Photography: Portraits of those helping to tackle the UK floods, by Charlie Clift
The UK has taken a real battering from the sky of late, leaving towns all over the place drowning in seemingly endless floods. The news have become accustomed to using the term “Dunkirk” when alluding to the spirit of the townspeople in the most hard-hit areas, which is accurate to say the least. Photographer Charlie Clift decided to champion the members of the public who have been waist-deep in water (sometimes sewage) for the last few weeks and take their portraits for his new series Faces of the Flood. “I realised I needed to do something to record the floods and help those affected. After a small bout of research I realised that the efforts of volunteer groups and services were amazing. So I travelled to the Somerset Levels to join them.” Charlie told us.
“Immediately on my arrival to any flooded area I came across loads of people helping out. There wasn’t a split between authority and volunteers, just everyone working together getting their feet wet and their hands dirty. Some had taken time off work, others had travelled down from London or Yorkshire, and specialists had worked non-stop for over a month. Although the damage to buildings and homes was horrible it was fantastic to see the community spirit and helpful attitude of those lending a hand. I hope my images help promote their efforts and encourage others to help out as well.”
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Liv joined It’s Nice That as an intern in 2011 and worked across online, print and events, and was latterly Features Editor before leaving in May 2015.