THE news is absolutely dominated by the flooding across the country. Whilst the Somerset Levels dominate most headlines, the Thames bursting its banks has drawn attention to the Home Counties. Worcestershire is in chaos with the River Severn continuing to rise this week.

It is all pretty incredible stuff and is the result of unprecedented rain – this is the wettest winter since record began in 1876, and, oddly, follows directly from two unusually dry winters in 2011 and 2012. These two dry winters meant that reservoirs were the lowest they have been for 30 years.

It is, of course, impossible to plan a normal contingency reaction to completely abnormal events. We could try, but who knows what abnormal is?Meanwhile, would people be happy if we dedicated huge sums of money to resources that were never used at a cost to other services? So we have to plan for normal events, and have reserve powers for the extreme.

In Bewdley, where it floods from time to time, the town has defences that are installed when necessary. They seem to be working, albeit with one or two problems, and they seem to be doing their job as well as expected. It is, of course, incredibly inconvenient for the town that Wribbenhall has to suffer the temporary defences. More alarming, is the theft of the generator driving the flood pumps. It is incredible that such an act of stupid, selfish dishonesty could occur and I trust that everyone will be delighted to help the police bring this cretin to swift justice.

The budget for flood defences and coastal erosion is £2.3 billion, but in the event of a district finding itself the victim of a catastrophe, there is the Bellwin Scheme which provides emergency funding to help communities cope. In the case of the flooding, because of the exceptional nature, this has been further enhanced.

As is often the case with these events, a number of other funds have been set up. The Red Cross is operating a collection scheme for clothes and other items, whilst the NFU is also running schemes to help the farming community. And as a tribute to the generosity of the wider community, the Levels Action Group has received more donations than it currently needs.

CONTACT YOUR MP

  • Email: mark.garnier.mp@parliament.uk
  • Telephone: 020 7219 7198 or 01562 746771
  • Write: 9a Lower Mill Street, Kidderminster, DY11 6UU, or House of Commons, Westminster, London