When the Somerset Levels got flooded, government response was low-key and sluggish. Now that the “beloved” Thames is brimming over – though not to anything like the extent of rivers down in Somerset – that jackass Cameron is walking around trumpeting that “money is no object”. Funny how it was an object two weeks ago, when Lord Smith said there wasn’t a bottomless purse. But hey, as I said: it’s the Thames, now. So it’s personal.
The media is even publishing photos showing a few centimetres of water in the gardens of multi-million pound properties along the Thames (this one is in Wraysbury).
Meanwhile, in Somerset, many properties are literally waist deep in water (as shown in this picture). Guess where this suggests the money ought to be spent.
To make matters worse, the Environment Agency has had to withdraw staff from Wraysbury because the local morons with the collective IQ of a tadpole decided to direct abuse and intimidation at EA workers.
It’s not clear what form this abuse took, but it appears to have been of a physical nature.
Let’s get a few things straight, here. I absolutely detest this government, but there is nothing it – or any of its agencies – could have done to avoid these floods.
No amount of dredging would have prevented the Somerset flooding. And the flooding on the Thames has bugger all to do with anything. It’s just shit that happens, as the saying goes. Let’s face it: if you’re going to spend the money you made being a plumber buying a semi-mansion next to a big river to park your white van outside of, you’re partly responsible if it gets flooded out. Floods happen. Especially near rivers.
Apart from the fact that a lot of water has fallen, by far the biggest problem is idiot councils building on flood plains and creating extra run-off. But quite how significant even this is isn’t known.