Here Come The Floods [Pictures]

[staticon]

The floods have arrived in Reading and surrounding areas. We are quite lucky here as no homes are flooded yet, but this is the worst I have ever seen the Thames in Reading. It is said to be the worst since 1947 but has not yet reached those levels. It is still rising though. :mad:

1 - This is the lock and weir about a mile downstream from my house.
http://www.staticon.net/Net_pix/Flood1.jpg

2 - This is the Reading Rowing Clubs boathouse. No need to go out to row now. :D
http://www.staticon.net/Net_pix/Flood2.jpg

3 - Someone should have slackened the ropes on this moored boat. There is also a car parked beneath the building.
http://www.staticon.net/Net_pix/Flood3.jpg

4 - This is me standing in my sisters garden. I can assure you that the water is COLD (But I am mad)
http://www.staticon.net/Net_pix/Flood4.jpg

[LARAMANIAC]

WOW - staticon - hope it doesn't get much worse for you and your family. We have been watching on the news about the floods down south! We have just come back from Whitby on the N.Yorkshire moors, our holiday cottage was set by a small ford - that thing rose 3ft in the week we were there - scarey!!! Hope you manage to keep dry!

[KoolKat]

Wow! Amazing!

Although I do sympathize with you and your town. I hope you find a way to manage with it.

[tombraider123123]

ouch, flooding is terrible! A lot of people don't even hav insurrance on it, did you know that many companys don't insure it?:eek:

[Dad]

Hope things get better for ya'll.
It's a shame that many can not get flood insurance. Now you can buy terrorism insurance. What are the chances, huh?

[tombraider123123]

actually most of time there not included, like for example you can buy them when you go on vacation but its extra. This guy went to a club in INDIA and got bombed by terrorist, the travel insurrance didn't cover it claiming it was extra. He had to be hospitalized..

[MountainDewNut]

We had a flood here once, but I can safely say it wasn't nearly as bad as that.
It's good that no homes have been flooded yet.

[Deekman]

Originally posted by staticon
This is me standing in my sisters garden.
I can assure you that the water is COLD

Yes, but can you assure me that there is a garden?

All kidding aside, nasty business, floods.
I went through the ordeal of major flooding in 1972
in upstate New York. We lost one house on our street.
We had water seven inches from the ceiling in our basement.
We lost everything down there - HO railroad, pool table, washer, dryer,
the furnace. Our house was located at about the middle of a dead end street
which was also slightly inclined. All the houses "down" the street from us had
water on their first floors. A few near the end of the street had water reach onto their
second floors. About four or five houses "up" the street from us had water in
their basements, and only "surface" water at that. Surface water is the flood
water that contains little or no silt or mud. When the waters receeded, and we all had
our basements pumped out, The surface water flooded houses ended up with about a
half an inch to two inches of mud. We had around eight or nine inches of mud
after the pumping. I helped patrol the neighborhood against looters at night,
and was allowed to carry a loaded shotgun. I was around 15 at the time.

[Aquarius]

I hope things have improved since.

BTW, I just want to ask, who is that in the shed in the 4th picture....they look like they're about ready to do some scuba diving in the garden. :p

[staticon]

I am about to go out and check if the water is still rising or not but it still has not yet become a major flood.

Aquarius - That is my sisters neighbour in the shed. I am intensely jealous that he had his swimming trunks on and could go out into the park (or lake) and run around in the freezing water. I could only paddle as my trunks were at my house. :mad: This makes him, officially, madder than me at the moment. (Unless I pay my sister another visit and take the trunks this time . . . . . hmmmmmmm)

[edit]Just got back from chjecking the flood - it looks like it has gone down by 1.5 to 3 inches. That's a relief. :)

[TombRaiderChik]

wow! :eek: i cannot believe those pictures! im glad the water is getting lower. good luck w/ everything staticon:)

[croftmania]

Aww. I've never experienced a flood. I hope things get better(drier) for you!

[AmO]

my brother and sister-in-law live next to the Sacramento river near tehama, [northern california] the river rises 40 plus feet there, and sometimes floods thier yard and garage, the house was built pretty high to allow for this, but it sure makes a mess, Earl has to sandbag around the garage. its a good thing the river is in a deep gorge there, but when the flood gates are opened....look out!!!

[Solange]

Originally posted by staticon
Just got back from chjecking the flood - it looks like it has gone down by 1.5 to 3 inches. That's a relief. :)

I'm glad it's going down! The pictures look horrible!

If it's any help I'd gladly share some of Sweden's cold to freeze everything solid! Its below -20 here right now, its gone up from -27...

What is going on? Weather is weird right now! :confused:

[THE True Lara]

I know what you mean staticon, across here in the south-west we're prone to flooding in this local too. The trickle of a river down by the castle has burst it's banks and flooded into the fields. -Mild, in comparison at the moment.
Though a friend of mine lives out in the sticks and her village is regualrly cut of by flood water -the village has a permenant marker stick in situ, -the tide line on it goes up to 6 ft! When it's bad they paddle out of the village in dingys! ;)
Unforunately we've had a sharp nip recently and now alot of the flooding is freezing over! :eek: Should prove interesting, though I suppose it would save on petrol if everyone could skate to work...?

[Jeffers]

I live up here in Cumbria and we have a light sprinkling of snow at the moment.

I also live at the top of a hill and I don't know that where I live has ever been flooded, other then once in the summer when I was on holiday and it only lasted about a day.

Still, things could be worse.....somehow

Jeffers

[Solange]

Your flooded lock reminded me of this (http://koti.mbnet.fi/~soldier/towboat.htm) poor tug boat!

Isn't it amazing?! Thank God someone had a camera! :)

[staticon]

Solange : That is amazing.
There are no boats sailing the Thames near me at present but the water is well down now. Most of the path I walk to work along is now above water again.
I really must invest in some waders if it is going to do this often. :)
When the flood was at its peak, the water was moving at 277m3/h. That's about 257m3/h faster than normal.