Flood victims are suffering a “double hell” after being forced to self-isolate in damaged homes or made to move into tiny bedsits.
Families in areas like Mytholmroyd, West Yorkshire, were still reeling from the destruction of their homes when the coronavirus pandemic struck.
Now insurance claims and building work have all come to a halt and they have been left “in limbo”.
Some are living in the upstairs of their homes, with little furniture and bare walls, while others were moved into temporary bedsits.
The town was struck by floods on February 9 after a month’s worth of rain fell in 24 hours.
One of those hit badly by the flood water was Topshop manager Hannah Flood, 38, who lives with partner David, 38, a painter and decorator.
She said: “It’s like we’ve been hit by a triple whammy. First Dave broke his leg, then came the floods, now the virus.
"We are staying in a tiny bedsit while the repairs are done. The bedroom is the lounge and the bed the sofa. We’ve got no garden.
“It’s quite depressing and David still can’t work yet and I’m not working either because the shop has closed. I’m expecting a drop in wages.
“It’s claustrophobic and makes me anxious. We lie on the bed because the bedroom is the living room.
"I miss the space. It’s OK for one week but I don’t know how I will cope if it goes on. Every time we think we’ve turned a corner something happens.”
The cash-strapped couple are not expecting to get anything from the Government for David, who went self-employed a year ago and has yet to make a profit.
Their former neighbour is still living in her flood-damaged home but mainly keeps upstairs as the walls are bare downstairs.
Lecturer Suzanne Stankard said: “First the flood, then the virus, what’s next? Locusts?
"It’s delayed things, like insurance settlements and work on our houses. The stress and anxiety of the flood was horrific. I feel very anxious and frustrated. I know it [self-isolating] has to be done but we were getting ourselves back on our feet.
“The insurance claims were going through, work was starting. Now it’s all stopped and everything is in limbo. I am waiting for insurance money.
“We can’t move on. It is frustrating but you know nothing can be done about it. It’s additional anxiety.
“Everyone else is in a rough situation. It freaked us out at first, but now we are staying home and watching out for each other. We communicate each day by our group messenger chat.
“The Environment Agency are still working on the new bridge and wall, which we’re grateful for but the health of those workers must come first.”
Flood victims around the UK are in a similar situation. Vic Haddock spent £150,000 setting up a holiday let and canoe company in Ironbridge, Shrops – which flooded three times.
He said: “We dried it out again and have got to decorate it and get it back up to standard, but we had bookings for most of year. Now everyone is cancelling, so I have got no livelihood.”
In the Yorkshire Dales, Lower Swaledale and Arkengarthdale, councillor Richard Good said residents are also facing a “double whammy”. They were hit by floods in July last year, causing devastation.
He said: “We were hoping that we’d have a good summer this year to make up for all the losses last year.
“Businesses had no money from last season to carry them through winter. Now because of coronavirus they will not have money this year either as quite rightly people are staying away.”
Residents of Fishlake, South Yorkshire, have still not been able to return to their homes – almost six months on from last November’s floods.
Glyn Davies, 64, and wife Jo, 50, “lost everything” and live in a caravan on their drive. Repairs on their property were due to begin on April 13 but the lockdown has put a stop to the work.
Glyn said: “We’re the only residents on our street – our neighbours rent in another village. We’re totally isolated.”
Jo, a sales administrator, is working from “home” .
Glyn added: “Jo is set up on the dining table and works through the day, then we re-set the table in the evening to have our tea on it. We’re making the best of it.”
Glyn estimates the cost of the damage to their bungalow ran into hundreds of thousands.
He added: “The water was about two feet high in the house. We lost furniture, sofas, the beds, we’d just had a new kitchen fitted that was lost. We managed to save a few clothes, but that was it.”
Fellow Fishlake resident Alan Buck moved into a caravan on his neighbour’s drive in December.
The retired glass factory worker, 76, had lived in his bungalow for 36 years.
Alan saved some valuables and stayed with relatives before his insurance company paid for a caravan.
He said: “We’ve got to do this, we have to stay in and stay away from people to stop the virus spreading.
"I’ve plenty of things to do to occupy my mind. It’s not ideal but it has to be done.”
