18th February: Flood precautions

On the 30th November last year I opened up the cover to what I like to call the house’s bilge pump! In a flood it is supposed to keep water coming up from the ground under the house below the level where it might reach the house floors. I tested it and it worked OK.

However at that time I did not check the door barriers. With a 0.8m surge forecast for Storm Eunice, and some doubt as to whether the Portsmouth surge forecasts (as displayed by NTSLF) have a 0.2m under-estimate, I thought it might be a good time to check that the barriers are still in good condition.

The tenant(s) have recently moved out of no. 82 which adjoins my house so I thought I should also check the barrier for that house which I have been keeping in storage.