Tuesday 15 April 2014

Know Your Flood Risk’s “Flood Recovery Guide”: a whirlwind account from concept to delivery

Having been flooded myself, I know only too well what an appalling situation it is. It can literally turn people’s lives upside down if they are affected. When I was flooded there was no information anywhere as to what to do and when. It has long been my ambition to create a downloadable Flood Recovery Guide that will help victims of flood through those first bleak weeks.

Sadly, never has the timing been so good…

Working with Carly Rose, our PHD campaign researcher, (yes, she has also been flooded),we put together a guide of all the best information we could find and added some practical hints and tips based on our own experiences.  Then the terrible the coastal surge happened in November. The talented team at the Know Your Flood Risk offices rushed through the design stage and within a matter of days hard copies had been produced and delivered to Boston in Lincolnshire, where the worst of the tidal flooding had occurred.

From that moment my feet did not touch the ground for several months, as the cruel winter floods of 2013/14 just didn’t stop coming. The guide was in great demand - we got a request for hard copies from Tonbridge and Yalding following the dreadful Christmas day floods there.  Also in demand were the media requests for me to talk about the guide and to give practical advice via TV, radio and in many national papers.  I became a regular guest on BBC breakfast and on ITV’s ‘Daybreak’. I went onto every news channel, appeared on The One Show Live Flood Special (where we managed to ship more free copies of our guide to residents in Wraysbury), spoke on the Today programme, videoed by the Sunday Telegraph and became a regular speaker on consumer programmes on Radio 5. I have even been in the Washington Post and spoken on Russia Today! My new (and I hope affectionate) nickname is now ‘Mary Queen of Floods’…

The guide not only covers the practicalities of recovering from a flood, including a section for those without insurance, but the emotional rollercoaster that everyone goes through for the weeks and months following a flood. It can be extremely stressful for everyone in the household, not just physically but emotionally too. Many people have described it as a ‘kind of bereavement’ – recent decorations, wedding photos, treasured family heirlooms or mementoes, school projects – all washed away forever and sometimes, in only a matter of minutes. One resident from Yalding said: "I thought it was a great guide with loads of useful information to help cope with the aftermath of flooding. I particularly appreciated the bit about The Emotional Roller-coaster. It helped me to realise how I am feeling is normal and understandable. Thank you."

What was apparent with the widespread flooding this time around was the power of social media.  In the past, floods surge in but once the media leave everyone forgets about the clean-up and recovery. Thanks to social media, people are now able to post live warnings, share tips and advice and keep the situation in the public eye which is important. Thanks to Twitter alone, our Flood Recovery Guide reached an audience of over ½ million people thanks to mentions and re-tweets from hundreds of sources including the Environment Agency, the media, local authorities and the Police. 

Being flooded is just awful but I’d like to think that the new guide helped those during their slow road to recovery and that afterwards, those at risk will also take full advantage of the Know Your Flood Risk campaigns ‘Homeowners Guide to Flood Resilience’ to help reduce the impact any future floods will bring.

Mary Dhonau OBE
Chief Executive KYFR
Follow Mary on twitter @floodmary and The Know Your Flood Risk Campaign @flooduk
Visit www.knowyourfloodrisk.co.uk for more practical guidance and advice.

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