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CHAPTER FIVE FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS
5.1 This chapter summarises the main findings from the five focus groups. The chapter is structured to parallel that of Chapter Four. The impacts of flooding (objective 1) are summarised under the headings 'tangible impacts', 'intangible immediate impacts' and 'intangible lasting impacts'. The findings in terms of living with floods (objective 2) are reported in terms of 'risk perception' and 'managing flood risk'. This chapter puts the human face on being flooded and living with the risk of being flooded. The quotations from focus group respondents amplify and deepen the findings in Chapter Four.
Impacts of flooding
Tangible impacts
5.2 Changes in property values Most focus group participants reported a downturn in the volume and value of house sales immediately after the flood. This contrasted with more recent sales being close to the market values for non-flooded properties. Nevertheless, anxieties remain on whether a particular property will sell, for example due to a history of repeat flooding and that visible flood measures serve to devalue property:
"If I get flooded again, I won't claim on the insurance because I've then got a house that's been flooded twice and I'll never sell it. You asked why not use flood defences like your neighbour. The fact when I sell my house the first thing you see is boards fitted, special blinds, there's obviously a problem". [Forres]
By contrast, one focus group participant in Glasgow reported a house in their street with flood guards fitted being sold to someone who did not even ask what they were, or enquire about flooding in the area.
5.3 Lost earnings Focus group discussions rarely included lost earnings, implying that not many people are affected by this. However, one Glasgow participant who was a taxi driver reported not being able to work for six weeks because his car was written off by the flood.
5.4 Other financial losses General out of pocket expenses incurred as a direct result of a flood was the most often reported other financial loss:
"I don't think there's anybody here could say that they didn't end up out of pocket because of the flood. Just the mere fact you go into a hotel. Yes, you go into a hotel but the insurance company don't pay for your food, so you have to go out and buy your food either in the hotel or a restaurant". [Forres]
5.5 Role of insurance in mitigating tangible losses As noted below, a major immediate impact reported by participants was the disruption associated with having to leave one's home and the resulting discomfort and inconvenience. However, these impacts were mitigated by the relatively good experiences most focus group participants had with their insurance companies in the aftermath of the floods:
"I couldn't believe how much it cost. And the second time, like we just had got a brand new heating system in. 'No' [don't keep it]. Replace it again. In fact, my kitchen [about] which I actually said to them, 'I don't even really know [how much it cost]. We'll maybe just keep the kitchen. It's just brand new.' 'No'. All it went out and all back in again. I have to admit, the insurance companies were good - there was no quibble". [Glasgow]
"He was like that, 'No, everything out'. And I said to him, 'There's no any [checks to be done]? You know, you hear people, you know, insurance companies' … and he said, 'No. You're talking about a whole house. You don't start nitpicking with people.' He said, 'They've lost everything. They're upset'." [Glasgow]
5.6 Although insurance companies' response in the aftermath of a flood was generally viewed favourably, some participants reported negative experiences:
"I know a chap and his wife went to stay with his mother and because they were staying with a relative, the insurance company halved the fee they were paying. So that old lady was subsidising the insurance company. And where I was staying, I put in bed and breakfast, they wrote back and said, 'We see you are getting breakfast, so we deduct £2 something.' [Perth]
"I thought they were a bit penny pinching because in correspondence to them when I was complaining about the builder, I explained the trouble we'd went to lift the carpet, to get the furniture up the stair. I would never do it again. No way. I mean, they tell you to do it. The flood comes, then if it comes, it can come and it can destroy the lot because I'm trying to save them money and they're giving me a hard time, you know". [Edinburgh]
5.7 An important difference between the experience of those repairing their home through their own private buildings insurance and council tenants relying on the local authority housing department may explain some of the greater impact of flooding reported by council tenants in the household survey:
"I found that my insurance was quick and everything. I mean, I know ones in my street that are council houses. They were waiting for months and months and months. Our insurance company got them in right away and started on the job". [Glasgow]
Intangible impacts - immediate
5.8 Trauma Many participants appeared to experience the flood itself and its immediate aftermath as quite traumatic. Words frequently used to describe the time of the flood include 'shock', 'horrendous', 'fear' and 'panic':
"My son came running in and he said, 'There's nothing can be saved here'. I was actually … took out in a rowing boat wearing a pair of pyjamas, a pair of slippers and my wee bag I lifted every day. I was just in shock because it was just after my boy died. I just stood and I tried to save this and that… hopeless". [Glasgow]
"It was really stressful. I mean, I seen people maybe … the first day or so, they were alright and then all of a sudden you see them sitting there crying. They just crack up". [Glasgow]
"Panic. It's all panic… you think, 'I'm going out the house, what do I need if I'm going out? I need medicines, so I get my medicines' - my wife's diabetic - 'I need toiletries, I need towel, I need a change of underwear, I need clothing'. So you've got to pack a bag and packing a bag in 10 minutes to go out, you don't know how long you're gonna be out for, is impossible. You don't think, 'Oh my photos' because you're just full of… fear. Fear sets in. Medication - that's the kind of things you think of." [Elgin]
"I had hens. I also had bees. The flood wiped out the bees. I had to swim in four and a half feet of water to get out the hens, which was sewerage and, you know, the whole thing was just absolutely horrendous". [Forres]
5.9 Anxiety and stress After the trauma of the flood itself, many participants reported a period of ongoing anxiety and stress associated with being out of their home and making the necessary arrangements for repairs:
"I think you've a fear factor initially of adrenaline that helps to carry you through it … I think in a lot of cases, panic sets in and actually gets you through whatever it may be and then after that's finished, then it sets in. Then it's the desperation to get alternative accommodation or whatever and then after that it's getting the loss adjuster to come and look. You walk back through your house again and it's covered in sewage. That's a devastating moment". [Elgin]
Uncertainty appears to contribute to feelings of anxiety, particularly for council tenants who often do not have as much control over where they will be re-housed compared to someone with private insurance paying for alternative accommodation:
"It's the fact of … where are you going? You know, you're going out your house and there's nothing organised where you're gonna go, what's gonna happen to you or anything like that". [Elgin]
5.10 The anxiety and stress of having to organise many things simultaneously reportedly can have an impact on family relationships:
"It puts a strain on your relationship as well because of the stress and everything of trying to find somewhere else to stay and sort everything out … you're just … you're falling out with one another and everything". [Elgin ]
"My wife and I usually get on quite well but there was something about work needing done in the house and a couple of times she said, 'You'll need to go and see this, you'll need to go and see that' and she just said it once too often and I flipped, 'You go and see about it', and we had a massive row, you know. It's just… it was totally out of character, you know". [Edinburgh]
5.11 A commonly reported problem was security, which seemed particularly acute in Glasgow:
"We were broken into about 10, 12 times… oh, we gave up. And we had left not very much up the stairs but we'd left a few things that they just kept scattering everything and then breaking windows, breaking in down the stairs to get in and what the insurance company wouldn't do was class that as the same claim and they were saying that to get the window fixed down the stairs, they wouldn't incorporate it in with the claim just fixing all the rest of the house. And we were saying, 'That's just ridiculous. It's because we're out the house with the flood that we're getting broken into' and they were saying, 'No, you would need to do a separate claim then. It's £100 excess plus …' and we were like that … we got that sorted in the end but I mean…" [Glasgow]
5.12 Disruption and inconvenience in leaving one's home Simply being out of one's home reportedly takes its toll on people because of the frustration and uncertainty of not knowing how long it will be until it is possible to return, for example:
"It's the time that you're out [that impacts on you the most]. I mean, we were out for a year or almost a year, it was 11 months we were out and you just think, 'Am I never getting back to my own house?', you know. It seems to drag on and on and on". [Elgin]
5.13 Participants reported a greater impact on vulnerable individuals of being displaced from home, in particular the elderly and those without friends and family close by who could help out:
"That's where the problem arises. It's the aftermath. It's the elderly. It hits them the hardest. The lady stripped everything. She took all her bedding from the house, all her curtains, all her towels, all her clothes and they were all covered in muck with flooding and she brought them up to Bishopmill House in black carrier bags, black plastic bags, 29 of them and proceeded to wash them through the machines. None of the laundries and none of the drycleaners in the town would touch anything out of the flood area. Whenever you gave your address, no thanks, you're not coming through here with it. So you were stuck". [Elgin]
5.14 Many participants reported that living in hotel accommodation presented difficulties in maintaining normal family life, particularly for those with young children:
"Two kids traipsing around town, trying to find something that they want to eat and there is nothing … you know, you think it would be the best thing in this world to just have your tea made for you every night but it really becomes a bind". [Forres]
As well as discomfort and inconvenience resulting directly from displacement, participants reported a wider range of impacts resulting from disruption to families, for example impaired performance by children at school:
"We stayed with a chap that used to stay with us but my son couldn't. There wasn't enough room for him, so he stayed with his gran and that was one of the problems because we didn't have our eye on him. I just bounce back but my son's exams suffered that year." [Glasgow]
5.15 As well as displacement from home, putting a new home together brings a lot of disruption and stress. Some participants reported difficulties in finding what they needed, for example accessories to match existing décor, and having to return damaged, faulty or incorrect goods that had been delivered or installed.
5.16 Dealing with builders Many focus group members found dealing with builders stressful especially in terms of the quality of their workmanship.
"A lot of cowboys came out the woodwork when it's insurance jobs, you know". [Glasgow]
"The only people that were dealing with it were the people that were contracted to deal with the whole house and when we came in after it had been put in… there was like tears on the linoleum and a scratch on the wallpaper and we said, 'What about this?' 'Well, we didn't put it in' … 'Well, you're the only people that were in the house and we certainly didn't put it in'. But we couldn't prove it, we just had to leave it. There was nothing we could do". [Perth]
"We were out for a year and our insurance company employed these cowboys… we ended up trying to get them off the site and then we had to find our own contractor after that, which was a nightmare. We fought with the insurance company right up until April, the house was in such a mess. I mean, there wasn't an even wall or anything. That round your door there, you could put your hand in at the top and at the bottom it was tight. That was how far off our walls were. Now, I wanted it back the way [it was]… and he said, 'Oh, wait till it's finished, wait till it's finished'. There was no way [we were going to do that]. My husband and I were up 2, 3 in the morning having cups of coffee and cigarettes, we were so stressed out and I was saying to him, 'You should say this to them' and we were just falling out with one another because of it". [Elgin]
5.17 Participants reported anxiety resulting from lack of control over the work when contractors are being paid by insurance companies and are overwhelmed with work. For example, there was much frustration expressed at the length of time repairs took to properties. In some cases this was compounded by householders visiting their property to assess progress to find that often no-one was working on their property because contractors apparently found it more time-efficient to work on a whole street in one go:
"What some of them were doing… because they had so many properties … they would do a bit on yours, go round to another property and do a bit on that and then go round and do a bit on another one and then they'd come back to you the next day and do another wee bit". [Perth]
"I contacted the insurance company. It was two days before anybody appeared to see me. So they started to arrange work to be done and then on the Saturday night I think it was, I got this wee naffer fellow, 'I'm gonna be your builder, so I said, 'Aye, aye'. Turned out to be a complete cowboy". [Edinburgh]
Many focus group participants had difficulties finding trades people due to high demand after the flood. This seemed to be especially the case in Edinburgh, with particular shortages of plasterers and electricians.
Intangible impacts - lasting
5.18 Health impacts As well as the anxiety and stress of dealing with getting back into one's home, many focus group participants talked about longer-term ongoing mental health issues, with elderly people reportedly being affected the most:
"You need somebody … how do you explain it? You need a psychiatrist or a psychologist. The Council workers got that. They got counselling. That's what I'm saying. We need, not necessarily me or whatever, but the elderly, somebody who's 70, 80 year old and they are completely stressed out … they did become compulsive. They've got compulsive habits every day. They didn't have them before, they now have. They've now got this stress syndrome. You need somebody to come up and got to talk to them, to understand them… It's not the younger ones. The younger ones can hack that, no problem. We're still stressed but we'll get round it sooner or later". [Elgin]
"Well, I live alone, and I was eight months [staying] with my daughter and I'm still not right… well, I don't think any of us will ever be right because I mean, we're no just young teenagers". [Glasgow]
"I was in the house for about 3 weeks to a month after it before they moved [me] and I've got a lot of health problems. I was ill and it was all that sewage and they put a dehumidifier in but they had to take it out because I've got asthma and it was bringing on asthma attacks". [Glasgow]
5.19 As well as the widespread reporting of stress and anxiety, a number of focus group participants highlighted a range of impacts on physical health, from exhaustion due to not sleeping and physical exertion (usually sand-bagging) to a slipped-disk from moving furniture. Other narratives included:
"I had a daughter who was quite ill at the time with a virus and that [the flood] had a real impact on her recovery. In fact, I think it was really 6 months … 6 months without a voice. And how much of that was because of this … you know, she had the illness to start with but how much it was prolonged was because of the stress". [Forres]
"I wasn't aware of it, you know but I heard my son talking to somebody, 'God, my dad's aged 10 years'." [Edinburgh]
5.20 Several people reported elderly neighbours never really recovering from being flooded. A couple of focus group participants (plus several respondents on the doorstep during the household survey) attributed fatalities to the flood - albeit people who were frail prior to being flooded:
" My next door neighbour, she's elderly, she elected to stay overnight and I think … I don't know whether family were coming the next day to get her … but she had a subsequent fall. It was within weeks and she died. So whether it was all the stress plus the fall just, I don't know". [Perth]
"The first flood, we had my mother in law, elderly lady. Totally confused, in new accommodation. It threw her, never really recovered. She's passed away since between the floods. I'm no saying the flood was the cause of her passing away but she was totally confused in the new house. It affects folk… she was elderly, it affected her, so the elderly people really suffer a lot more than others" [Elgin]
5.21 Loss of irreplaceable items The loss of material possessions apparently can create a sense of emotional loss, particularly for retired people who often see their home and its contents as representing their lifetime's work. The loss of sentimental items, especially photographs, appears to be particularly upsetting:
"My mother died of cancer, I lost all her photos, all the photos of the kids, all the like baby stuff, you know, memories, you know when they're first born, the memory box". [Elgin]
"Weddings and photos, my husband and I through the years, my only son, he was there the year before [son deceased]. An awful lot of sentimental stuff. My father was a seaman. He brought me a lot of stuff I couldn't replace. In fact, my daughter … we were actually in tears because I had this ottoman and it was hand carved and actually I was offered a lot of money for this a few years before that. I said, 'I wouldn't part with this'. I said, 'Even if you gave me thousands', I said, 'because this belonged to my father'." [Glasgow]
"You can't renew them and there'd been like a lot of things like people had bought us like my 21 st birthday books, a lot of them went, that my granny had given me. My gran's not with me. Things like that are sad. You're looking at your stuff and you're thinking, 'That has to go' or 'That's gone'. As you say, you look for something but we lost that in the flood. Things like that. That's when it's quite hard". [Glasgow]
"My life was in two skips, things which you cannot replace, wedding photographs, birth certificates. I was in the RAF during the war and my flying log was all ruined. I had a couple of wings off my uniform, gone. These are things that you cannot replace … not by an insurance company or anybody else". [Perth ]
5.22 Community impacts and responses On the whole local communities seem to have responded quite well to the demands of the initial displacement of residents:
"I mean, I suppose where I stay in Greenfield anyway it was like a building site. In the morning, all the workers started arriving and you could come down and just make sure everything was getting done you know. But everybody was out all blethering. You were talking to people you never spoke to before, you know what I mean, because all of us having experienced the same kind of a thing and they were all out blethering, bringing you out a cup of tea and chatting away and things like that". [Glasgow]
"This sounds silly but it brought Kingsmill and South West Murdie closer together. When I first moved in there, it was like them and us, Kingsmill and Murdie. Because everybody was thrown together in the same situation, right, left and centre, you had to pull together. If someone was having a problem, you're there to help… everybody has good days and bad days and you had to look out for folk, like the young lad who's blind up from us". [Elgin]
5.23 However, some participants were sceptical about just how genuine the desire to help was among non-flooded residents:
"I would say it was more curiosity than help but then I don't know how much of that's our own pride in not asking for help cos I would never have thought to ask my neighbours, you know. I took my washing to friends and to the laundry rather than asking neighbours who had no washing." [Glasgow]
Two of the five focus groups (Glasgow and Perth) mentioned difficulties in distributing funds from emergency appeals, with most people not receiving anything and not knowing what happened to the money. For example:
"I ended up having a meeting with them, with the councillors and with the Lord Provost, it basically ended up they accused me of calling them liars and that. I mean, it did become a bone of contention and from this day … from that day onwards, I would never contribute a penny to any appeal. Appeals cause an awful lot of ill feeling and an awful lot of problems". [Perth]
5.24 In addition to the immediate disruption to people's lives while out of their home, (see 5.12-5.15) some participants reported permanent restrictions on their activities, mainly resulting from not wanting to leave their property unattended:
"We can't go on holiday, we take separate holidays now because someone needs to be there if there is a flood… unless we can get someone to come and stay in the house that we trust, you know, that we don't mind staying, we're stuck". [Edinburgh]
Living with floods
Risk perception
5.25 Causes of floods A range of views were expressed about the perceived causes of floods, often at variance with the actual causes. Many focus group members appeared to look for someone to hold responsible for a particular flood, typically a landowner or the local authority, for example:
"It's not an Act of God, it's an act of incompetence whoever built the wall not strong enough". [Edinburgh]
More generally local authorities were often blamed by participants for not dredging rivers, not cleaning drains, allowing building on floodplains and not constructing flood defences.
5.26 In the period following a flood, rumours often start about the cause of the flood. For example, in Edinburgh the perception that gates at Leith docks should have been opened in 2000 to allow the river to flow to sea faster than normal was expressed by a number of participants. In Perth participants talked of a rumour still circulating, a decade-and-a-half after the flood, that the army blasted the river bank to save commercial properties in the town centre at the expense of local authority housing in North Muirton. The existence of this rumour was captured (and rebuffed) by one of the participants:
"I was chair person of the flood committee and we were kept fully up to date with everything that was happening and everything was fully explained to us and there was rumour and there was counter rumour, even North Muirton being sacrificed to save the town, obviously it wasn't. But there were all these rumours and counter rumours. There was even supposed to be a film of the TA blasting. There's all sorts of things but it was all rubbish… and it's up to people to listen … you know, it was explained to us and even after it being explained, people didn't always believe it so at the end of the day it was down to what you want to believe". [Perth]
Also in Perth, participants reported that a rumour persists that the flood was caused by a poorly constructed dam breaking. This may reflect negative local attitudes toward rural landowners.
5.27 Most prevalent is a widespread view (reported in all five areas where focus groups were held) that drains and culverts should be cleaned out more often and that this is a significant cause of the apparent rise in the number of floods in Scotland over the last fifteen years or so.
5.28 Perceived levels of risk Perception of the risk of future flooding varied greatly from person to person, depending in large measure on where they live. Those close to a river and those who have been flooded more than once generally appear to view further flooding as more likely.
5.29 Most flood victims in the Elgin focus group were almost certain there will be another flood, reflecting the fact that there have been two large floods within five years. Indeed, one focus group participant reported that a council official has admitted to them that it is likely there will be another flood. However, another Elgin respondent to the household survey wrote that they felt relatively confident that lightening would not strike three times in the same place.
5.30 There is reportedly a degree of faith in the flood gates that have been installed in Perth, but tempered by recognition that the gates had not been tested by particularly high levels on the Tay at the time of the focus group. Adding to Perth residents' relative peace of mind is the view that the river is highly unlikely to rise to the same extent as it did in 1993, as this was caused by unusually deep snow across Tayside followed by a very rapid melt.
5.31 In Glasgow, local papers apparently have reported that the east of Glasgow will flood again due to under-capacity in the urban drainage system. However, other participants at the Glasgow focus group took the view that Scottish Water has done enough to prevent another flood in Glasgow, whilst recognising that improvements to the urban drainage system are being implemented gradually, local area at a time.
5.32 While many people may suffer from anxiety about flooding, at the same time they are often able to rationalise the level of risk they face. For example, one focus group participant argued that people who have been flooded - including himself - overreact to the risk of a future flood, simply because their minds have been focussed on flooding:
"You're talking about risks and assessing the risks. All it [having been flooded] does is focus your attention on flooding ... Statistically, there's more chances of you being flooded from your tank in the attic bursting and flooding your house that way. There's also more chance you'll have a household fire through electrical fault than normal sort of flooding. There's a risk that you might get struck by lightning. There's probably as much risk of that as, you know, getting flooded. It's just focusing your attention at a particular time on a particular risk. If you asked the non-affected section of the population if flooding was a constant concern, then of course they'll say no. So we are a special group, we're contaminated by the experience". [Forres]
5.33 When needing to get information on the imminent level of flood risk, most people indicated that they rely on observing the river:
"We're round at the river every time it rains. My husband was round last night looking at it." [Elgin]
"As soon as we get a couple of days rain… I mean, I get up every morning and it's force of habit … I look out to see how the water is, you know and, you know, after a night's rain, you think, 'Oh it's come up about 2 or 3 feet', you know". [Edinburgh]
5.34 Local knowledge of historic flood patterns, while sometimes an asset, can also blind people to the fact that different spatial and temporal patterns of rainfall will affect different rivers in contrasting ways, producing different floods:
"I think the problem we had with the warning side of things was that we were never considered at risk. The areas that were flooded were never really considered at risk because I happened to be at work the same day that you said the Fire Brigade were pumping out the river. One of my friends actually lives down on the Findhorn, down at Mondoll and he got a phone call to say that there was a high flood risk of the Findhorn and would he care to go home and, you know, check out his property and make preparations for flooding. And he left work that afternoon and told me that 'I'm off to do a check cos there's this flood warning out for the Findhorn'. And I said 'Bye, good luck to you mate', you know, 'Cheerio, all the best', unbeknown to me that it wasn't him that was under threat. It was us under threat from the Mossat, not the Findhorn. So I think the historical perceptions were that the Findhorn was always the threat and with the volume of rain that was falling, it was the Findhorn that was liable to flood, not the Mossat." [Forres]
5.35 During the household survey, a number of people at the edge of flood envelopes indicated on the doorstep that they were not at flood risk because the flood did not reach their property. This view appears to be based on a perception that every flood will be identical.
5.36 In terms of assessing the longer term risk faced, some focus group participants appeared quite well informed about climate change and the possible impact on flooding, for example:
"Well they're saying that your winters are going to be milder and wetter" [Glasgow].
Managing flood risk
5.37 Flood proofing Most focus group participants were not keen on the idea of using flood guards from a practical point of view:
Participant 1: "The problem [with flood guards] is if you put them on and you go back in your house, they're not easy to get over. Or you cannot get back into your house. They're easy enough taken off but if you're flooded and you put your barrier up, how do you get back into your house? You can't get over that. I've tried it".
Participant 2: "I've tried it and I'm fairly fit and I struggled trying to get over it. I had to get a chair from inside the house to climb over onto another chair and pull that chair in, then go in, then close my front door. It's not that easy and if you've got an elderly person, they are going to struggle if they had their own barriers and that's why we don't have the barriers". [Elgin]
Some council tenants reported flood guards being stored centrally by the local authority, labelled with people's addresses. There was scepticism as to the feasibility of deploying flood guards from this central store in sufficient time to avoid flooding.
5.38 Other participants were of the view that trying to prevent flood waters from entering their home can be futile. Therefore they simply ensure they can quickly retrieve key items:
"You tend to get your life in a little bit more order is one of the things that we've done now. Whereas before it happened, you maybe weren't good at file keeping or receipt keeping, invoices and that sort of stuff and maybe didn't keep all your legal documents and all that in a special place that you can just grab, you know, maybe you had some a bureau, some in a bottom drawer here, some over there, you know. Now I think since it happened to us, everything's got its place and if there's a threat of flood, we've got a couple of boxes of legal documents, photographs, anything that you think is important, within minutes you can have that sorted and then you put your feet up, go to bed and wait" [Forres].
5.39 Flood warnings and emergency planning Although many focus group participants were quick to complain at either not receiving a warning or not getting sufficient warning of a flood, the limitations of what participants say they can do to prepare for a flood make them lukewarm or even sceptical about the benefits of flood warnings:
"Well, we would still have a chance to save a few things but, I mean, what happens then, OK, you're gonna be flooded. Where are you gonna go? I've no got the money for hotels or anything. Whether I'm on benefit or not, there's folk working that still can't afford it. Where do you go? They say, you're gonna be flooded. I've no family to go to". [Elgin]
Some questioned the value of the information contained in a flood warning per se, for example:
"They have a much flaunted flood warning system. Who needs a warning of a flood? If your eyes are open, you can see it's going to flood". [Forres]
"I think the whole argument about warnings is academic. I honestly do, because what can you do? We live in bungalows, we get a warning you're gonna get flooded, move all your stuff upstairs. Sorry, can't do that". [Forres]
On the other hand, some saw value in flood warnings, albeit limited:
"You can take a couple of precautions, move your car out, you know, I lost my car. If I'd had a warning, I could have maybe taken it out". [Forres]
5.40 Other participants reported feeling let down by not having been given sufficient warning and information on what to do to prepare for the flood. An example of this came from Perth, perhaps triggering improvements in flood warnings and emergency planning since the flood in 1993:
"we pulled the car out of Lincoln Court and went right and there was a lorry full of sandbags. Right? We're like, what's going on here, cos we hadn't heard a thing. So my husband went over and they said that they think there might be flooding but they don't know. They'd have to wait until the 4 o'clock high tide and then they would know. So, OK. So we went away … and it wasn't until I put the kids to bed and I went upstairs and I saw the neighbours flooding out their houses and it was pouring down and I could see the road outside - it was just water. … So they had sandbags. We took some sandbags and the rest … they brought sand and they just dumped it in the middle of the road and they gave us the sandbags to fill as the water's coming up - but we didn't know what we were doing or where to put the sandbags - and then it covered the sand and washed the sand away [laughs]". [Perth ]
There was also more general frustration reported at local authorities' responses to the floods:
Participant 1: "I was very disappointed that the Council didn't ask the Army to step in. The Army's there, it's got men, the manpower, it's got the lorries, it's got the equipment".
Participant 2: "It felt amateurish, didn't it?"
[Several participants concur] [Edinburgh]
5.41 Insurance Many participants reported losing their no-claims bonus and some reported increases in excesses for flooding when making their insurance claim. Many people found this vexing as they were not at fault:
"The only impact on the insurance was the aftermath because of the box asking who was responsible for the damage. I lost no claims insurance cos I had a no claims bonus on my household insurance and my contents insurance". [Glasgow]
"the one thing that I really got angry was I mean, my taxi was underwater, right over the steering wheel and nobody would take the blame for it. It had my mobile phone in it, my fire extinguisher. My computer which cost £1000 and the company wanted £250 excess off me but nobody would take … so I just had to claim off my own insurance and my premium then went sky high because the Water Board, everybody just wouldn't take responsibility for it". [Glasgow]
Large flooding excesses and lack of access to alternative insurers because of living in an area that has been flooded were commonly reported problems. For example, one focus group participant whose insurance provider introduced a £10,000 excess for flooding after the flood explained his frustration at not being able to do anything about this and the anxiety that such a large excess brings:
"We wrote to our MSP who wrote to the insurance company complaining and got a letter back saying that they wouldn't even consider reducing the excess until the council has installed flood foundations. So you can imagine, every time it rains, we're round at the river, looking to see. I mean, £10,000 excess for flooding; it's just…" [Elgin]
"The insurance initially stayed the same for about a year and then the following year it shot up and we thought, right, we need to try and get a better quote and as recently as a year ago when you gave your postcode they told you no, you're in a floodplain". [Forres]
5.42 Ownership of managing flood risk Most focus group participants accepted a degree of responsibility for protecting their own home from floods and for living with the consequences of living in a flood-risk area. However, many perceived a wider culpability for the flood that other organisations are not willing to accept:
"There's a question at the bottom [of an insurance claim form] and it says, "Who do you hold responsible?" Everybody that I've spoken to has put Edinburgh Council." [Edinburgh]
"I have been in touch with Scottish Water beforehand and after the flood because of the ongoing problems that we had. When we started getting flooded, I phoned him and he automatically authorised a group of men to drain the water away to stop it getting to us. So they were working on it, you know. I can't stand and let them take blame for doing nothing but at the end of the day, it was their fault, they should have done something quicker and we wouldn't have got the experience we did". [Glasgow]
5.43 Many participants were of the view that local authorities were contributing to future problems by granting planning permission to build in high flood-risk areas, for example:
"I don't think that the District Council are helping either. They're trying to build on every flood plain that's going. The flood area where I had four and a half feet of water and had to take my hens out of. … Actually, you know, anyone can put in planning permission. They've actually got planning permission in for my ground, which I'm not selling, but they have and I mean, I think that's ridiculous". [Forres]
5.44 In some local settings there was a strong perception of alleged injustice in the priorities given to different types of property owner. For example, that the army were brought in to pump out Murrayfield stadium in Edinburgh in preparation for a rugby match while people's homes were still under water vexed one participant:
"Murrayfield was out of action for 3 or 4 days, we were out of action for 3 or 4 months. Basically that's what it boils down to". [Edinburgh]
5.45 In Edinburgh, there is reportedly strong negative feeling towards the Scottish Rugby Union for objecting to the proposed flood alleviation scheme, and consequently delaying its implementation. In this case the residents' perception reported in the focus group is that commercial interests are overriding the interests of householders. One participant expressed concern at who is and is not willing to make sacrifices for the proposed flood alleviation scheme:
"with the current proposed plan, we're gonna lose so much of our garden and we've not complained and our neighbour's a chiropractor and she's got a little gravelled area … and she has objected". [Edinburgh]
5.46 On the question of 'managed retreat' from areas that have been flooded, some participants indicated that they would have been relatively happy to have been permanently re-housed at the time of the flood, including owner occupiers. Indeed, most participants knew former neighbours who had opted to 'cut their losses' and move out. However, a substantial proportion of focus group participants were strongly opposed to this idea, with their notion of 'home' being closely bound to a specific property, particularly if they have lived there for a long time. For example:
Interviewer: "How would you feel about permanently moving if you were fully compensated?"
Participant 1: "No. I mean, I was sitting out there yesterday, beautiful sunshine, lovely piece of grass in front of me, nice … I mean, the wall is very artistic, it's an old fashioned rubble wall, the birds are singing and there's wood pigeons… and it's brilliant, you know. I don't want to move from there. I'm quite happy to, you know…"
Participant 2: "That's why you bought the house".
Participant 1: "That was why I bought it, aye".
Participant 2: "You probably worked all your life in order to…"
Participant 1: "That's right. I mean, I've gradually moved up and, you know, this is what I've come to and I'm quite happy there". [Edinburgh]
In the Elgin focus group, it was argued that it would not be feasible to permanently re-house everybody who was flooded because so many properties were affected in relation to the size of the town. In addition, there was a view expressed that the state did not have the right to prevent people from taking risks with their own homes:
"you are happy living where you are cos you like that house and I think you're right - so the State shouldn't tell you otherwise". [Forres]
5.47 Many participants expressed frustration with the slow-pace and perceived lack of willingness to listen seriously to the suggestions of local people in planning flood defence schemes. This appeared to be particularly acute in Elgin:
"We went to one of the meetings that they had and I remember suggesting that until they do something, could they not dredge the river. And they looked at me as though I was daft and said, 'What is the point of dredging the river? It'll only silt up again'. I said, 'Well, dredge it again until such times as you get things decided'. But oh no, oh no, they knew best". [Elgin]
"they've formed yet another sub committee to report back to the Council about the flood progress or the contractors, etc and we're all still in limbo and wondering what is happening. Now, there is another meeting promised round about September this year but when you get to that, it's not the Council it's a contractor and you get plans brought out like this thing here [holds up very detailed plan followed by laughter]. Now, this is a consultant producing this very expensive plan for the Council and I don't know if half the Council has even looked at it. It's total frustration and lack of confidence that anyone is really driving this forward". [Elgin]
Summary
5.48 This chapter has summarised the main findings from the five focus groups, relating to the impacts of floods, the experience of living with flood risk and attitudes towards managing flooding and flood risk. Using verbatim quotations extracted from transcripts of the focus group discussions it has amplified and deepened the results of the household survey reported in Chapter Four. By eliciting individual narratives and personal experiences it has helped put a human face on what it means to be flooded.
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