Floods - anyone else had a problem?

I think there were problems on the Abingdon Road and the Iffley Road in Oxford. I come from Kidlington so my bus route is nowhere near either, but they might have diverted traffic into a gridlock. I got on a bus yesterday evening then four came the other way. As they are half an hour apart the first must have been an hour and a half late.

Yesterday - no trouble getting to Oxford, just on the way back! A little late because I went to Tesco's and forgot that the Friday rush hour is always a little earlier....toook me an hour and a half for a normally half hour journey.

But my unfortunate neighbour leaving the hospital got a bus at 3.15 and got home at 6.30!
And my grandson leaving school in Oxford had to wait 40 minutes for a bus he could get on...........brrrrr.

Every time there is trouble on one route in Oxford, all the rest snarls up!

I live in a village close to Didcot and while the village flooded extensively in 2007 our house was spared.

When we renewed our house insurance this year our broker told us that if we moved to another insurer we would not be able to get flood cover. Now a few years ago we got automatic flood alerts from the Environment Agency but last week there was a flood alert on thevillage stream and we had no warning so I went into the EA site to sign-up again for flood warnings only to get a response that they could not provide a warning for our address. Now that usually means that that the address is outside the flood zone, which we are - just, the floodline runs along our front garden wall and then curves round to include the house next but one. I have emailed the EA to ask why we cannot have flood warnings. but have yet to get a reply.

As it stands the insurance companies think we live in a flood zone and will not insure us and the EA think we don't so won't put us on their warning system!

All is well. House cleaned out using foaming cow cleansing chemicals. (Don't ask) Smells lovely. Everybody happy again.

Hi annodomini: The older part of Didcot is a little higher and on a slight slope so as far as I know there is no risk of flooding. At the bottom of the hill is the railway station, and at the bottom of the railway station is the underpass ...

I remember returning to Didcot one day some years back to find the station staff wearing wellies and pushing parcel trolleys full of commuters through the water!

I will have to go to Oxford today...taking my neighbour to the JR Hospital and seeing my daughter - but I will have to go via the A34 which I do NOT like, bcause of flooding the other way, and then the Abingdon Road is still flooded.
(BBC site very useful here!)

I think I know where that is MaryXYX. My son and his family live the other side of the town centre and seem to be reasonably flood-free.

Bit of a clue in the name-eh?

I used to live on the edge of Didcot Marsh. Our house had three steps up to the front door, so although the driveway often flooded the house never did. When they built the new housing estates they built flat on the ground. The name of the area - Didcot Marsh - ought to give you an idea of what happened.

6" can make all the difference Nanadog! Glad you're ok.

All this water. It's quite worrying how often it's happening. Being flooded once is bad enough but when it becomes a regular occurrence despite increased flood defences ........ It must be so depressing, heartbreaking.

I fear the old lady in St Asaph was forgotten in the rush. It happened so quickly didn't it. Bloody awful.

NanaNel, so sorry, must have missed a page out earlier, so sorry about your son`s house, hope the damage isn`t too bad, it would break my heart if it happened to us.

nkf by rise I didn't mean a hill, wish I did. I think the highest part of our road is about 6' above the two ends. However even that small rise could make a difference. Happily the waters are going down quite quickly.

Others have not been so lucky.

I feel for that poor 92 year-old who drowned in St Asaph. Why did she not heed the warnings, did she not understand or was she not warned? This should not happen in these days of mass communication. Where were her family?

NanaNel sorry to hear that news. Hope things have improved.

An acquaintance who lives in Lanzarote says they have very bad floods there as well.

Son's house flooded as we were expecting but this time only half of it. We got a message from him "Titanic to Carpathia" and all rushed round. We managed to get everything into the shed (no upstairs) and it will be easy to clean out so not so bad. The police popped down on and off all afternoon and were really good, offering to go and get food if we needed it. River has peaked now so that should be it.

Floods in Italy now!! Very wet and windy here!! Wind has taken our mimosa tree!

Know both those schools well and the route between them nonna.
Hoglet taken to Hedgehog Rescue. Quite poorly. Only weighed 250g and been given double injection of antibiotics. Next24 hours crucial.

across!!

My DD used to walk accross the racecourse in summer on her way to Aylesford school from Woodloes estate!! We once had a pitch at a car boot sale there too!

Nanadog I have this vision of you all on your little hill (in Norfolk a slight rise is often called a hill) surrounded by chickens, hedgehogs and other little creatures peering out over the dark wet expanses. Glad your feet are still dry.

There seems to be a misapprehension by those in authority (Environment Agency, Planning etc) as to what constitutes a flood plain. It seems to depend solely on the politics of where the planners want the houses and not where God put the flood plains.

Youngest son's house is about to be flooded for the second time. The environment agency web site says that there is no flood warning for his area. They also said that back in September when our daughter in law was up to her knees in water in the living room. We are all on alert to move furniture any time now. Wellies at the ready.

Not on the racecourse proper crimson but there's a lot of 'common land* and a hill or two and then raised banks around the edges covered with brambles. That's where the bunnies live.

Hoglet is eating and drinking already. Our house has always been a repository for stray animals, my daughter used to fetch them home, then she graduated to stray humans, but that's another story ?

Phew, glad to see you're ahead of me there Nanadog

Is it an age thing, all this worrying about animals and birds. My daughter thinks I'm completely mad when I try to share these worries with her

I wouldn't think they have any rabbits on the racecourse. Don't know how they prevent them but it would be very dangerous having a rabbit burrow where horses are galloping at speed. It's something I've often meant to ask about. Lots of men with ferrets I guess.

Yes, just come off the phone to someone. Her mother is the Hedgehog Rescue Lady of Kenilworth and won't be back until later. But it seems I've done the right things so far and I can hear it scrabbling round on the newspaper so it's warming up. They are called 'hoglets ' I think she said nightowl
crimson I'm thinking its come off the flooded racecourse and what about all the poor bunny rabbits and foxes?