Just up the A6 from Bedford, the residents of Radwell have seen the recent deluge of rainfall in Bedfordshire cause flooding in their village to the point where Radwell Bridge was almost completely immersed in water.
Along with closely neighbouring villages such as Felmersham and Harrold, those living in the quaint community of Radwell are now expressing their concerns over the intensifying frequency of floods over the last decade.
Dave Devany, a long-time resident of the village, said: “While Radwell is itself a picturesque place to live, residents here experience inconveniences when floods occur”.
This is, at times unavoidable when the River Great Ouse takes on a torrential downpour.
As can be clearly seen in the video below, Radwell has been severely hit in several places during the latest rainfall this week.
One driver of a large and robust pickup truck decided to force the issue and drove directly through the knee-high waters on Radwell Bridge, an option that not every vehicle can resort to.
Dave said there was a need for “enhanced measures to safeguard residences” due to the floods becoming “a recurring aspect of life” in the region.
And the use of drones has become increasingly useful in tracking and documenting Bedford’s floods.
This new piece of airborne camera and video technology has come to the fore of late, especially in the world of natural disasters.
Dave, whose company, Skycams, captured the recent flooding in Radwell, told the Bedford Independent that they provide a “transformative perspective” of the floods through the use of “high-resolution cameras and real-time capabilities” all from an ariel viewpoint of the affected area.
He went on to say that the deployment of these drones can provide “situational awareness” and assist in “evacuation plans” as they can find their way through “challenging terrains” and reach otherwise “inaccessible regions”.
Back in January, floods affected much of the Borough, as drone photos submitted to the Bedford Independent by Marcin Mioducki show.
Despite not being able to do anything about the actual occurrence of the floods, the presence of drones can perhaps allow the residents of Radwell and other affected riverside communities to sleep easier knowing that they will be advised on evacuation and are likely to receive insurance for any ruined items due to the visual account of any damage incurred by the floods.
While flooding will remain a constant issue for Bedford Borough, drone footage gives a quicker understanding of the affected areas and certainly makes for some spectacular aerial photographs,
To find out the latest flood warnings from Bedford Borough Council, head to their website here.
