Heavy rainfall last Sunday saw homes around the Isle of Wight at risk of flooding and flooding. As rain continued to fall on Monday, Green Party Town Councillor for Brading: Paul Garratt went to Nicholas Close, Brading. He said,
“One house was already flooded and water was creeping towards four more houses.”
He ordered a tonne of sand and 50 bags from Jewson in Sandown and put out a message on Facebook for volunteers to help protect the houses. He also contacted Greenpeace Isle of Wight for support.
The bags and sand were delivered the following day along with 50 more bags from Southern Water. The volunteers from Greenpeace Isle of Wight and from Facebook worked together filling bags and creating barriers around the houses and on the street.
Stephanie Elliott, lead for Greenpeace Isle of Wight stated,
“I responded because I thought, if that happened to me, I would be grateful for the help. But driving through, I did think what use can I be and thought there would be a group of hefty men there, some sort of emergency response.
“There wasn’t anything like that. It was in a cul-de-sac of elderly residents and there were only 5 of us there! Also what should have been a 5 minute journey took a good half an hour with all the flooding and road closures.”
Jeff Drake, Greenpeace volunteer stated,
“The residents of Nicholas Close told us they were unable to get help from Island Roads with sandbags. I saw no other support being offered. There was a small sandbag wall already there that had proved inadequate.
“Another resident asked if we could help put sandbags around part of their house to protect it which we were able to do. The sandbags were very heavy and when filled, they were too heavy for most people to lift and move.”
Councillor Paul Garratt added,
“The house that was flooded had been flooded a few years ago. The owners had done repairs and were hoping to move back in soon. This is a tragedy for them.”
1 in 4 homes at risk of flooding by 2050
A Greenpeace Isle of Wight spokesperson said flooding has been extensive on the Island and in other parts of the country. Climate change is here and causing significant effects now. Climate change causes weather systems to get stuck, so we have long periods of rain, heavy rain and storms such as we are having now; this leads to severe flooding.
By 2050, in ours or our children’s lives, it is estimated that one in four properties will be at risk of flooding and many homes will be uninsurable. We need our elected representatives to take climate change with the seriousness it deserves and act appropriately.
For more information on the effects of climate change see: The National Emergency Briefing or contact Greenpeace Isle of Wight on Facebook.
News shared by Lindsey Newberry on behalf of Isle of Wight Greenpeace Ed
