Somerset Floods
Moorland. It was when at 2am a Police helicopter hovering over her house using a public address system announced “evacuate” that Brenda Lawlor decided enough was enough and she left her home. The flood waters had risen by a metre and for Moorland a Severe Flood Warning had been issued: ‘Severe flooding. Danger to life’.
We met up with Brenda a few hours later at the evacuation center at Westfield Church in Bridgwater. She was resting in the centre with her dog Toby and 3 caged cats that were in their own designated area marked ‘Pets Area’. In her interview Brenda, like most of the other residents had praise for the emergency services and those on the ground working for the Environmental Agency, she was angered by the Agency’s management and lack of early action against the floods.
We visited Moorland and in a pair of waders in 3 foot high water I walked the length of the main road to the church with its flooded graveyard. Every house was flooded and it looked terrible. Conveys of tractors pulling trailers passed by as they were rescuing all the cattle still left in the area. All the emergency services were present including Royal Marines from 40 Commando who were bolstering sandbag defences. The early morning Police helicopter was now replaced by helicopters From BBC News & Sky News who were reporting live from the scene.
The last image is taken at Burrowbridge.
