River defence teams reflect on a job well done as Shropshire floods subside
“Thinking big and acting early” – that is the secret to Shropshire’s successful flood defence this past week, according to one expert.
As our county enjoys an upturn in the weather, so those involved in keeping people safe can reflect on another job well done.
Now the rivers are receding and the last of the flood barriers have been removed. Chris Bainger of the Environment Agency took part in the county-wide operation, and he said Shropshire’s water levels were approaching normality again.
He credited early warnings from last week for the effective deployment of the flood barriers, and said up to 100 premises would have been damaged without them.
He said: “We’re very pleased with our response and all the preparation we were able to do. Our ethos is ‘think big and act early’.
“We had the time to respond and get barriers in Shrewsbury erected. The field operations team did an absolutely sterling job.”
Drone pictures taken by photographer Tom Blockley show the impact of the rising waters have had on the county’s landscape.
Mr Blockley, who captured aerial shots of flooding in Buildwas and Ironbridge said: “The impact to farming communities and livestock seems to be most noticeable, as they rely on us to keep them safe. It’s been a few years since I’ve seen flooding this widespread. I grew up in Ironbridge, so experienced many a high river, before the flood defences were put in.”
The River Severn steadily rose through last weekend and into the early part of this week thanks to heavy rain, but flood barriers installed promptly in Shrewsbury, Buildwas, Ironbridge and Bewdley helped prevent damage to dozens of homes and businesses despite flooded fields and footpaths.
The Frankwell Riverside car park in Shrewsbury was closed thanks to the flooding, and the annual Shrewsbury 10k last weekend featured a diverted route because much of the Quarry park was under water.
A week after Shropshire suffered a wet and wild weekend, we can expect beautiful spring sunshine over the next few days.
