83-Year-Old Grandmother Found ‘Floating in the Water’ of Her Flooded Home Drowned amid Lack of Storm Protections

An 83-year-old woman who drowned in her home after a nearby river overflowed did not have formal flood defenses to protect her.

Maureen Gilbert was discovered “floating in the water” inside her house in Chesterfield, England, by her son Paul Gilbert and grandson on the morning of Oct. 21, 2023. Storm Babet had caused the River Rother to burst its banks, according to BBC and Sky News.

She was one of seven people who died during the storm. About 400 homes were evacuated, and thousands across the UK lost power, reported The Guardian.

An inquest into her death began on Sept. 1 at Chesterfield Coroner’s Court.

Neil Longden, the Environment Agency’s operations manager for Yorkshire, explained that Maureen’s home was at high risk of flooding because it sat on low ground where several water sources meet, according to The Guardian.

When asked why her street had no flood defenses, Longden replied, “The answer really is you can build something, but someone has to pay for it.” He added that while solutions exist, funding and planning often get in the way. “There are thousands of people at flood risk around the country. You would have that challenge in many locations.”

Residents told BBC that around five feet of water rushed into homes on Tapton Terrace “within minutes” of the river breaking its banks.

Longden also admitted he had never seen a storm like Babet before. He said the only major project done to protect the area since severe flooding in 2007 was a reservoir built in 2018 to help lower the river’s peak flow.

At the inquest, assistant coroner Matthew Kewley confirmed that Maureen’s cause of death was drowning, BBC reported. Paul said his mother had called him the day before, warning that “water was in the house.”

Paul had tried to secure the home himself with flood defenses, but the water made it impossible to enter. He told Sky News he spent seven hours trying to reach her. Emergency services also could not get inside. Maureen, who was disabled, lived downstairs and was found dead the next day.

“I don’t think there’s enough being done with flood defenses,” Paul told Sky News at the time. “People get forgotten down here — nobody got it as bad as we did in 2007 and now this year.”

The inquest into Maureen’s death is expected to last five days.

Chesterfield Coroner’s Court and Yorkshire’s Environment Agency did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Tuesday, Sept. 2.