Floods have been a UK news mainstay for the past few years, with a focus on financial damage – claims on home and caravan insurance – and the emotional turmoil residents experience as their homes are destroyed by the rising water.
However, there’s little focus on the post-flood experience – what happens when the news teams leave? An article in the Telegraph illustrates that recovery is nowhere near as quick as some might think.
The article states that many residents of Tewkesbury only moved back into their old homes recently and some are still stuck in caravans waiting for repair work to begin.
Some of the blame can be placed on the slow reaction of insurance companies and their choice of construction firms. Occasionally, insurers offer pay-outs to flood victims that are willing to arrange their home repairs themselves. However, this can be a stressful and difficult experience for those who are not used to planning development work.
One example given in the paper, shows an insurance firm’s reaction to repairing a 200 year old cottage. Waiting eight months to contract builders, the company repaired the ground floor, but refuse to pay for any work needed upstairs as this is not classified as flood damage. This has meant that the owner has had to enlisted the help of friends and family to make his house fully liveable again.
Residents of Tewkesbury are warning flood victims in the Lake District, to be ready for the same struggle to rebuild their homes.
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