My lodger knocked on my bedroom door at 0700 am. "Richard, I'm sorry (why, it wasn't his fault?) but there's a flood".

Damn right.   Not in the house, but two inches in the laundry room and a foot in my garage - which housed one of my PA rigs, some vintage Tannoy HiFi speakers, lots of other stuff and lodger's toy radio control cars (they run on compression ignition tiny motors and the fuel is HEAVY on methanol) and the gallon of such fuel - oh, and a junction box carrying 240V single phase mains to various places, one foot off the floor. Water had been washing in and out of the junction box most of the night. The trip had not tripped - it damn well should have done, it was an ELCB - so the fluctuations had fried the mother boards on two computers in the house and my office (full -size) photocopier.

At least I'd put wellington boots on before going to investigate, and when I reached in an unthinkingly hit the light switch there was NOT a big bang (yes, the power was still on so I guess the water was probably "live" - don't tell me it's impossible, I was in there) but the lights clearly showed the film of the toy car fuel on the top of the water.

Fortunately the insurance paid out (I think they were impressed when I told them I could fix a 1.5 kilowatt folded horn PA low frequency speaker the replacement price of which was GBP 7,000) but I still shiver a bit when I think what could have happened if I had: -

(a) stepped into the water in bare feet; or
(b) caused a spark by turning on the light.

The bleeding police had been in the street at 2 am and decided not to walk to my door to warn me as crossing the flood would have been too dangerous! Oh, nor did they 'phone me although everyone in the village knows my name and my number is in the book.