Live in the flood area, then put the seat down

[NorthernRaider]

It appears rodents are fleeing the flooded SW & SE and taking up residence in areas heavily populated with humans, I raise this issue cos of the clearly increased risk from Weils Disease being spread and the extra fire risk from rodents sharpening their teeth chewing through power cables in your house.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/461067/...and-storms

[CharlesHarris]

Same thing was noted in NYC after Sandy.

[bigpaul]

what is it they say?: "those that ignore history are destined to repeat it!". look up "Bristol Channel floods" 1607. on the 30th January 1607 the whole of the Somerset Levels were flooded from the Bristol Channel right up to Glastonbury 14 miles away(if you go to St.Dunstons Church there is STILL a 6ft high tide mark on the church wall), 200 sq miles of farm land was unindated, 2000 people were drowned along with many farm animals, several villages were washed away. it happened again in "The Great Storm" of 1703 when hundreds of people were drowned.

[NorthernRaider]

Yup and the UKs population was a 10th of what it is now and few people lived on the flood areas at that time. EG Somerset got its name because the area could only be farmed during the summer from May til Oct. Now not only are millions living on the flood plains ( utterly reliant on dredging and pumps to keep them dry) but also they have built on the hiller areas thus increasing rain water run off.

Still at least back then people understood it was THEIR choice and THEIR responsibility if they lived in flood risk areas, the pathetic sheeple of today CHOOSE to buy property on flood plains, but then expect the rest of society to fund flood defences for them.

[bigpaul]

yep, live on a flood plain, below sea level or next to a river, EXPECT to get flooded, anyone thinking of moving home in the near future should not only consider the price and the repayments on your proposed property but do some basic homework first.

[NorthernRaider]

Mind you, lets be honest the last few governments and the EA have been led badly astray by the militant greens who put the welfare of voles and a rare floating cabbage ahead of the wellbeing of the community. They stopped the dredging to protect the voles river ban environment, but the flooding has drowned all the voles !!!. Its heartbreaking to see so many peoples lives torn apart as their homes are flooded for months losing so much stuff and treasured possessions, It confirms to me from afar ( and not being judgemental) that the state has badly failed a lot of people, AND the people MUST finally learn that they must NOT rely on the state to protect them.

[bigpaul]

when we lived in Glastonbury we were told the dredging was stopped to protect fresh water mussels!! we are ALL responsible for our own destinies, if people rely on the state for this(i.e. CAREER politicians) they will be lied to and badly let down. politicians are unable to see further than the next election-that's why nothing ever gets done.

[Steve]

(23 February 2014, 11:44)NorthernRaider Wrote: Mind you, lets be honest the last few governments and the EA have been led badly astray by the militant greens who put the welfare of voles and a rare floating cabbage ahead of the wellbeing of the community. They stopped the dredging to protect the voles river ban environment, but the flooding has drowned all the voles !!!. Its heartbreaking to see so many peoples lives torn apart as their homes are flooded for months losing so much stuff and treasured possessions, It confirms to me from afar ( and not being judgemental) that the state has badly failed a lot of people, AND the people MUST finally learn that they must NOT rely on the state to protect them.

Actually, rivers need dredging because of the silt that runs off badly managed farmland. A major culprit is Maize, the land is left bare for too long and erodes badly, so badly in fact that the Labour government put regulations in place to ensure that cover crops were planted to protect the soil between maize crops. Maize is increasingly grown to produce bio-fuel.

Camerons government, advised by the ex head of the NFU, not only repealed the need for cover crops but also made special exemptions to other rules for maize growers.

Now the rivers run brown with soil from the fields and silt up. The EA, who were told by the government how much they were allowed to spend on dredging and spent all of it clearing the silt out, are powerless to complain.

[NorthernRaider]

Much of the farm land up here is awful, completely sterile will not woms or anything in it, the farmers plant continuously never allowing the land to recover or lay fallow. There are lots of bad farmers up here, especially those who still shred hedgerows down to almost nothing or rip them out completely.

Farmers most certainly are not guardians of the countryside.

[bigpaul]

that's modern farming for you, instead of plowing so that the ridges hold water its now ploughed so the ridges actually channel the water, and therefore the silt, into the rivers.