Resources for residents who have been flooded:
Community Council For Somerset – The Village Agents offer support to those who have been flooded – they can be contacted on 01823 331 222, or a callback can be requested by clicking the orange box at the top of their website https://ccslovesomerset.org/
‘Know Your Flood Risk’ Recovery Guide – this is a very useful document for people who have been flooded, put together by Mary Dhonau, who is a campaigner and one of the UK’s experts on property flood protection and recoverability https://www.knowyourfloodrisk.co.uk/sites/default/files/FloodRecoveryGuide_Interactive.pdf
Property Flood Resilience / Resistance (both keeping water out and adaptations that enable swift recovery) – Mary Dhonau’s Guide to property flood resilience may be helpful, and also features many inspiring case studies where people have installed adaptations to their homes: https://edition.pagesuite.com/html5/reader/production/default.aspx?pubname=&pubid=b3dddc3f-8c89-4711-86f3-4f0f9ce9a713
Somerset Talking Therapies – Flooding is very distressing, and it’s very common for people’s emotional health to be affected if they have experienced flooding. Somerset Talking Therapies understand this and will treat any referrals caused by natural disasters as a priority. People can either be referred by their GP or they can self refer: https://www.somersetft.nhs.uk/somerset-talking-therapies/refer-yourself/
Rotary Club Flood Packs – Rotary Clubs in Somerset have a supply of free flood packs to homes which are in danger of flash floods. The pack consists of compact, self-inflating bags which can be used to protect homes against flash floods. They can also be strung together to form a wall. To find out more, please email david303welch@btinternet.com
The Flood Online Reporting Tool (FORT) – This is a website that allows people to report flooding and submit photographs etc. This information goes to the risk management authorities and helps in planning for future flood mitigation measures. With regard to the most recent flooding, it may be that the flood risk team are hoping to speak face-to-face with people as part of the investigation, as that is the best way to get the full picture, but FORT is a valuable resource as well: https://swim.geowessex.com/somerset
There is also a short online training video about using FORT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0E_9IVdFM0&t=15s
