The community became aware that a flood was imminent and reached out to vulnerable households informing them of the flood risk and arranging measures to alleviate stress such as leaving homes and moving furniture.

Due to a fine-tuned flood plan Muchelney had ensured there was organisation: everyone knew what was happening and when it would happen, many people’s furniture was saved, people had their cars moved so they were not cut off and could access roads, services were aware of the vulnerable and the village was effectively evacuated before “official” help had arrived.

Through organising a flood plan the community had arranged access to: defibrillator trained villagers, first aid trained villagers, useful phone numbers which were easily accessible, sandbags and fuel stored and ready for emergency use.

“The communication network [we established] was invaluable for villagers and services alike”

For more information on establishing a scheme such as that seen in Muchelney and the support available to help, see the related links or get in touch.