Paul Butterworth, maintenance manager at Northern Counties Housing Association, gives his account of the Carlisle flood: “I received a phone call from the police on Sunday morning telling me that 40 of our sheltered housing properties in Willow Park had been seriously affected by the floods.

“I arrived on site by noon and was shocked. I was expecting the water to be ankle high but in some cases the water was loft high. It was pretty chaotic – no electricity, no phone lines and no mobile signal. I had to drive down the road in order to call joiners to come to secure the homes. The last one left at 11.30pm after working using car headlights.

“On Monday I called electricians to come to dismantle all the broken circuits. But we still have no power on site. All the homes will need complete refits. We are looking at well over £1m in damages.

“The worst thing is that a handful of the residents don’t have contents insurance and have lost everything.

“All the residents are now either in temporary accommodation provided by the council or staying with family. It could be as long as May before they can move back into their homes.”

Source

Housing Today