If you don’t hear from us for a while…
We got a robo-call about an hour ago, GLaDOS letting us know we’re in the flood plain. Here’s the map. They’re updating continually, but we are currently in a red zone.
Property flooding is expected for this evening’s high tide, as a result of today’s North Sea surge combining with high water springs.
What happens is, when there’s a high tide and a surge, the narrowness of the Channel squeezes the water onto the land. Violently. I wasn’t much worried at first, but Uncle B has been gleefully telling me stories of whole towns wiped away overnight and, errrrm. Well. We’re packing a couple of bags and cat/chicken carriers, just in case.
I don’t think it’ll be tsunami fast; if there’s a problem, we’ll have time. High tide’s in six hours.
See you on the other side!
UPDATE: well, it’s 45 minutes to high tide, and nothin’. I think we’ll live. Have a good weekend, everyone!
Posted: January 13th, 2017 under britain, personal, weather.
Comments: 19
Comments
Comment from Janna
Time: January 13, 2017, 7:04 pm
Will the chickens go willingly in the carriers? I’d pre-load the car with everything you can and save chicken chasing for last. Good luck!
Comment from S. Weasel
Time: January 13, 2017, 7:10 pm
Chooks are very docile and sleepy in the dark. At this point, we’re vaguely planning to go to a neighbor’s (they have three floors).
Comment from Ric Fan
Time: January 13, 2017, 7:36 pm
How far inland do you live from the channel?
Comment from Deborah HH
Time: January 13, 2017, 7:56 pm
Dang. Be safe. (take pictures if you can.)
Comment from S. Weasel
Time: January 13, 2017, 8:21 pm
We’re about three miles inland, but our fields are crisscrossed with waterways and below sea level. Our house in particular — being 400 years old and all — has sunk. Or the land around it has built up. Anyway, you take three steps down to get to our front door.
Comment from Veeshir
Time: January 13, 2017, 9:15 pm
That leaves us with a question.
Who will pay off if someone takes you in the pool?
Comment from QuasiModo
Time: January 13, 2017, 11:48 pm
Good luck SWeasel!
Comment from dissent555
Time: January 14, 2017, 12:57 am
You all stay safe over there now!
Comment from Armybrat
Time: January 14, 2017, 1:24 am
The husband and I had tickets for the ferry out to the Dry Tortugas earlier this week. 7-9 ft seas cancelled the run. Now we’re in the Everglades, with a full moon. We’re used to the big tide changes of New England, couple those with a full moon and a northeastern wind and you get flooding all along the coast with the water pushing into places like Plymouth by almost a mile. The locals looked at us today like we had 2 heads as we enquired what the moon tide would pull and would it shut down our tour into the mangrove swamps tomorrow. Finally, a guy who was retired navy realized what we were asking and said “they only thing that really raises the tide here is a storm surge from a hurricane.” I’ve lived north so long, I’ve forgotten my southern upbringing 🙄
Comment from .
Time: January 14, 2017, 4:21 pm
Aquatic weasels, they are called otters. Instead of murdelating bunnies and ring-necked pheasants and hitching rides on woodpeckers, they crunch tench and barbel and perform unspeakable acts on plump beavers.
Otters are Michael Phelpses of the mustelid world, weed, wenches and all.
Comment from MikeW
Time: January 14, 2017, 5:49 pm
Quick Question…
When you unload a ‘cat/chicken’ carrier do you still find all the animals you put inside originally? Or are there only cats?
Comment from Drew458
Time: January 14, 2017, 6:37 pm
I’m having visions of weasel’s chooks running about in the wet with little Wellies on. Or just lchicken Wellies on in general. Stay dry if possible!
Comment from Ric Fan
Time: January 14, 2017, 7:02 pm
Nice that we didnt have a repeat of The Mill On the Floss. But seriously, the UK has had a heck of a lot of flooding the past few years. And I understand you cant do much about tides. But it seems there shd be better flood planning. Actually, dont they have some sort of thingys in the Thames to protect against tidal flooding? Of course, that doesnt help with Channel flooding. Anyway, it just seems you Brits are way too wet, these days. Must be AGW or the Russians. 🙂
Comment from Uncle Al
Time: January 14, 2017, 11:00 pm
@Ric Fan – Not AGW, not Russians, but greenie and/or power-mad politicians and bureaucrats deliberately letting things silt up for benighted ecological fantasies or because spending the money doesn’t buy enough votes.
Comment from Uncle Badger
Time: January 15, 2017, 1:53 pm
Uncle Al has it right. The East side of the country has always been at risk from the sea (indeed, that’s why we are an island now – we weren’t always)but the recent flooding has almost entirely been down to letting hippies take over the (ir)responsible authorities.
Californians will, I suspect, sympathise.
Comment from Nina
Time: January 15, 2017, 8:48 pm
Indeed we do!
Comment from gromulin
Time: January 16, 2017, 3:16 am
Pfft. Our hippies are even more arrogant and stupid. Can’t out-stupid a state with Uncle Jerry as governor.
Comment from thefritz
Time: January 16, 2017, 4:21 pm
Swease, I’ve always been curious exactly where you live in England and have noticed you’re just cryptic enough to never reveal it precisely. Because I’m a curious lad, some might say ‘a stalker’, I think I’ve culled enough clues from your previous posts to deduce you live near Southese? No need to acknowledge if I’m right but a game of ‘getting warmer…getting colder’ would be fun.
Comment from S. Weasel
Time: January 16, 2017, 6:06 pm
Actually, thefritz, I’ve always worried that I am too indiscreet about our location. I suspect if you put a red dot on the map for every place I’ve posted about visiting, our house would be slap in the middle, surrounded by lots and lots of red dots. And that’s not taking into account things I’ve said about local landmarks.
Short answer, no. I had to look up Southese as I’d never heard of it.
It’s completely whack that we were considered at risk of flooding the other night. We’re miles from the Channel and not even on a river. It must be something funky about the water table or something.
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