A Perth householder whose home is under constant threat from flash floods has hit out at the local council for refusing to provide him with £2 sandbags.
Mike Rogalski (64) lives on the junction of Feus Road and Crieff Road, an area which has experienced some of the worst flooding in the city in recent years most recently at the weekend.
Torrents of water flowing along Feus Road place homes under threat during heavy rain, with residents blaming blocked drains for the problem.
Mr Rogalski was again forced to defend his home during Saturday’s torrential showers. It was only thanks to a massive community effort that his property was saved and he has been left staggered that an appeal for fresh sandbags ahead of the next, inevitable, deluge has been stonewalled.
The Met office is warning of further downpours across Perthshire and SEPA placed the region on flood alert.
Mr Rogalski told The Courier, “We were badly hit last year and again at the weekend it has been absolutely horrific. I had 20 people outside the house on Saturday evening bailing to prevent the water getting in and I was very grateful to them because it didn’t get into the house.
“I had some sandbags but I needed more. I was trying the emergency 24-hour line to get more and nobody answered.
“When I was lifting them afterwards I saw my bags are rotting away because they’ve been used so often so I thought it would make sense to get some more in advance.
“When I eventually got through on the council line on Monday the girl said it’s not raining any more so I’m not getting any sandbags.Common sense”We need to have some common sense. If the rain comes like that again, they’re not going to be at my door in two minutes with bags I’ll get them when it’s too late.
“This is happening more and more and it will happen again maybe quite soon because the drains haven’t been upgraded and there are massive problems in this part of town.”
After storms earlier this month left Feus Road waterlogged, a council spokesman insisted “primary responsibility” for defending homes has to lie with owners as the authority has limited resources.
Mr Rogalski said, “I saw the council are basically saying now that we have to look after ourselves but I spent £1600 on a retaining wall to stop the water after last year’s floods so they can’t say I didn’t do anything I just need a bit more help.”
A council spokesman encouraged homeowners to buy their own sandbags, stating, “The council hands out sandbags to properties under threat of imminent flooding whenever possible. We have no statutory duty to do this, but we are keen to do as much as we can to support residents during a flood event.
“The council does not offer sandbags routinely, and can only do so as part of an emergency. Unfortunately we do not have the resources to allow us to supply sandbags to residents any time. Sandbags are available to buy fairly cheaply from local DIY stores, and we would urge concerned residents to keep a stock of their own if they can.”
He said the council emergency line was staffed continuously during the crisis and answered over 300 calls on Saturday but the line was eventually “overwhelmed” by the volume of calls.
Talks will take place between the council and Scottish Water to discuss Feus Road and other flood-hit areas. Scottish Water said it has cleared the drains and fixed a broken sewer in the area.