It is clear that government has let us down when it comes to climate change and the consequential damage floods create.
Even today the headline is ‘Three-quarters of UK flood defences ‘inadequately maintained’’.
As a campaigning paper targeting my peers and elders you are probably aware of the difficulties we face in protecting our families and homes and the best many councils could do when we faces flood was to provide some free sandbags.
Adding insult, since everyone knows sandbags don’t work, to the injury we do ourselves trying to fill and position them; government continues to tell us how we should use them, thus propagating the idea that they work.
There are better, more effective, easier to use and just as low cost options on the market.
I hope you can help by campaigning for people to be better informed of all the flood protection options available to them so that we can make our own decisions on how we want to protect ourselves, our homes and our loved ones.
Failing infrastructure and insurance can never do enough to protect or compensate us for losing nine months of normality.
This is too high a price for the over fifties to pay – some may not bounce back.
Fewer than 25% of all flood victims go on to prepare for another flood yet we must be prepared, prevention is vastly better than cure.
I am asking for people to be made more aware of what they can do so they do not accidently rely on government or insurance alone.
I am over fifty. Since being made redundant at 46 I have been working on developing and launching a flood solution that works, is affordable and that literally everyone can keep in a draw and use when flood warnings are issued.
Time and money relentlessly flow away like flood water through a sand bag while I work to make a difference and hope you can launch an information campaign to help your readers avoid or reduce the misery of flood.
Steven Jacobs by email
We would be very interested to hear your thoughts on this issue. Have you been affected? Please do let us know. Ed.
