Rochdown Council has established a rainy-day fund to cover the costs of providing a range of support services including food banks and childcare services to flood-affected residents.
The Rochford Fund will be set up by the Rochworth Estate Office, which has been running a crisis-relief programme since Monday.
Council chief executive Mark Wright said the funds would help residents deal with the stress of the floods and will allow them to continue their lives.
“It is not a matter of when it will be fixed, but when we can be back in business and have the money in hand to support the community,” he said.
Mr Wright said people who did not have access to basic supplies or those who had been displaced would have access over the coming days.
“We are putting in place a fund to give our residents the basic essentials that they need to stay safe,” he told the Rotherham Times.
“It will be a temporary thing but we are working with the estate to ensure we get it up and running before we need to reopen our doors.”
The flood-prone community needs to be protected.
“Our priority is to support people to get back to their normal lives.”
Mr Wright told the paper that a total of 4,600 flood victims have been eligible for assistance from the fund and that more would be able to apply later this month.
“I think it’s fair to say that the community has suffered enough.”
People have been impacted and I think we all need to get behind them,” he added.
Rochdale has been hit by a number of extreme weather events, including the devastating floods of 2013 and 2016.
More to come.
