Bill Hamilton, 68, was trying to assist residents whose houses were hit by flash floods in the Inverness village of Smithton when he fell, hit his head and disappeared from sight into a swollen burn. It appears he had been attempting to clear debris from a culvert trash screen.

STV has full coverage of this tragedy, including a video report.

Our condolences go to Mr Hamilton’s family and friends.

Back in October 2009 we posted a warning about insurance renewals – you can find the blog post here. To summarise we warned of the need to declare to your insurance company the proximity of your property to a watercourse.

A Freuchie resident contacted us recently with a concerning story about their latest insurance renewal.

We live in Green Tree Brae but were not flooded last time. As we live at the top of the Brae, it is unlikely that we would ever flood, however – last month I received a renewal letter from the current Insurer, the PO, saying that our premium was going to increase from £292 to £700+. The insurer explained this was due to premiums going up and the majority of underwriters no longer insuring homes within 200m of a watercourse. I have always declared that we live near the burn as I know that otherwise your policy becomes void. I then spent days calling 30+ Insurers – none of which would even quote me until finally AXA agreed a price for us. It struck me that a huge % of Freuchie must be within 200m of a watercourse but would not have declared it to their Insurers and therefore many residents will not actually be covered by their Insurers. All a bit scarey heh?

In a further email the resident was concerned for other residents who may unknowingly or otherwise be failing to declare the fact they are close to a watercourse thereby making their policy invalid.

It isn’t just if you get flooded when the policies become invalid – it’s any policy and any claim at all that becomes invalid if you haven’t declared in advance that you live within 200m of a watercourse,  even if you claim for an iron burn on the carpet – you wouldn’t get anything! So basically people are paying for policies for no reason!

Everyone in the main village is most certainly within 200m of a watercourse, which by definition includes drainage ditches. By failing to declare your proximity to a watercourse you will be providing your insurer with a good reason to cancel your policy, keep your premiums and fail to pay out on any claim, of any type, you may have submitted. As the concerned resident has said, “… basically people are paying for policies for no reason!”

Thank you to the resident for sharing their story with us and providing permission for us to share it with you. Other residents experiencing issues with insurance renewals can get in contact with FFAG for advice and assistance.

Freuchie Flood Action Group would like to say a hearty thank you to Ewen Jardine for his advice, assistance and sheer hard work in relation to flooding over the last few years. As secretary of Freuchie Community Council his support was vital to FFAG and Freuchie residents in our efforts to deal with flooding and the many issues that impact upon flood risk.

Unfortunately Ewen did not put himself forward for re-election at the recent community council elections – a loss for Freuchie. However Ewen will still be kicking around Freuchie as he is still very active with other community groups in the village.

Our best wishes go to Ewen with all his current and future projects.

Technorati Tags: Ewen Jardine, FFAG, Freuchie, Freuchie Community Council, Freuchie Flood Action Group

Reading the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 doesn’t easily clear up all the timescales for delivery of the various steps required to comply with the Act and ultimately when it is liable to bring real world flood prevention and protection measures to fruition. Surely there must be an easier way to find out the deliverables timescale rather than reading through and deciphering the Act? Yes, there is now. The Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act Annual Report to Parliament 2009 has recently been published on the Scottish Government website, a report that appears to provide some of the outstanding answers being sought by flood survivors.

Date: 2016

Milestone: Publish implementation plans for delivering all measures set out in local flood risk management plans.

Lead: Local authorities

It is slightly alarming to see it could take until 2016 before local authorities publish their implementation plans. Gulp! Freuchie will undoubtedly have been hit by more flooding before this happens.

The intention is to lay a second commencement order in 2010 to bring into force Part 4 and the remaining sections of Part 6. In commencing Part 4, regulations setting out the transitional arrangements for transfer from the current statutory process for Flood Protection Schemes under the 1961 Act to the new process set out in the FRM Act will also be laid.

Part 4 of the Act relates to local authority powers to manage flood risk. Basically the local authorities gain all manner of new and strengthened powers and responsibilities for flooding in 2010.

In response to the long standing concerns surrounding the existing statutory process for Flood Protection Schemes, we are keen to allow local authorities to utilise the benefits of the new system as early as possible and without the need to go through a lengthy and complex period of transition.

Provision has been made to deliver flood improvements in a more timely fashion, but this will depend on your local authority pushing things along. In the meantime we need to push ahead under the old legislation and transitional arrangements – basically the outgoing regime that is no longer fit for purpose.

From 1 April 2008, funding of flood protection and coast protection schemes is not identified separately but the previous ring-fenced grant provision of £42 million in 2007-08 is rolled up in the General Capital Grant which is distributed to local authorities as part of the 3-year local government finance settlement covering the period 2008-11. The decision to substantially reduce ring-fencing was welcomed by COSLA and local government, and had no impact on the level of capital grant funding available to them. For 2009-10, local government was provided with a general capital grant of £462.64 million. The Scottish Government is continuing to deliver on its commitment to increase local authorities’ share of the Scottish Budget.

The report skirts around the issue of whether there has been increased spending on flood prevention since the change from ring fencing of funds to the Single Outcome Agreement. Going forward, a major worry has to be the potential for underfunding of flooding at local authority level. Councillors may well decide flooding is not a priority as the austerity cuts start to bite. Flood affected communities will have to lobby very hard to ensure councillors don’t make it impossible for flood officers to resource flood prevention and protection projects. Let’s hope we don’t hear Anne Robinson muttering, “Flooding… you are the weakest link!”

The Scottish Flood Forum (SFF) was set up in October 2008, with funding from the Scottish Government and the feedback received, from local authorities, community councils and individuals who have been flooded, on the services provided by SFF is very positive.

Freuchie Flood Action Group has the highest praise for the hard work and advice of Paul Hendy from the Scottish Flood Forum (SFF). We were the first flood action group to work with the SFF, a partnership that ensured Freuchie was well known by everyone that matters in the world of flooding! The commitment outlined in the report to extend the services available from the SFF is fabulous news for flood affected communities.

Elsewhere in the report, ongoing research and projects using Natural Flood Management (NFM) are mentioned. Developments in the flood warning service are welcome, but only become useful in Fife once the projects are rolled out Scotland wide.  The changes in areas of responsibility for the local authorities, Scottish Water, SEPA and other stakeholders are touched upon. A selection of large capital flood projects throughout Scotland are dealt with, but it is interesting to note the lack of information on any Fife projects currently underway!

Flood action groups and flood survivors will take a mixed bag from this report. In general it demonstrates good progress in dealing with flooding in Scotland.

Technorati Tags: Fife, flood, Flood Risk Management, flooding, Freuchie, Freuchie Flood Action Group, Scottish Flood Forum, Scottish Government, SFF

Something a little different for once and certainly off topic!

The Fife Herald has a report this week about the beloved and respected Cameron MacKenzie who has pledged to do a 10k walk once a month for the next 10 months as a way of raising awareness of and funds for Alzheimer Scotland. He and his family are dedicating this to the memory of his wife Joyce, who lost her battle against this condition last year. The feat is all the more impressive when you learn the ex-Minister is eighty years old. 

Anyone who takes an active involvement in village life will know Cameron well through his good works and participation in the community that has over the years made Freuchie a much richer place to stay in. We now have an opportunity to support him in his endeavours.

Good luck and best wishes to Cameron.

Technorati Tags: Alzheimer Scotland, Cameron MacKenzie, Fife Herald, Freuchie

Another lingering effect of the recent flooding manifested itself yesterday afternoon. John Thomson, Freuchie Flood Action Group chairman, discovered he had no hot water or heating. Turns out the flood waters had likely got into the regulator and / or meter mechanism, which then froze up due to the cold snap.

Scotia Gas Networks replaced the meter and regulator within an hour of the fault being logged by the Scottish Gas engineer who came along to investigate the fault. First class service by both Scottish Gas and Scotia Gas Networks.

Technorati Tags: flood, flooding, Freuchie, Freuchie Flood Action Group, Scotia Gas Networks, Scottish Gas

With a great deal of effort and more than a little luck Freuchie survived the very heavy rainfall that fell on the East of Scotland on Sunday. The small flood improvement measures we have already made since the 2008 floods, the help of many people from the community to manage flood water, the early assistance of Fife Council and the heroic efforts of Fife Fire & Rescue Service all added up to saving our village from a repeat of the devastating 2008 floods.

Freuchie Flood Action Group is aware of many areas that were being monitored and at least two location where active flood protection and prevention works were being carried out. We would have liked to have been out and about doing more observations but our time was consumed fighting back the flood waters in areas known to be at high risk.

Let’s take a whirlwind tour of these area and highlight the key points.

ALBANY CRESCENT
The run-off from the fields to the south of Albany Crescent was putting the homes in this part of the village at risk of flooding. Only the prompt action of local residents who dug appropriate drainage channels, and then travelled to Cupar to collect and deploy sandbags, ensured that properties – many of them occupied by elderly and vulnerable individuals – survived unscathed despite the 18 inch-deep water in the streets.

Patrick Laughlin, Chairman of Freuchie Community Council, was amongst those helping at this location, and was also out and about during the afternoon observing the nature and sequence of flooding throughout the village. He said afterwards that the day’s events had served to highlight that flooding was an issue which now threatened to affect almost every part of Freuchie. At Albany Crescent, the impromptu dams which were built to divert water away from the most-threatened properties were effective and necessary, but had the side effect of directing the waters down other streets previously felt to be risk-free.

Please contact us if you have photographs of the flood waters in this area of the village.

FREUCHIE DEN
No reports as yet of property flooding up Freuchie Den. Work was carried out last year to reduce the risk of flooding and it would appear to have been successful. 

 
Photos: Farm road to Freuchie Den and bridge downstream 

The information and photographs clearly show an area that still requires further flood prevention work to lessen the existing flood risk.

GREEN TREE BRAE
Alarmingly high water levels were observed further downstream on Freuchie Burn. A usually babbling brook type flow had turned into a torrent that was engulfing land adjacent to the burn banks. Flood alarms installed by residents were activated warning of a danger of flooding.

  Photos: Freuchie Burn at Green Tree Brae

The burn rose to such a height that it would have been flowing over the walkway of the old bridge, had it still be there, putting the homes at the bottom of Green Tree Brae at high risk of flooding. Thankfully the unsafe bridge was removed earlier this year and the gap in the wall bricked up as a flood prevention measure.

FREUCHIE MILL
Last and certainly not least! Freuchie Mill would likely have flooded to property damaging levels if we had seen another hour of rain.  The culvert would have been overtopped by the Millwaters Burn if the rain had not gone off when it did. At its height the burn water was starting to lap onto the top of the gabion baskets. Unfortunately we were too busy fighting the flood to take photographs at that moment!

 
Photos: Freuchie Mill culvert inlet end one hour before peak flows and the diversion pipe that was reinstated

Thankfully our request for the diversion pipe to be used, Fife Council’s work to inspect the pipe along its length and Kingdom Housing’s restoration work have proven to be a life saver on this occasion. The diversion pipe was operating at full bore and really made all the difference during this weather event.

 
Photos: Freuchie Mill culvert outlet one hour before peak flow and during the peak when flooding was starting to occur

On this occasion, the greatest flow of flood water into Freuchie Mill came down from the Chicken Farm and then cascaded down Freuchie Mill Road, joining in with the flood waters already coming down the road. The drainage, or should that be lack of drainage, requires immediate action along with the correction of the incorrect road camber that brings nearly all the run off water down into Freuchie Mill. The flooding on the road resulted in a car parked in one of the Freuchie Mill Road cottages being written off.

Photos: Flooding begins with run off from Freuchie Mill Road 

Fife Fire & Rescue Service arrived at a timely moment to help with the flood protection work. We requested they deploy a pressurised fire hose across Freuchie Mill Road as a damming measure to stem the flow of flood waters. Pumping out operations began swiftly thereafter to keep the water to a very minimal level.

 
Photos: Fife Fire & Rescue Service arrives onsite 

It quickly became apparent the fire hose wouldn’t be enough by itself thus a frantic search began to find materials to dam off the road. A source of rocks and bricks was found allowing the firemen, residents and Andy Walls of Kingdom Housing to start the construction of a two tier dam structure that took the majority of the flood waters down the side of the bridge and into the stream downstream of Freuchie Mill. A big thanks to all the residents from surrounding properties, most of whom weren’t under threat of flooding, but still came out in cold and wet condition to lend a hand – we couldn’t have done it without you. 

 
 
Photos: Dam construction on Freuchie Mill Road

Towards the end of the flood event a few of the private homes in Freuchie Mill started to see the flood waters rising. This was caused by the burn waters that come down through Freuchie Mill House and run underground around the back of the the west side private houses having no where to drain off to and therefore bursting through the back gardens. Most of these houses already had flood protection measures in place  to prevent the majority of the dirty flood water entering the underfloor void. Once again the firemen jumped into action and started to pump out the areas now being flooded. Unfortunately there was damage done by this phase of the flood: holes in gardens, subsidence of driveways and loss of property from garden sheds and bike storage units. The losses will run into hundreds of pounds to repair and replace the flood damaged items, but it could have been so much more!

Photos: Flood water starts to threaten houses in Freuchie Mill

Just as in previous flood events, Fife Fire & Rescue Service personnel were magnificent and we cannot thank them enough for their hard work, professionalism and skill in dealing with the flood waters. Only one fire appliance was required to keep the flood water level at a minimum, although it took additional personnel on the ground to win the day. The Fire Service prevented £500,000 of flood damage with the related loss of four social housing units and eight private homes for six months whilst recovery and restoration work took place.

Fife Council must also be thanked for dispatching sandbags out to us. The personnel manning the operation were working under enormous pressure and unbelievable demands.

The small flood protection measures already taken substantially improved our chances of surviving extreme weather. There are other small measures that can now be taken to make further improvements without substantial capital spend. We will be working to implement these as quickly as possible.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Climatologists and other weather professionals are predicting extreme weather events will be more frequent and intense over the coming years. Every near miss allows us to better understand the flood sequence and the flood protection improvements required to prevent future property damage and threat to life.

Please let us know if you have any photographs of flooding in Freuchie. Likewise get in touch if you know of any area of Freuchie under risk during this event that we aren’t yet aware about. The information we glean from every report and photograph improves our knowledge immensely.

Photos are courtesy of Ross Robertson, Ian Porter and John Thomson.

Technorati Tags: Albany Crescent, climatologists, East of Scotland, Fife, Fife Council, Fife Fire & Rescue Service, flood, flooding, Freuchie, Freuchie Community Council, Freuchie Den, Freuchie Mill, Green Tree Brae, Scotland

Our "Person of the Week" award (a hypothetical award with no cash rewards or other grandiose prizes) is rightly destined for one man this week: Paul Hendy of the Scottish Flood Forum.

He receives our gratitude for inviting Freuchie Flood Action Group along to the launch event for the Scottish Flood Forum on Monday. He has opened many doors for us thereby allowing another front to the campaign.

Photo: Paul Hendy, our "Person of the Week", at the Scottish Flood Forum Launch

Paul will be visiting Freuchie soon to deliver his nationally famous talk on "Flood Trauma". More of that in a post to come very soon, but let’s say the evening of Thursday 4th of December should be penciled into the diary. Certainly one not to be missed.

Technorati Tags: flood, Freuchie, Freuchie Flood Action Group, Paul Hendy, Scottish Flood Forum, trauma

Check out page four of The Courier today as our own Willy Harrison of Freuchie Mill is pictured in his wheelchair while telling us about his car insurance woes. We’re hoping to get a video interview with Wullie in the next day or two where all will become clear!

The nice folk over at the Fife Herald have also been on the telephone so expect to see something in Friday’s newspaper from Liz Rougvie.

Technorati Tags: Fife Herald, flood, Freuchie, Freuchie Mill, insurance, The Courier

It was one of the happiest days of Kay and Jim’s life when they tied the knot and flew off on honeymoon.  They were truly oblivious to the cruel hand of fate smiting down on Freuchie Mill whilst they were blissfully enjoying the first throngs of married life.

This is Kay’s story in her own words.

My husband and I returned from our honeymoon on 14^th August 2008. When we landed at Heathrow we had no idea of the devastation that awaited us back home. Having taken the decision not to worry us as we were travelling back from Canada, my mother and children had kept the conversations lighthearted and upbeat. I was however starting to worry as I had tried all day to phone home and the line was unavailable. My mother’s line was constantly engaged. I had sent my daughter an email but of course, unknown to me, she couldn’t get it as the pc was under the floodwater! I was relieved when we landed at Heathrow and I was able to speak with my mother who reported that everything was fine!

Anyway, faced with a 2.5 hr turnaround at Heathrow I passed the time by buying a Daily Record. That’s when reality hit us as we turned the pages. I cannot begin to describe the shock and fear we felt at seeing our house and our neighbour’s garden. First reaction, on reading the article was major relief that everyone was ok and safe. We then telephoned my mum again and she was devastated that we had found out this way.

The thing is, no matter how good the holiday, there is always the longing to get back home, catch up with family, have a cup of tea and a sleep in your own bed, all of which we were very much looking forward to.

Somehow we managed to board our flight, looking like walking zombies. My parents were waiting to collect us from Edinburgh airport and take us home. In spite of what we saw in the paper, nothing prepares you for the reality. Faced with no home and no cars and my 18yr old and 16yr old rushing to tell us what happened, we were utterly numb. My son had just bought himself his first car 2 weeks previous, a classic mini – his pride and joy – totally engulfed by floodwater. Devastated.

We were informed Kingdom Housing had arranged for us to stay at The Greenside Hotel in Leslie so we had to spend the night there. Sleep evaded us even though we were jet-lagged. In the morning we went to the offices of Kingdom Housing and asked for alternative accommodation. We were placed in a 2 bedroom caravan at Pettycur Bay. I work in Glenrothes, my husband works in Perth, my son is an apprentice joiner and my daughter is in 5^th year at Bell Baxter HS in Cupar, so this situation was not ideal, but we had no alternative. Thankfully, my husband managed to get a courtesy car for a few weeks to enable us to commute. However my son had to stay with friends closer to his work as the caravan was too small to accommodate him.

The weekend following the flood was spent with friends clearing our things out of the house, wading through the mud and finding storage in various places. Unfortunately, we were not covered by contents insurance as I hadn’t got around to renewing it. Lesson learned.

After 3 weeks at Pettycur we found the situation too stressful to bear (too small/cramped, noisy and uncomfortable) and asked Kingdom if they would accommodate the four of us in a private lett. We were told they wouldn’t do that. They offered us a move to Leven Beach caravan Park on 13^th September with the possibility of a house becoming available to decant into on the 4^th October at The Henge, Glenrothes.

Being faced with living in the caravan for another 6 weeks and my son not being able to live with us during that time, my husband and I took the decision to organise a private lett, funded by ourselves, so at least we could minimise the disruption to us all and be together again as a family.

Like everyone in Freuchie affected by the flooding, our lives have been turned totally upside down and then some. Having had such a wonderful, magical wedding and honeymoon we never dreamed we would come back down to earth with such a devastating bump.

The utter dismay, helplessness, major inconvenience, expense and stress caused by this cannot be put into words. We are trying to stay positive and focus on what’s important (family) but are truly and utterly devastated and very homesick! We’ve lost the home we had put our souls into, (yes property can be rebuilt but it will never be the same), our cars and our day-to-day lives as we knew it.

Putting it all into perspective, we have our family and we are all ok and that’s the main thing. We will overcome!

Kay Henderson, 3 Freuchie Mill

Technorati Tags: Cupar, flooding, Freuchie, Freuchie Mill, Glenrothes, Kingdom Housing Association, Perth