CHURCHES and church halls across Cornwall are opening their
doors to provide shelter and sustenance for people affected by some
of the worst floods in living memory.
Speaking on BBC Radio Cornwall, on Sunday morning, the Bishop of
Truro, the Rt Revd Tim Thornton, said: "We are tied into the
emergency networks."
Particularly hard-hit were communities in Newlyn, near Penzance,
Polperro, Helston, Perranporth, Mevagissey, and Millbrook.
The Vicar of St John the Baptist with Millbrook, the Revd
Michael Brown, said on Tuesday that the basement of All Saints',
Millbrook, had flooded three times during the past week. The area
had not been affected by flooding since a dam was built, he said,
but the water had "taken out a 15-foot wall in front of the church"
and flooded shops and homes. It was "really was quite
devastating".
The diocese of Exeter has issued a prayer for those affected by
flooding. The Bishop of Exeter, the Rt Revd Michael Langrish, said:
"Once again, Devon has been hit by dreadful flooding - for many
communities, this is the second or third time. . . We need prayers,
not only for the visible support services like the ambulance, fire
and rescue, and police, who are under so much pressure, but also
for all those hidden people in our communities who are doing so
much to support those more vulnerable than themselves."
A claims consultant at Ecclesiastical Insurance, Sandra Cooper,
said that the company had received six claims for church buildings,
mostly in the south-west, some of which had been affected by
flooding for the second time. The damage was "not fantastic", but
carpeting and boiler houses had been affected. Ecclesiastical is
employing legal representatives to investigate the causes of
re-flooding: "Residents can then lobby for whatever changes are
necessary to be protected."
Ecclesiastical would "encourage" churches to open their doors to
people affected by the floods.
Worcestershire has also been affected by flooding. The Vicar of
Evesham, the Revd Andrew Spurr, said that the church had been on
stand-by to accommodate displaced persons. The flood co-ordinator
preferred it to the leisure centre, "because we could offer 24-hour
cover".
On Tuesday, an elderly woman was found dead in St Asaph, in
north Wales, where about 500 homes have been affected by flooding,
and water-levels reached up to seven feet.
The Chaplain to the Bishop of St Asaph, Canon Michael Balkwill,
spoke on Tuesday of "the tragedy of seeing the devastation to
people's lives and livelihoods".
Ecclesiastical has issued advice to people on what to do before, during
and after a flood.