LATEST INFORMATION - 9 January 2014 - 4pm:
- Botley, North Hinksey, South Hinksey, Kennington and Radley - we have been informed by the Environment Agency that the River Thames will continue to rise over the next 24 hours. Those in at risk areas should take immediate precautions
- Abingdon - although the River Thames is now rising more slowly please continue to monitor the situation and take precautions as necessary.
Advice:
- homes and businesses in at-risk areas should take immediate precautions – for advice on the measures you can take please click on the relevant menu tabs on the left hand side. To see if you are in an area liable to flood please see the Environment Agency website http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/ and via the Environment Agency Flood Map.
- please make sure your neighbours are aware of the situation
- please assist vulnerable residents
- listen to BBC Oxford, keep an eye on Oxfordshire County Council and Environment Agency websites and on their respective Twitter feeds
- please be aware of road closures and public transport disruption
- please do not drive through flooded water – you could put your own life at risk, or damage other peoples’ properties
- please do not walk through flooded water next to water courses.
Important overnight telephone numbers:
- if you're in a life threatening situation then please dial the emergency services on 999
- if it is a none urgent call then please call the emergency service on 101
- if you are concerned about a vulnerable person with a social care need with an issue that cannot wait until normal office hours please call the county council's emergency duty team on 0800 833 408.
Sand bags are available from:
- Abingdon – Cattle Market car park, next to the council offices at Abbey House
- Abingdon – B&Q, Fairacres retail park
- so far more than 2,700 sand bags have been distributed across the Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire
- for a helpful guide on how to build an effective sand bag wall please see this YouTube video.
Who is responsible for what:
- the property owner – ensuring that their own property is protected, being prepared to vacate your house if necessary
- Environment Agency – determines the level of flood warning and works to alleviate potential flooding issues
- Oxfordshire County Council – road closures and sand bag distribution (working with other agencies)
- Vale of White Horse District Council – sand bag dumps and direct sand bag distribution to those at greatest need (working with county council).
Important: the council can not guarantee the supply of sandbags to any premises, so residents and property owners are strongly advised to make their own arrangements to protect their property, particularly if they live in within a flood plain or if they know their property is susceptible to flooding. Bin collections - road closures due to flooding across the district are causing delays to our waste collection crews. If your bins aren't emptied on your scheduled collection day*, please leave them on the roadside and crews will attempt to pick them up the following day. *Please note, our adjusted Christmas calendar is in effect at the moment, so your collection day will be different. See our Christmas calendar for details of your scheduled collection day. The Biffa street cleaning crews are currently working into the evening to assist with the filling and distribution of sandbags. These crews would normally be deployed to help the waste collection crews catch up after delays, but we are sure you'll understand that protecting people's homes from flooding has to be our first priority at the moment.