Freuchie Flood Action Group

Scottish Water came out this evening to repair the water mains damaged by Fife Council earlier today. The repair crew were courteous, professional and dealt with the repair in an efficient and timely manner. When it was pointed out that the chicken farm had no water, which was a threat to the survival of the 22,500 birds, the crew escalated the repair and had the water main turned off within minutes. They proceeded quickly to expose and repair the damaged section of pipe, flush the line and resume normal service for the affected consumers. 

Let’s look over the damage and repair by way of photos…

   
Photos: Scottish Water expose the damaged section of water main

 
Photos: Damaged water main

 
Photos: New section being fitted and water main being flushed out

On behalf of Freuchie Flood Action Group and the businesses and residents of Freuchie affected by this water main damage we would like to thank the Scottish Water team for their excellent service. 

John A Thomson, Chairman of FFAG, has put the team forward for a Scottish Water GEM Award for their service this evening. Hopefully their excellence will be acknowledged as they are a credit to Scottish Water.

Technorati Tags: FFAG, Fife, Fife Council, Freuchie, Freuchie Flood Action Group, GEM Award, John A Thomson, Scottish Water, water main

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

Interesting news article from the BBC, which has some alarming facts on climate change and how it is impacting on natural disasters, including our area of interest: flooding.

Technorati Tags: BBC, climate change, flooding, natural disasters

I thought I’d share a little story with everyone so you know to shop around for your insurance this year.

The car taken from me in the August flood event was a boy racer class Subaru Impreza (otherwise known as a Scooby). I’ve got nothing but praise for my insurers at the time, who handled the claim swiftly and efficiently, even if I did have to push them to up their write-off offer. They did eventually, after a short delay, come up with market value for the car.

Aware of the high cost of insurance and running costs for the Scooby I opted for a boring, economical, safe and planet saving Citroen C5 Diesel as a replacement. It is at least a couple of insurance groups less than the Scooby and I have protected no claims, so I was actually looking forward to paying less for the car insurance this coming year.

However, the renewal came through the door and to say I was shocked is a complete understatement! The current insurer has come back with a quote of £472 on a policy that should have been much lower than last years. Various expletives filled the air when that letter was opened last week! I even contacted them for an explanation and after a few minutes they came back with a statement along the lines of, "the price is the price".

Not content with just renewing the policy and giving away good money for this inflated premium I shopped around on one of the price comparison websites, MoneySuperMarket to be exact. The difference in quotes was startling, with some as low as £250 for the same level of cover.

To all you car flood victims, do remember to shop around for your car insurance if it seems to have gone up substantially following your flood claim.

Regards

John A Thomson
Chairman of Freuchie Flood Action Group
& Freuchie Mill Flood Survivor

Technorati Tags: car insurance, Fife, flood, flooding, Freuchie, insurance

Today saw the official launch of the Scottish Flood Forum by Mr Mike Russell MSP, the Scottish Government Minister for the Environment. Also in attendance  at the launch event held in Broxburn were representatives from the National Flood Forum, Scottish Government, West Lothian Council, SEPA and our very own Neil Duff and John Thomson from Freuchie Flood Action Group.

Before the official launch announcement, Freuchie Flood Action Group Chairman John Thomson persuaded Mr Mike Russell MSP to spend a few moments discussing flooding, the launch of the Scottish Flood Forum and the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Bill that is currently going through the Scottish Parliament. We’ve managed to splice together a little video of this impromptu interview and hope our amateur videographer standards meet the expectation of the Minister, who is a professional film maker. A big thank you to the Minister for being so accommodating and for being such a star in front of the camera.

High quality BLIP TV version…

The formal part of the day began with Mr Mike Russell MSP announcing funding over the next three years from the Scottish Government for the Scottish Flood Forum. He went on to state that Mr Paul Hendy will work with Local Authorities, SEPA and communities at risk from flooding with a view to flood prevention, flood risk assessment and assisting communities in the aftermath of flooding. Further, Mr Russell stated that flooding issues were the responsibility of SEPA for Flood Warning and Flood Risk Awareness notification and the Local Authority for Flood Defence.

Following on from the Minister’s opening speech, Mr Phil Awford, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the National Flood Forum, and Mr Paul Hendy, newly appointed Director of the Scottish Flood Forum, both made short speeches where they welcomed the Scottish Government funding that has made the Scottish Flood Forum a reality. They went on to provide some background to the scope of the project and how they hoped to improve flood support in Scotland.

Photo (Left to right): Paul Hendy, Phil Awford and Mike Russell MSP

It was heartening to listen to all of the speakers making reference to the effect flooding has on those affected, a point that clearly demonstrates a depth of understanding about flooding being much more than the material damage to property.

The official press release for the launch event:

News Release

November 10, 2008

NEW FORUM TO HELP TACKLE THE THREAT OF FLOODING

A new forum to support individuals to protect themselves against flooding was launched today by the Environment Minister.

The Scottish Flood Forum – funded by the Government, set up by the National Flood Forum and supported by SEPA – will raise awareness of flood warnings and self-help measures, while providing an independent voice for flood victims.

Launching the forum in Broxburn, West Lothian which was hit by flash flooding due to heavy rain this summer, Michael Russell said:"The new Scottish Flood Forum aims to give people practical advice which we can all heed to help protect ourselves against flooding, by raising awareness of flood warnings and self-help measures. "It is increasingly important to raise awareness of flooding in this way, following one of the wettest summers on record, and the risk is only likely to increase with climate change in years to come. "Flooding is highly distressing for its victims and the forum will also play an important role in providing an independent voice for those affected by flooding or at high risk from its devastating impact.

"By investing £180,000 in this forum, we aim to provide the means to help people identify and reduce flood risk wherever possible to protect our environment, our people and our economy."Chief Executive of the National Flood Forum Mary Dhonau, who has also been a victim of flooding, said: "It has always been our ambition to open a branch in Scotland and to give the much needed and necessary support to people at risk of flooding in Scotland. We are delighted that Scottish Government has recognised the valuable work we do and is supporting us financially to enable us to work with and support both the victims and those at risk of flooding in Scotland." SEPA Flood Unit Manager, David Faichney added:"SEPA welcomes the introduction of the National Flood Forum to Scotland and we look forward to working with them to help support Scotland’s flood risk communities."NOTES FOR NEWS EDITORS

PHOTO OPPORTUNITY – Monday November 10

13.30 – Minister for Environment, Mr Russell will meet local residents of Burnside Action Group affected by flooding at 14 Newhouses Road, Burnside, Broxburn, West Lothian followed by visit to Burnvale to see flood damage.

1.The National Flood Forum was set up in England and Wales in 2002, following the floods of 2000. The forum provides support and advice to communities and individuals who have been flooded or are at risk of being flooded. It is run by people who have had first hand experience of the trauma, loss and frustration of being flooded or have first hand experience of supporting the victims of flooding, both during and after the event.

2. The establishment of the National Flood Forum in Scotland follows a recommendation from the Flooding Issues Advisory Committee in 2007. Supported by SEPA, the Scottish Flood Forum will help establish a network of community-based groups in areas at high risk of flooding.

3. Scottish Government has agreed funding over the next three years;2008/09 – £23,500 (six months) plus £7,000 start up costs for SEPA 2009/10 – £50,0002010/11 – £70,0002011/12 – £36,000 (six months)

4. The forum will also promote a more sustainable approach to flood risk management through awareness, avoidance, alleviation and assistance. A commitment to sustainable flood risk management is a key element of the new Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Bill currently going through the Scottish Parliament. The Bill was introduced in September.

For more information go to:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/bills/15-FloodRisk/index.htm

Freuchie Flood Action Group welcomes the launch of the Scottish Flood Forum and more especially the interest and support shown by the Scottish Government, SEPA, some local authorities, local and national politicians and other groups involved in flooding. We hope to see Fife Council becoming an active participant in the Scottish Flood Forum project as it expands its scope over the coming months.

Photo: Neil Duff (left) and John Thomson (right) of Freuchie Flood Action Group meet Mike Russell MSP, Minister for the Environment  

Thanks go out to Mr Paul Hendy for the invitation along to today’s launch and to everyone involved in the logistics and organisation of this successful event.

We must also give special mention to the Minister and other officials from the Scottish Government, all of whom spent time listening to the flooding plight of Freuchie and then went on to offer advice and guidance.

The residents of Freuchie look forward to welcoming the Minister and government officials to Freuchie in the new year.

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We’ve eventually managed to source some very good photos that speak volumes on how bad the August 13th flood event was at Freuchie Mill in Freuchie, Fife.

Of course the iconic shed had to feature in there. Alas it is no longer with us materially, but it will be with all the flood survivors spiritually for a long time to come.

If you look closely, you may just be able to see the very top of the roof of the only car to have been drowned, but that has been subsequently resurrected: the old style Mini Cooper.

Thanks go to George and Margaret Brown and Angela from the Freuchie Mill flats for the photos.

Technorati Tags: cars, Fife, Freuchie, flood, flooding, shed

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