Menasche Scharf has some timely advice for homeowners on how to deal with a deluge 

If you didn’t know already, it was the wettest June on record. In some places as much as a month’s worth of rainfall fell in a day. Flooding became a widespread problem through the North and East Midlands, and through Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, where thousands of homes and businesses became submerged under several feet of water for days on end. The situation became so severe that the Army was called in to help.

London and Manchester escaped lightly, more by luck than anything else. The likes of Sheffield and Hull were not so fortunate. Damage to property is expected to run into the £millions in the two cities alone. Elsewhere, the floods claimed lives and cut off whole villages. The clear-up operation may take months, and for many who suffered life will never be the same again.

 The questions on everyone’s lips right now is why did this happen? Floods often arrive silently and without warning. Intense rainfall is the cause. It saturates the ground and fills up watercourses to bursting point. If the rain continues to fall,  rivers then start to overflow, rapidly spreading water across their floodplains. Urban storm drains too struggle to cope. They bubble water back up onto roads and paths, adding to the unfolding flood chaos. When this happens, very quickly - sometimes within minutes - streets and houses can find themselves under water.

 Will it happen again? Yes - without a doubt! Flooding is not an uncommon problem, although the areas affected are rarely as widespread as we saw in June 2007. North-west London succumbed to floods that closed roads and tube stations in August 2004. Thunderstorms last July brought a similar fate to parts of Manchester. Next time, it could be you!

Are you at risk? Low-lying urban areas and locations that are close to rivers or on a river floodplain are most at risk from flooding. These are the places where floodwaters collect when it has nowhere else to go. The government’s Environment Agency estimates that over five million of us live in these flood-prone areas, and are at risk of being affected by floods every time there is prolonged intense rainfall.

  To help you find out if you are one of the five million at risk, the Environment Agency has published a flood risk map. It highlights all locations across England and Wales that are considered to be ‘under threat’ from future flood events. Areas are graded from high risk through to low risk. If you find yourself to be in a high risk area you’ll need to take steps to counter the threat - and I’m not joking here. Scientists tell us that our world is warming. As a result, flooding in the UK is only likely to become more frequent. If you’re in a flood-prone area chances are you’ll experience those murky waters lapping at your front door sooner than you might have thought!

  Preventative measures So, what should you do if you find yourself on the flood risk list? Well, you could always move! Failing this, the next best thing is to put in place some preventative measures. If the worst were then to happen and your home or business was flooded, you’d at least know that you’d have done all you could to limit the damage.

   Your measures should start with a ‘flood escape plan’. So, just as you would do in the event of a fire, plan your escape route away from the danger zone and make sure that everyone in the property knows exactly what to do and where to go. Your priority should be to get to higher ground or to a safe location away from the area’s main watercourses. Before leaving your property it is important to turn off your electricity supply at the mains.

   If possible, store valuables and irreplaceables in upstairs rooms as a matter of course and be sure to keep all of your building and contents insurance policies up to date. To cover the cost of vehicle damage by floodwater you’ll need comprehensive insurance…third party insurance just won’t cut it in most instances.

   Consider, too, keeping all insurance documents in waterproof bags in an upstairs room. It will certainly make the claims process easier to handle should floodwaters inundate your property.

The aftermath Always put safety first when clearing up after a flood. You should only return to your property once the floodwaters have subsided, and when you are confident that the building is structurally sound. If you did not have time to switch off the electricity before you evacuated the property then you should consult your energy supplier before re-entering. Stay vigilant too for gas leaks and, if wading through floodwater, be mindful of what might lurk beneath the surface.

Before you set off on vacation it would be prudent to make some very simple arrangements as a precaution against burglaries, says Menasche Scharf 

The recent spate of robberies in and around North and North West London was well publicized, but many others take place without ever being reported, so this is even more reason to be vigilant.

Be sure, that yard gates and other such locations are closed; many burglars prefer a place where very easy access is provided-opening and closing a gate takes time, attracts attention, makes noise, and the like.

Don’t leave a note saying when you will return and make sure you close the garage door when leaving (lock it too).

Padlock your garage (it is a good entry point for burglars).    

Do not leave ladders outside the house; they are perfect devices for entry.   

Mark expensive clothing and furs with indelible ink, showing your driver’s license number or some other identifiable mark.   

Lighting

Outside: light up the side of the house, back and front and garage area with nightlights; few homes with such lighting are ever “hit”.   

Get an outdoor light with a sensor that comes on when someone’s around.

Inside: leave at least one light on (plus a bathroom light); do not pull the shades or curtains when not at home.  

You can get timers for your lamps and ceiling lights. Don’t just light up the hall. You can light up the landing, bathroom, bedroom and living room too. If you vary the times each light comes on, you give the impression that you’re in.

Locks

Do not buy any cheap locks - they are hardly worth the risk.    

Use dead-bolt locks (especially the ones that require a key); or use sliding barrel locks; use crossbars and hasp locks on garage, cellar and other such doors.    

Check your door hinges . . . if the pins are on the outside, change them to the inside (or to non-removable ones) to prevent a burglar from removing them to open the door and get in.    

Make sure locks are away from windows (to prevent the window from being smashed and the burglar reaching in to unlock it).    

Don’t put your name or address on the key case you carry; if lost or stolen, change locks regardless of whether you had your name or address inside the case.  

Basement/Cellar

Windows are many times left open and are an easy place to enter a home or apartment building. Close and lock them at all times!    

Doorway: make sure the door to any other part of the apartment building or to the basement, garage or fire escape is adequately locked just as solidly and securely as the front door.

Remember: it does little good to have good locks on the front door and poor locks elsewhere.

Walls and Fences

High fences are hard to climb, but they give a burglar cover once he’s over. Keep them low, if you can. The best fences have a trellis on top – it makes them harder to climb.

Keep the shrubbery trimmed away from windows and keep it trimmed to a low height; they are excellent places for someone to hide and not be seen when committing their dastardly deed.

Sound

You can use a timer for a CD or cassette player. Choosing a talking record (rather than a music one) is a good idea.

Curtains

Get a trusted neighbour to open and close your curtains if you’re away.

Remember… If suspicious - ring the police

 Last and most importantly: Use COMMON SENSE - if you are suspicious, don’t take chances!

An Introduction to Renewable Energy

The term ‘renewable energy’ or  Green Energy has become familiar to many of us in recent years. Described as an inexhaustible source for energy production that harnesses the power of nature in an environmentally friendly way, it is heavily associated with methods for producing electricity that do not require the burning of fossil fuels (Fossil fuels are formed from organic and non-renewable materials over many years.  Coal, mineral oil and natural gas are examples of fossil fuels. Source: DFeS Standards site:Science:Energy Resources:What are fossil fuels?)�

As of 2008, some 5% of the UK’s electricity supply comes from renewable energy - or “Eco-Friendly - sources. The government is targeting this to rise to 10% by 2010, and then 60% by 2050, thus contributing substantially to the long-term aim of reducing carbon dioxide emissions from the UK.  It is not our intention with this article to explain the problem of releasing carbon dioxide into our eco-system, suffice to know that Carbon dioxide (chemical formula: CO2) is a chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom. It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure and exists in Earth’s atmosphere in this state (Source: wikipedia - “Carbon Dioxide”).  In higher concentrations: 1% (10,000 ppm) CO2 causes a change in the atmosphere, wich is detrimental to living conditions the world over, see below.

The importance of renewable energy

Traditionally, the UK’s energy needs have been met by fossil fuel sources.  Coal-fired power stations provide the nation with electricity; pipelines pump in natural gas extracted from the North Sea and elsewhere, while oil extracted from rock beds around the world keep our vehicles on the road.  All of these energy sources however spew enormous amounts of carbon compounds and other pollutants out into the atmosphere - both in their production (turning raw materials into usable energy) and end use (consumption of the product by burning).  It is natural that they would for the ‘fuel’ is derived from organic matter - collections of carbon compounds!

But just how bad is the problem? Well the UK emits some 2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the sky above Britain every single day. As carbon dioxide is a so-called ‘greenhouse gas’ - i.e. it prevents surface heat from escaping back into space by bouncing it back down towards the ground - our fossil-fuel energy consumption is contributing significantly to global climate change.

Renewable energy on the other hand is carbon-neutral. That is to say that the generation of energy from renewable sources does not add to the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere each day, and neither does its consumption.

Clearly then, the more energy that we can generate from renewable ‘green’ energy sources, the less polluted the air will be and the more efficient we will be at fighting climate change!

Types of renewable energy

There are several economically viable sources of renewable energy in the UK. A brief description of each follows:

Solar Energy: Heat from the sun may be converted into electrical power via photovoltaic (PV) solar panels. Heat energy from the sun’s rays can also be transferred directly to warm a hot water system for example, as is the case in Eretz Yisroel (Israel) where most roofs are equipped with what they call a “Dood Shememsh” (Sun Vat)

Wind Energy: 40% of Europe’s wind resource blows across the UK. With such a massive natural force it makes sense to convert that energy into electricity, which is achieved courtesy of wind turbines.

Wave Energy: The UK is surrounded by water. We therefore have easy access to areas where we can explore methods of energy creation and transfer of that energy from tidal motion and the movement of ocean waves.

Geothermal Energy: The ground beneath our feet is a source of heat energy. It may be extracted by direct heat transfer, or by piping water through an underground loop, the stored heat in the rock bed below warming the water as it passes by.

Bio Fuels: Energy crops such as Miscanthus (Elephant Grass) and willow - both of which can be grown in the UK - can be burned in electrical power stations as an alternative to fossil fuels. Certain types of crop-based bio fuels may also be used as an alternative to petrol and diesel to power our vehicles.

Recycling: Whilst the recycling of used products - like plastic and synthetic rubber - might not fall under the strict term of “renewable energy”, the reason being that fossil fuels are used, nevertheless it certainly goes half-way in reducing the amount of new fossil fuel that is being used.

Renewable energy is the energy of the future. But to get to that ‘future’…a future in which our air is cleaner…we have to act NOW. Embrace renewable energy sources and the world will be a more hospitable place for us, our children and grandchildren.