Tuesday, 24 July 2007

Flood images

The town of Upton-upon-Severn in Worcestershire is pictured surrounded by flood waters. Photo by Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images found on BBC website.

Our power is due to go off for a day while new cabling is connected in our area. An inconvenience but nothing in comparison to the situation of those in England just now in towns, villages or cities cut off by the floods who have lost their power and their water supply. I always try to focus on something positive but really the only positive thing for them is that it is summer. Global Warming means they expect us to have a lot more extreme rain in winters and I dread to think of the consequences of this degree of flooding if it was accompanied by cold weather, particularly for the elderly and the sick.

Originally uploaded by Klucniks

I remember watching the film 'Earthquake' in the 70's and the bit that really upset me was when Victoria Principals poodle fell (or nearly fell?) into a crack. 30 years on it's still the animals that upset me, because they don't know what's happening and they never caused it. I dread to think of the number of stranded or abandoned pets. With rescue services stretched to their limits (army and life boat service helping) the priority is airlifting people so a lot of pets must be left to fend for themselves. It's not the focus of the news yet but the costs to livestock and wildlife must be enormous and they are starting to talk about ruined crops and a rise in food prices.

The message here is that this impacts all our lives so I am hoping this sudden and extreme shock will cause a mind-shift in the South of England (and the rest of the UK, but most people live in the south) about the seriousness of Global Warming and the absolute need for everyone to TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY and start changing their own actions and pushing for change in government, communities and industry. Many people are finding that insurance companies are refusing to insure them if their postcode is in a potential flood area.

Originally uploaded by Itspaulkelly

I think maybe this time it will change things because this is happening to the wealthier more influential parts of the UK. There's been been really noticeable difference in TV coverage between last months floods in the poorer North East of England compared to the immense coverage now that the South is flooding. Not that the South doesn't warrant the coverage, of course it does. But it irks me that the further you live from London the less important you are in the eyes of the media and politicians. Of course this is a gross generalisation and there are always cases where this isn't true, but anyone living in the North will tell you that this happens far too often. Even the little things irritate, like when the weatherman (based in London) said recently that the next day would be a washout for everyone with no sunshine, but the map of the UK behind him showed that Scotland,Wales, N.Ireland and North, Central and South West England wouldn't have a drop of rain all day. Ugh, irritating.

Another glimmer of hope is that this country, like many, is obsessed with sport and since sports grounds are being flooded and international games having to stop play (tennis and cricket recently) I think it will get more people thinking.

Ok, I'm ranting again. I've had very little sleep with this cold swelling up my sinuses and so many of my regular rant topics are now on the news it's making me rant all the more. Like building on flood planes. That has always driven me crazy and now more so than ever. One politician yesterday was saying that they have given guidelines to Councils about planning applications to build on flood planes. Guidelines?! As millions of houses are being built on them surely there should only be 1 guideline DON'T DO IT!!!!! Bloody hell is this not OBVIOUS, in fact, why is it not law?!!!!!

Rant over, but I can't promise there won't be more. Let's end on an artist note with some flood inspired art by Terry Roberts, finding the beauty in the destruction...

St. Mark's Reflections, originally uploaded by Bingleyman


Camilla said...

I thought I must have been imagining it- the difference in coverage between the flooding in Sheffield/Hull and what's happening in my neck of the woods- glad someone else has noticed! My sister's in-laws are all arriving in town tomorrow as they've got no water in Gloucester and all need baths. They're pretty lucky as they haven't been flooded out yet, just lost water and power- can't imagine what it's like to be in the middle of it all.
My friend Blue says that at least when it floods in Indonesia (where he's from) you get to catch fish and the water is warm!

lisa s said...

oh gosh. i had only heard of the flooding on the radio - but hadn't seen any images.


you are so so right. i hope we can institute some changes

Uschi said...

Perhaps you know, that parts of Germany had been flooded some years ago...during the catastrophe, people stood together in great solidarity. I don't see, how this solidarity will develope, if these catastrophes increase. There's a great numbness everywhere and an agony concerning changes!
We are a media-ruled world, daily catastrophes from all over the world made us numb and non-believers. So perhaps we could start in believing that the worst case is the realistic scenario and start to act according to this...
A wet hug!

Kirsty said...

I'm with you on the flood plains thing, although the current flooding is unusually severe there's no excuse for building in places that regularly flood. I think we really need to look at our overall land management strategies as well as what we can do as individuals.

Camplin said...

If more people would rant or at least read a rant about Global Warming, maybe poeple would get inspired to do something about it. Yeah! clean planet earth.

julie said...

Beautiful images of a terrible situation..i REALLY hope this will start changing many minds... xxx

simple me said...

hi Cally ... I'm so behind on commenting and I still owe you an email. during the weekend, promise!

I have been away as you know and then a lot of things to do, but I will catch up.

Yes I have seen all these dreadful images and situation and I understand very well about all the things you say and why you are so upset and irritated with it. I wish I could give you some comfort in this but I just feel powerless and then when you talk about all the animals that simply have no fault it makes me sad and mad at the same time.
gosh...I'm upset. don't worry not your fault but about all this and when I know that most will just forget and they will continue with their usual lives and habits...

simple me said...

... hugs and a bit of sunshine and blue skies from here :)

amy said...

Hi Cally,

We have floods here all the time, although I don't often hear of UK hit by floods, so the image struck a little too close to home.
If the government has already zoned which ones are flood prone areas, for the life of me I can't imagine why developers would want to build houses there. Over here it's more of the less we know, we think it's bliss. We have bad drainage and even worse engineers who know nuts about the ecosystem, so yeah, I'm afraid too.
The weather is changing real quick, and I'm afraid we aren't adapting to it fast enough to make a real change.

stephanie said...

the changes in weather is really frightening. Most of my country has their heads in the sand as well, but I think you are right that once it hits the wealthier populations more action will be taken.

These images are really amazing.

Anonymous said...

There are so many things to say (your rant was totally warranted) but I will just address the animal issue. I live in Canada and we received a ton of rescue animals from Louisiana after Katrina (I have one that lives next door and barks at me every time I leave the apartment). It seems that often the animals are looked after because animal rights groups rush out to help them. Or maybe I just know more about it because, I too, am always concerned for the animals. Just trying to bring a little hope! :)

melanie from www.meli-mello.com

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