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StanleyB
09-02-2014, 16:23
I can't help noticing the blame game currently being played with regards to the flooding that is affecting large parts of the UK. But current politics aside, why is it that for a kingdom surrounded by water we are totally inept at protecting our own shores? That other kingdom commonly known as Holland (which basically means a land in a hole) is widely regarded as a bastion of knowledge when it comes to protecting its soil from flooding. Were we as Brits far more keen to defend the land in far flung parts of the globe, whilst paying scant attention to our own land? Things are not going to get better if massive investments are not pumped into sea and river defences. But the current proposed solutions are not looking good for those of us unfortunate enough to live below see level. Who is going to want to buy a property in an area that has experienced flooding in the last couple of years?
Effem
09-02-2014, 22:47
I think the hidden agenda for homes at risk from coastal erosion is that it is cheaper to let the houses crumble into the sea and never build there again, than to spend countless millions on shoring up those areas for the inevitable to happen again at the same place some time in the future.

While in some areas of the coast the land is being swallowed up by the sea, in other areas the sea is retreating from the land and it has always been so for millions and millions of years. In all probability the soil from one place is being shifted around by currents so the net gain/loss of land is almost balanced out. Man's blemish on the landscape is contained within mere hundreds of years and fighting against very powerful forces it is no real match for.

I clearly recall Molesey in Surrey being under 8 feet of water back in the 70's and a huge amount of money was spent on flood defences on the River Mole after the big hooha in parliament, but the people of Chertsey don't see any different right now and they too are demanding their many millions to be spent on preventing them getting flooded again. If they get it, who will be next on the list?

I viewed a beautiful house to buy back in the 90's and the missus fell in love with it immediately but I walked away from it. At the end of the garden was a stream and there may have been a gentle burble from it in mid August, but I had visions of it being a different animal after some heavy rain. I was right, because I saw the same house on the news this week with my nightmare in stark reality on the screen :eek:
Ninanina
09-02-2014, 23:38
BUT if we were to forgo the huge amounts of money we give to other countries in aid we would be able to afford to look after our own problems, which are 'currently' flooding problems

I think we should be looking after our own for a change... ; )
StanleyB
10-02-2014, 06:15
BUT if we were to forgo the huge amounts of money we give to other countries in aid we would be able to afford to look after our own problems, which are 'currently' flooding problems

I think we should be looking after our own for a change... ; )
That's the political side of the debate, but it does not answer the engineering solutions required. Even if we had all the money we needed, that still leaves us with the headache of how to hold back the tide and where.
prestonchipfryer
10-02-2014, 08:17
With regard to the extreme flooding problems on the Somerset Levels. There has been flooding there for thousands of years and mans attempts to control the flooding is largely successful. However, with the massive amounts of rainfall recently it has been impossible to stop the water level rising. Whatever money is spent trying to alleviate the problem will never be enough as parts of the Levels are below sea level.

Whether the lack of dredging is the sole cause of the Somerset floods is debatable, as people, in general, always look to have something - or somebody - to blame for their problem(s).
The Grand Wazoo
10-02-2014, 08:35
It's OK, Cameron is on his way there as we speak. He'll tell it to go back. And of course, it will.
Ali Tait
10-02-2014, 12:35
:lol:
prestonchipfryer
10-02-2014, 16:33
David Cameroon visits Chiswell Cove at Portland. The Chesil Beach has taken a mighty pounding:

Those waves are HUGE, in the order of 40-50 feet. The Cove House Inn took a battering but remained firm on its foundations, although many of windows were smashed.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRYbDtqusX4



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-26116670
Barry
10-02-2014, 18:34
It's OK, Cameron is on his way there as we speak. He'll tell it to go back. And of course, it will.

Well a lot of people think he's a bit of a (King) Cnut!
loo
10-02-2014, 18:40
I wonder if Windsor and the Surrey stockbroker belt will be left sinking and stinking like Somerset,
doubt it somehow
synsei
10-02-2014, 19:24
I wonder if Windsor and the Surrey stockbroker belt will be left sinking and stinking like Somerset,
doubt it somehow

Paul you are such a cynic, haven't you heard we are all in this together... Oh wait, where did that expensive retaining wall and all that heavy plant equipment appear from?
walpurgis
10-02-2014, 19:49
Well a lot of people think he's a bit of a (King) Cnut!

Every time I see Cameron, I think of the character Malfoy in the Harry Potter films (not my choice of film viewing. I have grand kids).
synsei
10-02-2014, 19:51
Every time I see Cameron, I think of the character Malfoy in the Harry Potter films (not my choice of film viewing. I have grand kids).

:rfl:

Class... :)
synsei
10-02-2014, 19:53
This made me giggle... :D


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxDp5pnhcEY
loo
10-02-2014, 19:54
Paul you are such a cynic, haven't you heard we are all in this together... Oh wait, where did that expensive retaining wall and all that heavy plant equipment appear from?
Me a cynic Dave, I suppose Somerset did get £50k off Prince Charley's country fund shame they had to spend it on his Visit :doh:
Otherwise might have bought em all a cupasoup
synsei
10-02-2014, 20:20
Me a cynic Dave, I suppose Somerset did get £50k off Prince Charley's country fund shame they had to spend it on his Visit :doh:
Otherwise might have bought em all a cupasoup

I did mean to add one of these :D to my previous post ;)
The Grand Wazoo
10-02-2014, 20:20
Every time I see Cameron, I think of the character Malfoy in the Harry Potter films (not my choice of film viewing. I have grand kids).

Me too - that's how I've always seen him since the first time I saw a Harry Potter film.
Does anyone remember Black Wednesday when Lamont and one of his advisors told us they'd had 'a bad day' after losing £3.14 billion. We were left high and dry that time!

http://blogs.independent.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/article-2099885-00F193F000000191-66_468x545.jpeg
RichB
10-02-2014, 23:31
Naomi Klein's 'Shock Doctrine' is required reading for our times.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shock-Doctrine-Rise-Disaster-Capitalism/dp/1846140285/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1392074109&sr=1-4&keywords=shock+doctrine

For those poor folks in Somerset and the public bodies struggling to help them it shines a light on the politics of disaster capitalism.

Btw I work for one of those public bodies and the political opportunism I see is truly horrifying. We are staffed by largely hardworking, modestly paid, educated people who come from the very communities affected by these events and have a very real stake in preventing the damage we are seeing right now. If a politician would have you believe otherwise then ask yourself why they would wish to present it this way.
This said, we don't make the weather and have to work with the assets, landscapes and resources which are always shifting.

Stay safe folks and remember to check flood warnings to keep your valuable HiFi dry;)