VISITORS to Coughton Court’s famous duck race last week learnt some valuable flood awareness skills as well as enjoying the river-side fun.
On July 27 the team from the Environment Agency joined crowds at the Duck Race to give advice about flooding as well as joining in the river-racing fun.
The annual event at the National Trust property attracted hundreds of visitors, many of whom remembered the catastrophic floods of summer 2007, when 414mm (16 inches) of rain fell between May and July – the most since records began in 1766.
Alcester saw severe flooding, with as much as 115mm (almost 5 inches) of rain in one night, leaving 200 homes uninhabitable. Since then the town has had extra flood storage tanks and two pumps installed in the town to protect an extra 160 homes and 38 businesses.
Pete Clarke, who leads the Environment Agency’s Warwickshire flood risk team, said: “Since 2010 we have invested more than £2.5m on projects across the county, but we can’t afford to rest on our laurels. That’s why it was so important for us to be at Coughton Court explaining our plans and how everyone can do their bit to reduce flood risk.”
