The Floods And The Princes

In recent weeks, the UK has experienced the heaviest rainfall for more than two centuries. That’s the good news! The bad news is that more rain is on the way, and in some places the ground can take no more.


Birds fly over flooded land near Burrowbridge on the Somerset Levels in south west England

Until Friday night, the Environment Agency had issued no fewer than 24 severe flood warnings. One of the worst hit areas is the Somerset Levels. Both the Environment Agency and its Chairman Chris Smith have come in for severe criticism, but the beleagued denizens of both the West Country and Berkshire received some high powered moral support this week in the shape of three princes.

First, Prince Charles turned up in Somerset by tractor, and yesterday his sons William and Harry went to the village of Datchet on the River Thames not simply to inspect the damage and provide moral support but to supply some royal muscle helping to shift sandbags. Harry is still a serving soldier, and the army has been deployed to assist with the relief effort.

Charles is also donating £50,000 to assist victims, and his mother, the Queen herself, has made a donation in kind from the Royal Farms at Windsor.

As welcome as all this may be, some people are looking ahead and asking if more can’t be done next time this happens. Leaving aside any questions about climate change, which is something that can’t be tackled in the short term – ie in the next five to ten years – there is a general feeling that with better preparation, the scale of any future damage can be ameliorated considerably. Professor David Balmforth of the Institute of Civil Engineers told the BBC it was not necessary to throw money at the problem but what we do need is a long term, consistent investment plan for flood management.

Terrible though the current situation may be, there have to date been no more than a handful of deaths due to the weather. The Great Flood of 1953 led to more than three hundred.

[The above article was first published February 15, 2014 (London time), not February 14 as shown on the archived version. Around thirty photographs were generated for this article. I have included the first one here.]

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