Word of the week - Floods

I should take up gaming. I think I'd be good at it.

Every day when I drive to work I feel like I'm in a live video game and each day is a new level with remembering where the pot holes are, looking out for new ones, learning the difference between surface water and flooding on a hill. Remembering where the road edge has collapsed but is now under water and mostly guessing how deep the floods are and trying to make sure I'm not the lead car (I prefer to take the van) and trying not to get annoyed with drivers behind me who have the easy drive as they can just follow my lead but tend to drive too close. 

Over the previous few weeks I've got to know the roads really well as we've had a lot of closures due to localised flooding which has been mainly small streams and brooks and water drainage off fields and road works.

This week we're on flood watch. Major river flooding which is going to cause big problems. I'm updating my Facebook groups and keeping an eye on the local council and agencies.

We don't have any rivers in the town where we live, but we have major rivers near by. The Avon in Tewkesbury, The Severn in Worcester, Upton and Gloucester and The Wye in Hereford and Monmouth.

Places you'll see on the news regularly, towns hit severely by flooding.

The Severn in Worcester this week. From the train.

The racecourse.

In 2007 Stephanie was living in Tewkesbury only 20 mins away. I did the route plan today, our normal route closed due to the Severn flooding at Upton, the alternative route is through country lanes.

The flooding was that severe, it took us over 2 and a half hours to reach her to bring her home for 2 weeks

We've not had flooding like that since, but we regularly get cut off from accessing Worcester, Gloucester and routes in the Forest of Dean where our family live. It was touch and go getting down for our grandsons first birthday this weekend just gone.

Two local lanes were closed over the weekend due to flash flooding, thankfully they had reopened by the time I needed to go to work on Monday, but it means now that if it happens again my options of getting to work are greatly reduced as my route via Worcester takes me on two roads with smaller rivers that have already flooded severely and involves detours on lanes only wide enough for one vehicle and if the Severn floods in Worcester it will be mayhem with all the traffic trying to reach the M5 and me travelling inn the opposite direction.  My route to Hereford is almost blocked off completely with The Frome and The Wye already in flood and road closures on the Malvern Hills, blocking my access to Ledbury and with Upton being flooded all that traffic is being diverted that way also.

The amount of water flowing down the hills made it tricky to walk down.

It also caused this road to collapse.

We had a break in the rain today and some sunshine today for a couple of hours, but more rain and flooding is due.