Resources: Talking point - How would teens react to floods in theUK?

Britain is very unlikely to see the kind of hurricane-force storm that blasted through the Gulf coast at the end of August. But this country has experienced severe storms and floods. Do young people remember the Boscastle storm in the summer of 2004? Or the floods that led to the evacuation of Carlisle in January this year? There, nearly 2,000 homes were directly flooded and 60,000 homes cut off from electrical supplies.

Discuss with young people how they might respond if they were advised to evacuate ahead of a forthcoming flood. How would they make their decision about whether to stay or go? Is their attitude different now they have seen pictures of what happened in New Orleans? Would they prefer to stick it out in their home, or go to a reception centre? What other alternatives might there be, such as going to stay with friends or relatives? Talk about the advantages and disadvantages of each option.