Practice case study

Building community resilience to flooding (Hampshire)

In late January 2013, an excessive amount of rainfall fell on the village of Hambledon in Hampshire. Over half the amount of expected annual rainfall fell on the area in just seven weeks. However, thanks to prior efforts by agencies in the area to build community resilience, the damage from flooding was much less than might otherwise have been expected. Only £3,600 was spent by Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service on the emergency response to the flood in 2013. Some twenty years earlier, a similar incident cost the service £309,000. The work of the local community, in association with the Local Resilience Forum and the Fire and Rescue Service, was central to achieving the cost saving and establishing a community-led approach to flood management. 

 

Community