brother to ask if I could spare any time, because he was rescuing a lad that was stuck in a drain, and at the same time the fire brigade that was with us got a call to attend that lad, so they pulled away from us and myself and one of the teacher’s aid, we went down to see if we could help. Unfortunately he died. Then I found out that my mother’s house was flooded while she was on holiday. When we’d left the lad, cos we couldn’t help there, we went round to check on my sister’s and they said that my mother’s house was under a foot of water. So we were usy sorting her hosue out. She was due home that weekend, so we only had a few days to strip everything out and make the house half-way decent. My mother lives on her own, and she was lucky that we were there to make sure she was sorted and alright. But those elderly people who don’t have anyone to turn to – don’t know who to get in, no idea what they’re entitled to from insurance companies. My mother got new floorboards, staircase, new patio doors a re-wire, new radiators. Her best frined next door but one dodn’t get floor joists, they put chipboard down instead of floorboarde. She didn’t get a rewire, the new kitchen was not fitted properly – she didn’t get what she was entitled to. And she didn’t know any different. Then it was just trying to get the school back to normal. We got two lads in from the council to help us they were a big help, getting all the carpets out. All the plaster had to be knocked off every wall, a metre high and replastered. We got new window fromae, doors in some of the classrooms. Then there was all the furniture we lost, because it was all contaminated water. It was a massive job. Everybody mucked in and helped. Which they do in situations like that. You can’t do it on your own. Luckily we had the summer holidays and by the end of the holidays, most of the work had been done. Over the next year there was a lot of stuff needed doing. Even today, we’re still trying to get the drains sorted. All the schools were really badly hit, and I think only Sidney Smith school was insured. The council had to pay for all the renovations. I’d hate to put a cost on it. Everything had to be put in storage, and rather than have big storage bills, we decided to get it all boxed andput in the hall. so we got a removal company to box it all up and label it and the whole of the hall was filled with boxes. It saved a load of money in storage, and it freed up the classrooms so you could get in to decorate and do the floors. The whole school was decorated top to bottom. That was a job in itself. It took about 10 days to empty all the boxes and put stuff back in the classrooms. It was very stressful – you didn’t know what job to do first. You knew what had to be done – everything – but it was getting a timetable, there was that many people working here – it was just manic. It was the first time I’d ever done anything on that scale. There’s nothing you can do – you can’t fight water. It came up out of the floor. My garden was underwater, and I thought we’d got away with it, but I’ve seen caravans appearing up the street, and they’re coming next week to check under the floor. My mate who is in drainage said it was a mixture of heavy rain, unusually high tides and certainly in Hessle, there was a new housing estate being built. They’d capped off the drain so they could put their drains onto the loop, which made all the water back up – the drains had nowhere to run to. It was the Great Western Drain as well. The one that the lad died in. it was a build up of things like that, and the chances of something happening like that again are remote. Hopefully. FLOOD STORY CATEGORIES & main themes How a disaster brings out the best and worst in people 1) FLOOD DAY GENERAL FLOOD STORIES SCHOOLS RESCUING PEOPLE DEATH OF MICHAEL BARNETT WHY FLOOD HAPPENED 2) AFTERMATH/CLEAN UP 6) STRESS/LOSS POSITIVE OUTCOMES
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	tilsbury tales: the biggest clean out ever Your Name jess, jess, ryan and joe (age 10) Area:Tilbury school Ryan:I went to London to talk about the floods. When we got there we had a look around, then we went to the place, we waited there for a bit, then this person came to get us and we went up in an elevator. We was only expecting to be talking to four people, but when we got there there were loads of people and we didn’t have enough room. I’d prepared a powerpoint presentation for it, and I presented it. It was about how the floods have effected people. I’d put like how some people got skin conditions, heart conditions, lung problems, all caused by the floods. I talked about personal things, my experiences. What happened to me – we didn’t get really badly flooded, but we got secondary flooding. We was ripping up the carpet to put laminate flooring down and we had to move out of our house for three months and stay at our nanas. Our mum and dad stayed at the house and lived upstairs with our cat having kittens. They had two rooms, all cramped, and hardly any space to walk around in. When we went to my nans, we had to take our dog with us, ‘cos she was having puppies as well. But Jess can taell you more: Jess: not long ago, my auntie only found out that she was flooded and she had to live upstairs. It was alright us moving out cos I knew where everything was. Ryan: I didn’t though, ‘cos my dad had only just got with her mum. While I was there, my mum and dad was coming to visit us, and a bus ran into their car. Joanne got whiplash. This lad was smashing all the car up and jumping on it. This same lad was smashing windows and everything round the estate. Joe: when the floods were happening, I was at my nan’s café, and that got flooded a lot. It was really difficult to get home, ‘cos every single road was blocked. I had to stop at my grandmas for three days, cos we couldn’t get through. I felt sad. I felt depressed. My auntie was depressed. Her house got flooded, it was that bad that she had to move in with her sister and she’d spent a year getting the house done before it was flooded, ‘cos she wanted it nice as she was supposed to be getting married. She went to my aunties and then she got a hotel and she was in there for five months and she went to see her house – it was nearly done, so she got a caravan in the back garden and it took them that long. I was quite angry, cos my dad works away, and he was in Scotland and he had to stay in a layby for two nights ‘cos they wouldn’t let him get through the water. Even though the tyres were massive – the water where he was came right up, nearly covered them.I didn't see him for ages. I felt optimistic because I was thinking it would take time, but I saw a lot of people working together, and more friendships. Actually, I read a report that said that most people in the community thought kids weren’t affected, because they’re resilient, so they thought kids were ok. But they were affected, ‘cos of the disruption to their home life, and parents taking their stress out on the children; they can’t go out to play – nowhere to go. We did get ill during the floods. I got spots. Me too. We had these red spots. The doctor told us they was eczema and he give us these creams for them. Said they were open wounds, but they weren’t open wounds. I had a rash right across my neck. Nearly every body in the school had rashes. All of us. Spots and like a circle, and it was all down my back.. My little sister had them as well, she was only two at the time, and all you could hear on a night was her coughing and spewing up and everything and we all thought it was chickenpox, but it wasn’t. At the hospital they told us to go home, lay on the bed and drink plenty of fluids. Amy’s got worse, and she was shaking as well – she couldn[‘t stand still. My mum rushed her to hospital, and they said she was fine and gave her an injection. The spots went down, but you can still see them. The cream that I was using made my spots worse. I got sent home from school with my bad spots. We all had bad throats. It’s left us all anxious. Everytime it rains, even just a little drop, you worry that it’s going to flood again. My granddad says it happens every seventy years. But it happened twice in the space of two weeks. The school got the first flood on the 15th june, and we’d just recovered from that, and then they got the main flood, and it totally wiped us out. All the teachers, instead of being at home with their families over the summer holidays, they came into school getting it all prepared. We had to go to Pickering school – there was three classes all in one place, no room. they didn’t have the resources to follow our cutrriculum. We could only really do PE and Art. Good things that have come out of the floods: Our house has got a plasma screen. Its real nice andbig and we’re sorted. We’ve got a wii family trainer. I’ve got a plasma screen in my bedroom and one downstairs. My mam had all her washing in the garage, where the washing machine is, so all the clothes had to go, and we went shopping and we practically bought the whole shop. It was great. The carpets are nicer at school. And the windows and doors are all ne and not falling to bits. I still think it’s better that the floods happened in the school, because we’ve got all new things. Everything that needed doing has been fixed. It looks even nicer now Outside you can tell it’s been changed. It’s like the biggest clean out ever. We’ve made things out of the tree logs. We have the best school in the world, but since the floods, we’re doing even better at school. It feels like it’s home because it’s colourful, things that we like are in the school. and everybody is happier. FLOOD STORY CATEGORIES & main themes GENERAL FLOOD STORIES SCHOOLS YOUNG PEOPLES STORIES 3) NEW WAY OF LIVING HAVING TO MOVE OUT 6) STRESS/LOSS POSITIVE OUTCOMES
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	tilbury tales: everywhere i went, I was flooded Your Name Sue Trotter, admin Log: 22-10-atl-c-st Name: Sue Trotter Age: Area: Tilbury School We were just getting the three classrooms back after the first flood. Monday morning and we were telling parents that we were back to school and everything was back to normal. I was in the office, and the first thing that happened on that morning of the floods was that the manhole cover, in the corridor outside my office shot up into the air and hit the ceiling . I was on the phone, telling a parent, ‘yes, we’re back to normal,’ and I had to say ‘no, we’re not!’ I had to go home at about 11am because my house was flooding. When I got there, the water was up to my thighs – I left the car up the road, and waded through all the pet fish and debris. I didn’t get out of the house for three days, it was too wet. We could get to the end of the road, but the corner of the road was flooded. Nobody came, we didn’t see anybody. We went upstairs, and stayed there. My son came, waded down, and helped get the carpets out. School was in a terrible mess. The next few weeks, we had to send the older children to Pickering High School, and some of the pupils had to use the old nursery block. It felt that wherever I went, I was flooded. But so were a lot of people round here. It wasn’t unusual. During the six weeks holiday, we were trying to get stuff sorted at home, but we were having to be around for the contractors in school who were in, pulling everything out. We had one telephone line and a desk at school and that was it. We never knew when anyone was coming in, we had to order all the resources in for September. The deputy head and I had to work from her house to do all the ordering, because there was nowhere to even sit in school, it was such a mess. The packing cases from the classrooms were all piled up in the hall right up to the ceilings, and it was a good thing in the end, because the weight of them kept the whole floor useable. Other school’s parquet flooring rose up into pyramids, but the packing cases saved ours. As far as the school’s concerned, we’d never have got half the work done that was done, had it not been for the floods, so it’s been a good result in the end. Personally, I had no bother with loss adjusters – we were back in our house in November. There’s still people in caravans now, over a year later. There was a lot of hard work, with the stress and the physical hard work. Now everytime it rains, we get a tidemark in the corridor. They’re checking the drains now, but it’s still not sorted. It’s been flooding there all the time I’ve worked here. The outlying thing is the physical hard work. The caretaker and the staff worked solidly for weeks. There’s lots of us suffering with bad backs now. There as no floor – during the summer holidays while we were still sorting the school out, we were walking along planks over joists. The smell was awful – as it was all drying out, the smell – terrible, unbelievably awful. I didn’t notice it at home, but here at the school, it was dreadful. Ironically the only classrooms which were ok here after the flooding were the outside mobiles, which were up for being demolished. They brought an extra mobile classroom here for us to use, and they put it on the playground. They lowered it onto the playground, and the state of it – you wouldn’t have put pigs in it. It was falling apart. We had to get it fixed and refurbished, and by the time we’d done it, the rest of the school was finished, so we never used it in the end anyway. What a waste of time and energy that was. There was a lot of money wasted. FLOOD STORY CATEGORIES & main themes 1) FLOOD DAY GENERAL FLOOD STORIES SCHOOLS 2) AFTERMATH/CLEAN UP POSITIVE OUTCOMES
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