Light extravaganza to raise flood awareness at Tendring

A blue strobe light illuminated the skies of Tendring this weekend as part of a project to raise flood awareness.

The Environment Agency teamed up with Tides of Tendring project, Heritage Lottery Fund, Midas and Kl sound to launch the 3-night light extravaganza.

On Friday 16 through to Sunday 18 August, light was projected from Jaywick Martello Tower and Golf Green Hall to highlight the current flood plain and the extent of the devastating floods of 1953.

The project aimed to spread awareness of flood safety and celebrate the Tides of Tendring exhibition, which was funded by Heritage Lottery Fund. The volunteer group, Friends of Martello Tower, launched the project as they wanted to inform the local community about flood awareness and safety.

Caroline Adams, project manager of Tides of Tendring, said:

The volunteers discovered that many people were unaware of the current and future flooding risks.

Residents didn’t know how best to prepare or what to do if the seawall was breached. The lights are to highlight the size of the flood plain and how far the water has reached.

We hope that the lights will guide them to discover more via the exhibition, talks and events at the Jaywick Martello Tower.

Tina Starling, flood resilience advisor for the Environment Agency in East Anglia, said:

We want this to create a conversation about the risk of flooding, encourage people to check their flood risk and sign up for free flood warnings.

We are hoping that as a result of this project more people will become flood aware.

I would encourage members of the public to take advantage of the Tides of Tendring exhibition. It will be running a number of free events and activities so you can become flood aware and help the Environment Agency create a nation of climate champions.

The Tides of Tendring exhibition runs until 5 September with a number of free educational family activities planned including the painting of the seawall, children’s activities with the Environment Agency and a number of talks.

You can see the full list of events on the Jaywick Martello Tower website and Facebook page.

People can always check their flood risk, sign up for free flood warnings and keep up to date with the latest outlook on the Environment Agency’s website, call the Environment Agency Floodline on 0345 988 1188 or follow @EnvAgency on Twitter for the latest flood updates.