How a village’s first flood changed one man’s view on climate change

From Stories From Round Our Way by Round Our Way

June 26, 2025 · 11 min

About this episode

Pete Paragreen shares how the 2007 floods in Burstwick changed his perspective on climate change.

In this story we hear from Pete Paragreen, a retired electrician and long-time resident of Burstwick, a small village just outside Hull that was hit hard during the devastating 2007 floods. While Pete’s home was spared, the experience of seeing his village submerged - a place that had never flooded before - fundamentally changed the way he sees climate change. Pete describes the shock of witnessing floodwaters in streets he’d always assumed were safe, and how that moment forced him to confront a new reality: that nowhere is truly immune. He shares how the village pulled together in the aftermath, building its own flood defence system with embankments, pumps, and a community-run response plan. Reflecting on rising sea levels and the limits of man-made protection, Pete voices a growing anxiety about the future. His message is clear: we can build barriers, but we also have to tackle the root causes of the crisis. As he puts it, “Tackle climate change, or live up a hill.”

People in this episode

Guest: Pete Paragreen

Topics covered

climate change
flooding
community response
environmental awareness
personal transformation

Keywords

flood
climate change
community
environment
sea levels
flood defense
personal story

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Burstwick, Hull