Orkney flood victims share their story and urge others to “flood proof” their homes

Local Heroes Neil and Sarah Taylor support OIC planned event on flood resilience

Orkney’s Local Heroes Neil and Sarah Taylor have first-hand experience of flooding and are urging others to do all they can to make their homes flood resilient.

Sarah, who is a lifeguard and swimming instructor at Stromness Swimming Pool, said they will be attending at one of the Scottish Flood Forum’s (SFF) planned engagement events in Orkney next week to hear how they can further protect their home from future flooding.

Orkney Islands Council is hosting the flood resilience community engagement visit with the SFF – Scotland’s only dedicated charity that supports flood risk communities.

Sarah explained that they suffered a severe flood in their Stromness home early in 2005 – and this led them to take action to try and flood-proof their property.

The couple, who were recently named Orkney’s Local Heroes for the contribution they made to the community by operating a soup kitchen for those in need during the pandemic, are keen to hear from the SFF expert Paul Laidlaw as to whether there is anything further they can do.

Sarah said the gable end of their Dundas Street home sits right on the Stromness sea front and flooding is an inevitable issue.

“We have suffered flooding on several occasions, but the worst was early in 2005. There has to be a specific set of circumstances – low pressure, wind direction, severity of wind that type thing. On this occasion it had been a wild in the harbour the night before. The next day it was flat calm, but the sea water just kept rising and rising over a few hours and eventually it was several feet at the front door. It was said it was a tail back, a tidal surge from the Boxing Day tsunami.

“We watched it coming over the pier and it just kept on coming. There was very little we could do; there’s not a big plug you can pull. At least we were able to put sandbags out and move all the items we could upstairs, especially the electrical equipment, but the downstairs where our kitchen and living/dining room is, was trashed. The water hit the plasterboard and it just soaked it all in.”

Thankfully, the couple had a clause within their insurance which meant they were insured for flooding in extreme circumstances and the company paid out.

“There was no point in putting it back to the way it was; we had to think about how to minimise the damage if it happened again. So, we put tiles up the walls so now the plasterboard only starts much higher up, the sockets are raised and most of the electrical items sit a few feet up as well.

“We do pay an increased premium, but we feel it is worth it.”

The couple are signed up to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency Floodline alerts.

“We get alerts regularly letting us know there is a chance of flooding and we find it very reassuring so we can, at least, be better prepared. It’s vital that people do take action themselves and do all that they can to protect their own properties. We will be going to one of the Scottish Flood Forum events to see if there are any other measures we can take and we would encourage others to do the same.”

The Forum’s Community Resilience Manager, Paul Laidlaw, will visit several flood affected communities and hold drop-in sessions on Orkney Mainland from 20-23 September using the SFF resilience vehicle “Flo” as a mobile base, complete with displays and sample home flood protection equipment.