A year after a sudden cloudburst sent great tides of water rushing into homes residents are being told there is no easy solution and that it is up to them to defend their properties.

Norwich Evening News: Flash flooding on Friday afternoon in Newport Road, Hemsby.Hemsby broads lifeboat called in action.Picture: James BassFlash flooding on Friday afternoon in Newport Road, Hemsby.Hemsby broads lifeboat called in action.Picture: James Bass (Image: Archant Norfolk © 2014)

Roads were turned into rivers in Hemsby and Ormesby and dozens of homes and a school were badly affected following the intense afternoon downpour.

In some cases it took months for people to get back to normal.

Re-living the trauma at a community drop-in event staged by Norfolk County Council at Scratby's All Saints Hall this week, residents said that they felt vulnerable.

They were also fearful of another flooding nightmare.

The event was for residents to discuss issues raised in a report investigating the flooding with representatives from Anglian Water, borough councils, internal drainage boards and highways staff.

The report found that while not all systems were working perfectly nothing could have coped with the huge volume of water that fell in just 15 minutes, flooding 53 properties.

It breaks down the flooded areas into catchments and road names, listing what caused the flooding there, who is responsible to manage the cause, what was their response and what recommendations are made for the future.

Data within the dossier reveals that rainfall in Ormesby was estimated as a 1 in 146 year event whereas just a mile away in Hemsby it was said to be a 1 in 15 year storm.

The report also predicts the numbers of properties at risk during extreme rainfall events, 76 in Hemsby and 177 in Ormesby.

See today's paper for the full story.

The report can be found at www.norfolk.gov.uk/watermanagement.