-
Yes, it's been a failure of decades. Obviously not just Wales, but flood defences in northern river valleys, stopping run-off from high moors, undoing river straightening, coastal defences ... it's a long list.
The infrastructure can help with events like this, and it would absolutely be nice to be better-protected against this kind of storm, but I can never help thinking about the real danger from events like in the Ahr and Erft Valleys in 2021 or south-eastern Spain, not to mention China, Brazil, and everywhere else extreme events have happened in the last few years. Even Dubai had a freak rainstorm not so long ago. When that kind of rain comes down, you can forget any infrastructure completely, it's merely a sticking-plaster when much more meaningful action is required, which is an even greater failure of global politics.
But yeah, let's not do anything much, flooding mainly affects others, poorer others, I'm alright, Jack, etc.
You are reading a single comment by @trigs and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
Oliver Schick
@trigs
I happen to live in Pontypridd, albeit on the side of a large hill, which you've probably seen was hit hard yesterday. Whatever measures were put in place after the 2020 floods seem to have helped a bit, but we're still looking at hundreds of homes ruined.
The anger towards the local and national government is rife down here now - our local MP had the wise idea to share a Go Fund Me page to help raise funds for affected residents but like... isn't that what tax is for?
If this was happening every four years in London or the southeast there'd be outrage.
If anyone wants a good read about how Wales has been consistently starved of funding by central government, this is unfun but important: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/oct/15/great-welsh-train-robbery-hs2-rail-services
Anyway, gonna head down the hill later to see if there's anything needing doing with the clean up - spent the morning yesterday bailing sewage water out of the local museum building so also on the lookout for any fun gastro symptoms. Can you tell I'm angry?
1 Attachment