Flood meetings to address issues

After another weekend of flooding in the county, the worst affected communities are being encouraged to come together with key agencies to look at what happened and see if there are any lessons that can be learnt. Councillor Stuart Hughes, Chairman of the Devon Flood Risk Management Partnership and Devon County Councillor for Highways and Transportation, said: "This has been a tough weekend bringing misery to hundreds of residents ahead of Christmas and my heart goes out to those families whose homes have flooded. "Whilst the mop up operation will clearly take some time and more rain is expected over the coming week, experience from both the July and November flooding incidents shows just how important it is for the worst affected communities and key agencies to get together quickly to look at exactly what happened and see if there are lessons for the future.” Special drop-in meetings have now been arranged at Braunton on Thursday 3 January at the Parish Hall from 12noon to 7pm, and Bishop Tawton on Friday 4 January at the Village Hall 3pm to 7pm. Events are also being considered for Coombe Martin and Stoke Cannon early in the new year. The events, which are organised by Devon County Council and the Environment Agency with the support of district councils, the police, fire and rescue service and SW Water, give authorities the opportunity to gather information about the flooding incidents. Residents are encouraged to bring along photographs or video footage taken during the flooding in their area. Alternatively these can be emailed to floodrisk@devon.gov.uk. The events also enable communities to speak directly to staff from local authorities and agencies to raise any concerns or issues they have. In the past month there have been eight drop-in events held around the county relating to flooding incidents in November which have proved very popular. Councillor Hughes also praised the efforts of all agencies in dealing with the latest emergency: "I would like to thank all the agencies including district, county and SW Highways staff who have pulled together and worked tirelessly around the clock to deal with the many incidents affecting so many of our local communities and support those who were worst affected. I would also like to praise our town and parish councils for their vital help in what has been a tremendous team effort.” If flood water has entered a property, call 999 and ask for the fire service to help pump the water out. Householders should also contact their insurer, who will provide temporary accommodation if needed. The district council can help with the removal of damaged goods and may be provide sandbags. During the Christmas period people should phone the main switchboard number of their district council to get advice and relevant contact numbers. Devon County Council is working hard to get the road network and drainage systems cleared and back in operation. In the case of widespread flooding the major road networks will be prioritised. Anyone with any major concerns should contact the Highways team on 0845 155 1004 or out of hours on 01392 383329 to speak to the Highway Operations Control Centre. Concerns can also be logged at www.devon.gov.uk/roads Further advice on what to do before, during, and after a flood and also for information on the flood warning service, including river levels call Floodline on 0845 988 1188 or visit the Environment Agency’s website www.environment-agency.gov.uk