Families Affected by Flooding Express Fear of Rain

For most individuals in a nation accustomed to varied weather, rain is a common occurrence, typically a minor inconvenience and something they are familiar with. However, one family, experiencing exhaustion and frustration due to recurrent flooding, perceives wet weather differently. “We live our lives in fear,” they say. “It’s absolutely horrible.” They constantly ask themselves: “Are we going to lose all our stuff again?” These residents do not reside in properties situated alongside rivers prone to overflowing. Instead, their residences are located on a recently developed estate, with homes constructed less than ten years ago. They attribute several flooding incidents, including the most recent one in September, to issues with pipework and drainage systems. David Wilson Homes Mercia, the housing developer, maintains that infrastructure enhancements are underway at the Hereford site. Laurie Price, a single mother, is among those affected by the disruptions at St Peter’s Field and The Orchards in Whitestone, having been temporarily moved while her property undergoes repairs. She reports that the circumstances are impacting her child, who has autism. Having been temporarily relocated to Marden for over a month, she informed the BBC that her child has experienced difficulties with sleep, concentration, and daily functioning. “He asks to go home all the time,” she said. “He slept for about two hours a night maximum for the first four weeks.” Michelle Watkins provided the statement regarding living in fear. Her mother, Pam Tovey, also had her home affected in September, occurring shortly after completing repairs from an earlier flood. “It makes me sad because we’re all trying to work together to have a lovely home and a lovely place to live,” Ms Watkins said. “It just gets destroyed in seconds and we’re all in fear of when it rains. Are we going to flood again?” Local residents suspect that a drainage pipe, specifically installed to mitigate flooding from an adjacent field, is failing to operate effectively. Concerns were also raised regarding its inadequate maintenance. During the BBC’s previous visit, the pipe was observed to be obstructed by overgrowth, which has since been removed. “It’s not adequate,” Ms Price said of the maintenance. “It can’t hold the water that comes off the field. There was just a river.” A spokesperson for David Wilson Homes Mercia stated: “Works to improve the eastern ditch started on Monday 4 November 2024 and are now substantially complete.”We will proceed with the construction of a new wall to the southern end of the ditch as soon as we have approval from the council.”They added: “A camera survey of the existing underground pipework is due to start on Tuesday 12 November 2024 and we will undertake any repairs if an issue is identified.” Further updates from BBC Hereford & Worcester are available on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X, and Instagram. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC disclaims responsibility for the content of external websites. Information regarding our external linking policy is available.