OFA Steering Group member Adrian Porter was on the BBC’s Morning Live on 19 July talking about the experience of being flooded. The interview with Adrian, who lives in South Hinksey, was part of a report on climate change and the growing risk of flooding in the UK. The item also featured a team of Oxfordshire Firefighters undergoing training in flood related rescue work. People trapped in vehicles in flood water, as shown on the programme, is typical of the kind of emergency the Fire Service has to respond to. But the service has also provided vital emergency support in Oxford in recent years by deploying pumps to keep roads and residential areas clear of flood water. This report was a powerful reminder that flooding has a serious impact on people’s lives and that the risk of it happening is increasing. The programme’s take away: home and business owners need to be prepared in the same way the Fire Service ensures its personnel are prepared.
Tag Archives: Flooding Oxfordshire
Speed of recent river level rises concerning
The striking thing about the flooding of the past few days is the speed at which river levels rose following several hours of torrential rain on the evening of Friday 31 March. This resulted in some flood events not previously seen in the county.
Tescos Extra in Abingdon was closed for two days due to a flooded car park, and Oxfordshire Wildlife Rescue suspend its operations after its centre near Didcot flooded on the Friday night. We have had reports of flooding at Sunningwell, north-west of Abingdon, and of flash flooding in Hurst Rise Rd and Hutchcombe Rd in west Oxford. The Eynsham Rd near the junction with the A420 was closed for a while due to flooding.
Botley Park. and the allotments to the east of the park, went from being completely dry on the Saturday afternoon to being flooded 24hrs later. Plot holders were taken by surprise at the speed at which their allotments flooded. At Seacourt P&R, the extension was fully flooded within 24 hrs.
Fortunately the amount of rainfall on Friday was not enough to cause more widespread disruption, but the speed at which rivers rose after just a few hours of heavy rain illustrate how vulnerable we would be in the event of a much bigger storm, and not just those areas known to be at risk from floods.
River levels have now stabilized in Oxford and Abingdon. Further up the Thames levels are either stable or falling.
oxford flood alliance 