Media Centre

Throughout my time working at UK Flood Barriers the passion that runs through the company for flood protection has always been evident.  As a member of the marketing team I have never struggled to identify the benefits of a “complete flood protection solution” or build the argument for increased flood risk. I would happily stand in front of a room full of people and feel confident I could persuade them that flood risk is a topic that can no longer be ignored.
 
I had however, not until this week really and truly considered the effects of the subject matter at hand and what is at the heart of our business.
 
Following the news of the terrible flash floods that swept through Wales over the weekend it was decided that as a flood protection company we should do something to help with the clean-up efforts. At UK Flood Barriers we provide a sanitiser product that cleans areas inside a property after a flood event and effectively kills the harmful bacteria that flood water carries. As a goodwill gesture we decided to donate 200 of these santiser sachets to the local Ceredigion Council for them to distribute to the affected villages as they saw best fit.
 
On Tuesday our Business Development Manager, Kate Freshwater and I travelled to Aberystwyth to meet with the local council and donate the sanitiser. As we arrived early we drove to one of the local villages that had been affected. The scale of what we then encountered I can only describe as truly shocking. As we drove through the village of Talybont I was taken aback by what I saw.
 
The true devastation and power that flood water holds I feel can only really be digested when you witness the evidence. The emotions running through Talybont on that day were so evident that both Kate and I forgot the company we were representing and just wanted to help those individuals and homeowners who were affected. Needless to say we put some of the sanitiser we had ready for donation into our bags and handed it out there and then. Talking to local residents we were advised to leave the majority with the local pub which had been severely affected but was acting as an essential hub for this battered community and a centre for people to drop off the much needed donations.
 
The main thing that struck was that this community, its residents and also its landscape had very quickly been altered by this terrible event, an event that will take months if not years for this community to fully recover from. The reality of this was something we had not prepared ourselves for on this trip, but definitely something we took away with us that day.
 
I can talk and write and publicise our products and their benefits with all too much ease. But the situation we found ourselves in this week changed our perceptions and brought home the very real facts of the matter. Flood water is something that is all too overpowering and capable of such damage and devastation, that I know I will not forget.

Katherine MacBeth, Marketing Executive

As Katherine and I drove along the sweeping Welsh road into the village of Talybont, I felt a sense of excitement and urgency at the opportunity to witness first-hand the real effects and power of flood water.

We had been told that Talybont had been hit quite badly, and I was eager to see for myself if the dramatic images that the media had illuminated on our screens with such stony-faced abandon so recently, was in fact anything like the real thing.

I wouldn’t consider myself an overly dramatic person, I would always be the first to ask for a reality check or a bit of perspective when friends complain about the small things in life… but I have to say, even with the experience of the industry I work in, I found myself completely shocked and unprepared for the raw humanity we witnessed that day.

As I propelled the van around the corner and first caught a glimpse of the lovely village, my heart almost immediately sank.  A row of beautiful, postcard perfect cottages, neatly nestled against each other were the focus of a hive of sorrowful activity. 

Each homeowner was steadily and painstakingly removing all their treasured possessions out onto the street!  Sofas, rugs, chairs, tables, pictures, cushions… belongings of all nature and sizes, out, out on the street for the world to witness.  Everything was ruined. The devastation and grief on the faces of each resident was utterly heart-breaking. I felt an urge to stop, jump out, pick up a broom, a mop, anything and just help. Help these people in any way I could, help them to somehow make things better and fix the inconceivable damage.

We parked the van on the far side of the village, acutely aware of our strong company branding written on the side, ‘keep flood water out of YOUR property’… indeed for this village it was too late, and the irony did not escape us.  Katherine and I recognised that this was not a PR opportunity and certainly not a time to mention all the things we could have done to prevent this from happening in the first place.

Walking into the village with our offering of sanitiser made me feel humbled at the very least.  I knew this product would help clean their homes and protect any one from infection and disease, but I felt awkward and out of place, like I was walking into their lives with no real understanding of their sense of loss or desperation.

The stories were touching. One of the first women we came across was openly weeping in the street, the water had damaged her home so badly the building had been condemned.  Another lady told us of how she had been given half an hours warning, the water came though within ten minutes and there was nothing she could do and she had no Flood insurance to pay for the damage.  People were grateful for the sanitiser, all they had been using before was basic anti-bacterial spray, not good enough by a far cry with dealing with contaminated flood water.

Although we didn’t stay long, I hope that in a very small way, we did help.

My role as Business Development Manager for UK Flood Barriers usually takes me to the door of key managers and decision makers in a variety of organisations.  Prior to this experience I always felt I had a strong academic understanding of what flood defence is all about and why it’s so important.  That has shifted for me now, I feel a passion and a drive to tell this story, to generate a sense of urgency and do all I can to make people realise that flood defence is essential! You can protect your property, your home, your memories, and something should be done now to stop the devastation that we witnessed in that small, beautiful village to ever happen again.

Kate Freshwater, Business Development Manager