Oxford Floods

Oxford is built on the confluence of two major rivers, the Thames and the Cherwell, and even the name of the city ‘Ox – Ford’ denotes a low place in the river (1). Thus, it really shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone, that after two-and-a-half weeks of consistent rain, the city has flooded. 

It is not apocalyptic. No one is being rescued by helicopter or climbing out of a second story window into a boat, but many people have found water coming into their houses. It has also created a bit of travel chaos. As of yesterday, the main road out of town to the west and one of the main arteries leading south have been closed. This is especially problematic for me as I live in the south and work in the west...

Yesterday, my commute included a half-an-hour walk down a flooded road. In truth, there was only one spot where walking through water was completely unavoidable, so my socks only got slightly soaked. Today, I am working from home. Thankfully, home sits on a hill, a good 30 minute walk from any river

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(1) There are some who will says that the official name of the portion of the Thames that flows through Oxford is ‘Isis’, but this strikes me as being both confusing and slightly snooty.