Looks like a Sea around the Mump

Mostly the same, made it up the Mump this morning..

 

Glad to hear it's no worse Zigs! Your pictures are amazing, it's difficult to comprehend it unless we see it for ourselves.

 

Amazing but shocking pictures Zig

 

Pity we can't do a deal with California,

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25996522

There was only one Molehill on the Mole Reserve

 

Great pictures! I wonder what it looks like from Glastonbury Tor?

The media have just started to correct their statements about 1.5 million tonnes/cubic metres needing pumping away, as they've finally realised that's the volume per day (journalists don't seem to have a basic grasp of arithmetic) and it's actually 65 million cubic metres of flood water they need to get rid of, meaning it will take (assuming some will drain off naturally) at least a month of pumping and that's without any additional rainfall. Oh well, at least the spring tides in April are small ones.

I think I saw a suggestion somewhere for a 'Thames Barrier' style thing across the Parrett near Bridgwater.

 

Ta
Surprisingly, there's not much flooding around Glastonbury, well, not that I saw.

 

I don't mean to rub it in, but crossing the moors today I saw a sign warning me that there is a flood ahead. "No there isn't" I thought, "I was on this road going the other way just a few hours ago, and it hasn't rained while I've been out, so there can be no flood". I was right of course, but what there was was a large puddle just after the bend, which I hit at speed, aquaplaned briefly, and then was on my way as normal.

 

There's been mention of dredging the rivers a bit in the South West, but mention that it wont happen at least until the flood water has gone, and possibly not even then because of the cost. But here's a thing. Over the last few weeks, even before the latest bout of storms, I've seen the river Esk being dredged at Whitby. Even at low tide the water is deep enough for large trawlers to get up and down the river, so it doesn't seem like that much of an engineering challenge.

What's the difference I wonder? Could it be anything to do with the fishing industry in Whitby? Maybe to do with tourism? Whitby is still a popular tourist spot even in winter, and when the water did actually come over just before christmas, it took a lot of businesses out for a few days (some for weeks) with the cumulative loss of revenue that that implies.

I must admit I don't know if the Somerset levels generate much revenue in tourism in winter, or any other industry (that's not to say the area doesn't, it means as I say, I don't know), but I can't help wondering if this is yet another case of the powers that be looking at factors like voting habits of the residents, tax revenues etc rather than actual human beings suffering losses.

 

It's a national disaster - happening here on our shores. We should do whatever it takes and whatever it costs as soon as is practically possible.
Why are we still giving money to India for its poor and needy when there are many very wealthy Indians who should be supporting their own?

 

I couldn't agree more. We send business to India, and we send huge amounts of aid money. India has a thriving space program, as well as a nuclear arsenal pointing at their neighbour, Pakistan, over the disputed territory of Kashmir. While many of the individuals there are desperately skint, the country is clearly very wealthy, and as foreign aid money is given to the nation as opposed to the people of that nation, its not being spent on the poor people anyway, as is evident by the fact that poor people are still desperately struggling while the nation has successful space and nuclear programs.

Meanwhile, here on our own shores, the best we can expect for people in severe difficulty is some politician paying lip service because there's a general election due next year.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/w...ry-not-both-says-Environment-Agency-boss.html

The newspaper has pics of flooded Maidstone beside marooned Mulcheney. I think the EA might be hinting that one of them isn't going to get any help.