Flood, sweat and tears…
Monday, July 23rd, 2007
They say that lightning never strikes twice, and for that we should at least be grateful. The same it appears cannot be said for the floods. Once again, this weekend, many parts of the country have been disastrously affected by the torrential rain we have seen leading to the worst flooding in England in sixty years.
Thousands of people have been forced to flee their home with only their bare possessions as the rain blocked off roads, submerged cars and flooded houses.
Yet, in amongst all this chaos and confusion, the Government seem to have been at a loss. It is as if this was a complete bolt from the blue for them. It should not have been and it is negligence on their part if it was. There is a general consensus now that climate change is affecting global weather patterns and we have to accept this. Only a few months ago, people living in areas such as Sheffield were similarly affected by the heavy rain leading to floods.
The Met Office exists to collate, analyse and help to advise the Government on issues such as the type of the weather that can be expected, and organisations such as Environment Agency need to act swiftly on that advice. Adequate defence systems were not in place to ensure people were safely evacuated, nor were enough food and water supplies made available leading to looting and water shortages. People fighting in the aisles of supermarkets for bottled water is like something out of a Hollywood disaster movie.
This is deeply tragic for the people who have been affected. They know they will have to return eventually to try and rebuild their homes, but in the interim many have been left without guidance and assistance when they need it most.
It is simply not good enough. Lessons will have to be learnt by the Government, and acted upon, if we are to prevent scenes like this in the future.