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Welcome to your Scottish Flood Forum summer newsletter.

Supporting flood risk communities

The Scottish Flood Forum (SFF) is a charitable organisation that supports those affected by, or are at risk from, flooding across Scotland. We are primarily funded by the Scottish Government and we are delighted to report that our funding has been renewed until March 2017.

This is our second newsletter, aimed at communities at risk of flooding. We'll give you an overview of what we do and where we have been working. We would love your ideas on what you would like to read about in future editions so please do get in touch by emailing enquiries@scottishfloodforum.org. We're also keen to engage with as many people as possible who are, or may be, at risk of flooding so please encourage your friends and family to sign up for future SFF editions.

Winter storms during December 2015 and January 2016 brought unprecedented flooding with many individuals and communities badly affected. We continue to work hard to support those worst affected, especially in Aberdeenshire and Dumfries & Galloway, with specialist SFF recovery activities. Follow our twitter feed @scotfloodforum for more details of where we are working across Scotland each week.

FloodRe: affordable insurance

In recent years many people have struggled to find affordable insurance after their property has been flooded or where they are in an area of flood risk.

Flood Re is a joint government and insurance industry initiative to enable home owners to find affordable insurance for properties at risk of flooding. It was launched in April 2016.

If you are currently uninsured, or you are looking to renew your policy, remember to ask, when you phone the insurance company, if they are part of the FloodRe scheme and if your property is eligible.
You can view the Flood Re information leaflet or visit www.floodre.co.uk

What has the Scottish Flood Forum been doing?

The SFF recently published its annual achievements report for 2015 - 2016. This includes case studies on the kind of work we carry out across the country and key successes for the organisation.

Learning with the SFF

The SFF knows that the more knowledge, skills and experience we have about flood risk, then the more able we are to influence and prepare for flooding in your communities. We are in the process of developing our training and learning programme for community flood groups who want to learn more about flood risk management, building resilience and developing local groups.

We would like to know your views about training and learning needs and will be sending out a survey so keep an eye out for the SFF learning needs analysis.

In the meantime you can access lots of useful information though this link.

Flood group volunteers

The SFF recognises and values immensely the work of the many volunteers who work in flood response, recovery and resilience roles across Scotland.

We estimate that each volunteer in a flood resilience group invests a minimum of about 60 hours per year in flood-related activities. Across the country this represents a tremendous amount of social action and value in the flood risk management process. Your actions do make a difference to your community and the SFF is here to support you and the communities you represent.

Partnership pays for Edzell

The SFF is delighted to report good practice and increased flood resilience from Edzell Flood Group in Angus. The SFF provided advice and support for the group when it was established after flooding in the village in 2012. It has gone from strength to strength in representing and influencing local flood issues successfully.

The group has developed its own community flood action plan based on the SFF template in partnership with Angus Council. This has been tested to good effect during recent storms and as part of a recent table-top exercise to improve the community's flood response actions.

Chairperson Fiona Work says: "The recent storms tested our group and I can say because of our commitment and genuine partnership working with the Council we are more resilient to flooding. Go ahead and check out our new web site below".

Good communication is vital to managing flood risk especially in local communities so please link with Edzell Flood Group through its Facebook page below.

Flood risk management

In December 2015, as required by the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009, the first ever flood risk management strategies were published for Scotland. These will inform directly what flood management actions will be taken forward by local authorities and other partners over the first six year cycle to 2021. They contain a wealth of information about how flood risk will be managed, responsibilities, priorities and other information about local flood risk.

The strategies informed the development of the local flood risk management plans published by the 14 lead local authorities in June 2016. Flood Risk Management Plans take each Flood Risk Management Strategy and turn it into a local delivery plan. The plans provide more detail on how and when actions will be delivered locally, providing additional detail on the cost and benefits, funding and delivery timetable for actions.

We all have important roles to play in flood risk management and more information is available for your area at the link below. The SFF encourage everyone to consider their role in reducing flood risk including Community Flood Resilience Groups who carry out important actions to protect communities across Scotland. Contact the SFF to discuss how you can develop partnerships and action to reduce flood risk.

Thank You

The SFF has received donations from many individuals and organisations recently which help our work in supporting those impacted by flooding. We would like to thank Morrison's Supermarket, Sport Aberdeen, Invergowrie Primary School, Westhill Primary School and every individual for their fantastic donations to the SFF.

Thank you on behalf of the flood risk communities across Scotland that are benefiting from your decision to support the SFF. The SFF is the only dedicated organisation in Scotland supporting flood risk communities so spread the word and help us to provide that support by donating today.

Focus on flood recovery activities

The SFF continues to provide flood recovery help, advice and support across Scotland - the following is one example of our experience from the front line:

"Rats! rats! And more rats – no I am not speaking about Ratty. Yes, that Ratty – the small, furry water vole of Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows, but real ones, big ones that having been half drowned in flood water, decide it's drier and safer to move into homes left empty by the effects of flooding. Now I don’t want to add to people's already heightened stress levels but this past month we have had several enquiries at Flood Advice drop-in centres about rats becoming a problem. Do contact your local authority for advice on dealing with Ratty!"

Many people are still having problems with their loss adjusters, builders and just trying to get work done is a major obstacle. We are still encountering properties that have yet to be dried out – things are not easy. Contact us for help, advice and guidance on any issues you may be experiencing as well as protecting your property against future flooding.

Testimonial

The SFF is delighted to get feedback that confirms the positive impact we make in a flood recovery situation. The following comes from Ballater.

"We write to thank the SFF for all the support, advice and downright humanity. The SFF remained the voice of calm and reason throughout whilst encouraging us to find solutions and was always on hand to offer suggestions and valuable SFF experience. Just asking for help is a very important step on the road to flood recovery"

The Scottish Flood Forum is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation No. SC043783, Principal Office Address - Caledonian Exchange,19A Canning Street, Edinburgh, EH3 8HE 01698 839021

enquiries@scottishfloodforum.org

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Scottish Flood Forum · Caledonian Exchange · 19A Canning Street · Edinburgh, Scotland EH3 8HE · United Kingdom