OFA steering group member Simon Collings was interviewed Monday 22 May for a BBC News report on a new flood resilience training centre which has opened at Wallingford. The BeFloodReady centre provides advice and training on how to make properties more resilient to flooding.

With flooding expected to increase as a result of climate change, household level preparedness will become increasingly important. Exceptionally heavy downpours of the kind we have already seen this year, can cause flash flooding in areas which have not flooded before. It is particularly in these areas where property level measures can help protect against flooding and facilitate quick recovery where flooding does occur.

Simon spoke about being flooded in 2007, and the benefits which flood resilience measures brought during the 2014 floods when a submersible pump kept water out of the house (picture below). OFA has long been an advocate of property level resilience measures, and welcomes this new initiative from DEFRA.

Floodgates, air brick covers and pumps are, however, only effective up to a point. Household resilience measures have a contribution to make to flood risk management but they are not an alternative to the Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme. We need both.