|
Thatcham, West Berkshire - After the Floods |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Like several other places in the UK, Thatcham in West Berkshire had a rather wet Friday on the 20th July 2007.
It rained heavily all morning and only finished at 2pm. When I left work at 5.45pm and tried to cycle home I realised just how much it had been raining.
The road where I work was flooded where it often is so that wasn't a big surprise. I even managed to cycle out of Newbury and into Thatcham without getting wet. However, when I got to the road that I live in, I was surprised to see a large number of cars (about a hundred) parked on the cycle track and on the pavement on the other side of the road. A bit further on and it was obvious why they had stopped - the road was by now a river, quite literally. Further on it became quite deep and totally impassable - except for myself on a mountain bike as I could cycle up a steep bank and down the other side. What was quite ironic, is that the area that flooded had just been dug up so that the Thames Water could sort out the drains!
A bit further on and I came across a rather sad sight. A few families were sweeping water out of their house and trying to get it down a drain. These houses are built over an underground river which again had recently been dug up by Thames Water as part of their drainage re-working. Obviously something hadn't been re-worked correctly and the water had decided to flow through their houses rather than under them. However, it was encouraging to see that lots of people were helping in the cleanup operation. A great neighbourhood spirit.
I cycled up the now dry hill and it was obvious that a lot of water had been moving as the roads and pavements were strewn with stones, carried away in the flood waters from up the hills above Thatcham. One road, Bourne Road had apparently lived up to its name and become a stream again.
Anyway, here are some pictures that my daughter, Michelle, took on her walk back from work. This is actually the road outside the Sewage Works, a mile from where we live.
The next day, I was called round to help a lady at our church who lived in sheltered accomodation. Her front hall carpet was soaking wet as the water had got through her front door and I had to remove the carpet. Many of the people in this part of Thatcham were affected as the water rushed through everywhere.
The new development at Kennet Heath was apparently competely under water and most homes hit as the drains were unable to cope with the amount of water. This is the development that the new sewage system was supposed to help.
Hopefully someone is learning a lesson from this.
Friday was the last day of term for many school children, but when 2pm came, the Head Teacher was told by the Fire Brigade that it wasn't safe for them to leave as cars were floating down the road outside!
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright (c) 2007 Pete Fraser |
