The embankmen

The embankment, which is maintained by residents, held and kept all houses dry when storms Ciara and Dennis hit Churchtown in 2019, says Siriol Hogg, the founder of the Churchtown Flood Action Group. Hogg had to leave her home for 15 months after it flooded in 2015. "It was terribly distressing," she says, noting the experience forced her to seek medical support for anxiety. "The people of Fairbourne must be under such mental strain and feeling such grief."