hundreds of years, people knew what they were doing- they were doing. they did. what you see here art they were doing. they did. what you see here art that they were doing. they did. what you see here art that floodplains - they were doing. they did. what you see here art that floodplains doing i see here art that floodplains doing what the floodplains are supposed to do. tewkesbury has been flooded since roman times. what is happening now is that with climate change these things are becoming more severe and more frequent. that needs to be a wake up call notjust for tewkesbury, but for all of us. the abbey feels like a bit of an arc in the middle of a floodplain, like noah s ark. it is a place where we can hold dignity in prayer, and do some cherishing of this fragile creation that god has given us, and if we do more of that, we might see a little less of this. prime minister rishi sunak is on a visit to greater manchester today. he was asked about the government s response to the
that i can t pronounce, that can hold over 20 amounts of its weight in water. so working with nature, thinking about agricultural land, managing that as well, so that we don t put sheep on steep sided catchment and turning it into tarmac essentially and making the water go down the catchment. so we have got to think about the bigger picture, working with catchments and literally using a batch jigsaw puzzle to reduce the impact. and we have got to adapt our homes as well, hard as it is, to recover from floods. t5 hard as it is, to recover from floods. , ., , ., hard as it is, to recover from floods. , ., ., ., floods. is to the problem in all of this that we floods. is to the problem in all of this that we are floods. is to the problem in all of this that we are still floods. is to the problem in all of this that we are still building - floods. is to the problem in all of this that we are still building too | this that we are still building too many homes on floodplains? floodplai
waters. seven levels were expected to see rising but it s dry now of course. lots of travel disruption, driving here last night was very, very difficult, lots and lots of rain but it s been dry at the since and we are expecting to see the river levels drop. some of the highest levels we ve seen, some of the highest level since the year 2000, probably the last biggest flood incident we saw in many parts of the country. quieting tewkesbury this morning, we ve seen one gentleman walking past going to check his property, trying to see whether everything is all right. the abbey, that iconic view from 2007, the images sent around the world of the images sent around the world of the abbey surrounded by floodplains on all sides. perhaps not as bad as
surrounded by flood water. you can see, a lot of the floodplains are doing theirjob this morning. the road that connects with the main motorway, the m5, is blocked. a few homes down below were evacuated overnight, people were brought to a pub i can seejust overnight, people were brought to a pub i can see just down overnight, people were brought to a pub i can seejust down below, two rooms and keep them warm and safe for the night. not as bad as it could have been, i suppose. 2007 was that incredible year. this is the biggest, the highest water levels, the worst flooding since 2007 but thankfully, fingers crossed, not as bad off as that. the vicar of the abbey, the canon rick davis, has invited us to the top of the tower. the town is used to this, how are people getting on? we the town is used to this, how are peeple getting on? people getting on? we are a resilient community - people getting on? we are a resilient community and - people getting on? we are a i resilient community and
this it they built the place. at times like this it feels like the abbey is like noah s this it feels like the abbey is like noah s ark in the midst of the floodplains. it s a place where we can be floodplains. it s a place where we can be a floodplains. it s a place where we can be a beacon, a place of prayer, a place can be a beacon, a place of prayer, a place where we can cherish creation a place where we can cherish creation is a place where we can cherish creation is a fragile gift. if we can all creation is a fragile gift. if we can all do creation is a fragile gift. if we can all do a bit more of that we might can all do a bit more of that we might see can all do a bit more of that we might see a bit less of this. thank ou, it s might see a bit less of this. thank you. it s a might see a bit less of this. thank you. it s a good might see a bit less of this. thank you, it s a good point might see a bit less of this. thank you, it s a good point but - might