Surviving the flood Talybont Community Flood Group Talybont

Surviving the flood Talybont Community Flood Group ‘Talybont Floodees’ Chair person Mick Fothergill

Surviving the flood 1. The Event - The Devastation 2. Forming the Group - Dealing with Insurance and builders 3. Developing a community flood Plan 4. Defining our problem - Responsibilities 5. The solution 6. Where we are now

Surviving the flood

Surviving the flood For 40 years we have lived in harmony with the river and enjoyed all its moods

Surviving the flood The river was part of our lives – an excitement and an inspiration

The Event

The Event An intense low pressure system stalled over the catchment areas of the Rivers Leri and Ceulan. Over 190 mm of rain fell in 36 hours on already saturated land. The resultant flooding was widespread and severe. Isohyet Diagram for 8 th / 9 th 2012 Flood Event 27 properties in Talybont were flooded and the A 487 through the village was closed for a number of hours.

The Event

The Event The River Gauge at Dolybont was overwhelmed

The Event

The Event We were evacuated to the local pub – but that too was flooded Evacuated a second time to the Village Hall

The Devastation

The Clean up

The Group

The Group Everyone was invited Centred around the pubs – Very Important Met every week (we still do) Provided support and advice – a real safety valve Helped reduce stress – The psychological impact was immense • We helped each other • • • Invited talks and lectures • The Group now has a constitution and a formal committee

Insurance • Make sure you are not under insured – DO IT NOW (Principal of Average) • Keep contact information to hand • Inform your Insurance company immediately – 24 Hour hot lines don’t work so have telephone numbers and email addresses • Ask for advice but remember that insurance companies are not necessarily acting with your best interest at heart • Get independent advice – The Scottish Flood Forum in the guise of Paul Hendy was of great help. • They will appoint a loss adjuster. Loss adjusters are impartial but paid for by the insurance company. You do not have to accept this and you can insist on appointing one of your own. If a number of properties are affected its a good idea to join together with a single loss adjuster.

Insurance • The Loss adjustor will appoint a surveyor who will produce a ‘Scope of Works’. This document should be a draft document and you should study this carefully before agreeing to the final version. • This will then be issued as a Tender document and sent to a range of builders to tender for the contract. • Once builders have been appointed make sure you open a dialogue with the company and be around as much as you can to keep an eye on the progress – make a nuisance of yourself IT WILL BE SLOW

Insurance • It will take 5 -6 months for your house to dry out – Insist on a drying certificate • You can insist on using local businesses and products • Local businesses and contractors don't like working for Insurance companies as they are very slow at paying • Don’t ask your builder to undertake extra work without a written quote – They are likely to be very expensive • At the completion of the restoration the builders should provide you with a pack of documents INSURANCE COMPANIES ARE HONOURABLE AND WILL PAY UP EVENTUALLY

Insurance 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 61% Annual Insurance Pre flood Post Flood

Insurance 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 7% 226% 400 200 0 LVC Millenium Pre flood Post Flood

Developing a Community Flood Plan • We were unprepared • Warning systems were generic for North Ceredigion and not specific to our catchment Developed a Community Flood Plan and organised a test day • • Ceredigion County Council Natural Resources Wales Dyfed Powys Police Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service

Our Problem The Leri/Ceulan catchment is a relatively small steep sided, funnel shaped catchment which reacts very quickly to rainfall. It ranges from over 1300 ft to sea level

Our Problem Hydrographs for the rivers Leri, Ystwyth, Clarach and Rheidol. The Leri exhibits a highly peaked graph which provides little opportunity for an adequate warning period.

Our Problem

Responsibilities Surface water – Dwr Cymru

Responsibilities

The Solution - Information Two river gauges Leri and Ceulan Talybont Two remote rain gauges at top of catchment Farson digital webcams Talybont

The Solution - Knowledge Primary defence – Flood arc system or Flood Gate

The Solution - Knowledge Secondary defence – Seal drains

The Solution - Knowledge

The Solution - Knowledge Expression of interest to the ‘Nature Fund’ Developing and testing a catchment-based approach for flood alleviation in upland Wales using ecosystem services Aberystwyth University keen to use our catchment as a study area Cobweb will play a central role in allowing us to collect information within the catchment and bring issues to the notice of the authorities

The Solution - Knowledge Allow the community to participate in and be pro-active in its own monitoring of the catchment We will ‘own’ the information that will allow us to fight the flood risk.

Where we are now • Better specific warning systems • Community and personal flood plans • Better defences • More autonomous (Lottery funding for Sand Bags) • Better communication within the village • Defibrillators sited in the village • In discussion about the future of the bridge • Started a discussion with local farmers about a replanting scheme • The council has carried out a feasibility study for a Talybont flood scheme to be presented to us on the 3 rd Dec in the pub

Thank You • Ceredigion Council • Natural Resources Wales • Aberystwyth University • The Scottish Flood Forum specifically Paul Hendy • Local Councillor, Leader of the Council, Regional AM • Emergency Services • All of Talybont But most of all

The Talybont Flood Group