10:21am Tuesday 15th January 2008
FLOODING in July devastated areas of Oxfordshire, leaving hundreds of people homeless.
More than 900 properties across the county were flooded with families forced to flee their homes and go to temporary rest centres.
But firefighters believe that there is much that homeowners can do to reduce the effect of flooding on their properties.
We have teamed up with Oxfordshire County Council and Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service to provide a guide on how to limit damage to your home from flooding.
Simon Wonnacott, watch manager for Rewler Road Fire Station, said: "In July, the sandbagging techniques we saw were generally very good but we did find properties where the sandbagging was insufficient.
"Unfortunately there were a few properties that were flooded due to poor sandbagging.
"They were unsure but we are now able to give them the advice they need."
Malcolm Bradbrook, Newsquest Oxfordshire's Digital Content Manager, said: "During the flooding we were updating our websites every few minutes, bringing the latest weather news, advice from the Environment Agency and the hundreds of pictures our readers sent in.
"This is just another way we are able to help our readers face what can be a very traumatic experience."
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