Calderdale Council is encouraging people to come to a public drop-in session at Hebden Bridge Town Hall on Monday (October 29) to talk to key organisations about how to prepare for flooding - and there will be a further one at Mytholmroyd next weekend.
People can call in at any time between 3pm and 8pm to talk to representatives from Calderdale Council, the Environment Agency, Yorkshire Water, the Community Foundation for Calderdale, Voluntary Action Calderdale and other organisations. There will be information and advice on what to do to prepare for flooding, and opportunities to talk about how floods have affected people.
The National Flood Forum charity will also be there to showcase some simple devices which can be installed in homes and businesses to reduce the risk of flooding.
In addition the Environment Agency is appealing for local people to volunteer to be on stand-by as flood wardens, to be the “eyes and ears” on the ground during a flood incident, ensuring that flood warning messages reach local communities and are acted upon. Flood wardens also help local communities in the aftermath of flooding.
The Environment Agency and people who already volunteer as flood wardens will be at the event to give information about the role and to encourage people to sign up.
The Hebden Bridge public drop-in session is the second of three sessions organised by the Council. Around 100 people attended the first session at Todmorden Town Hall on October 13.
The final session will be held in St Michael’s Church Hall, Mytholmroyd, on Saturday, November 3, from 11am to 3pm.
Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Economy and Environment, Coun Barry Collins, said: “The Council is keen to hear from local people who have been affected by the recent floods, to help us understand the scale and nature of the flooding and to plan our responses. I encourage people to come along to the public drop-in sessions to share their views and to get information and advice.”
Flood manager for the Environment Agency, Sue O’Neill, said: “It is essential that local people understand the risks that flooding poses to their property and personal safety, that they find out what they can do to keep themselves warned and informed against any future flood risk, and any actions they can take to reduce their risk.”
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