FOR those who have been flooded out of their homes, life remains a roller-coaster.
Ralph Colaluca has had to gut his single-storey mobile home in Subrosa Drive, Merstham, after a torrent of sewage-contaminated water poured in on Christmas Eve, ruining everything apart from pictures hanging safely above the waterline.
Some neighbours have pitched in to help the 78-year-old, by donating new furniture and replacing the floors. Mr Colaluca has no insurance – he couldn't get cover following a much less serious flood ten years ago.
But, as he held back tears, he said the hardest thing was not having his wife, who has lived in a care home for six years, home for Christmas, or back for her regular visits since.
"You just try to be as calm as possible," said the former sailor. "It was a force of nature, I don't know if there is anything anyone could have done."
He said he had not seen any official from any authority at the site since his rescue by firefighters in the early hours of December 24.
Other residents are determined to find out why the water inundated the mobile home site.
Neighbour John Pringle said: "This was an absolute torrent and we need to know what caused this. We will find out. It was raging, up to five feet deep."
Both men said the increasing amount of tarmac covering the area may have been a factor in the flooding.
