Rant

There's a lot of discussion on the news reports about the flooding in the Vendee where people drowned.

It seems incomprehensible that sea-marsh should be used for building in an area with so much land (and so many empty houses just inland, both in towns and hamlets). Apparently the mayor was put under pressure by developers - no surprise there - but also by his electorate. People wanted a pretty little villa by the sea. It's not as if they had no choice about where to live.

There will probably be stronger rules and legislation in future so that mayors and planning committees will be supported in refusals. Meanwhile, so many people have died and so many more are still in difficulty, and of course there has been all the risk to those who work in the emergency services. Imagine being out in that storm in a helicopter, trying to rescue people from roofs.

The cost to the country is huge, and next there will be the insurance claims and consequent rise in everyone's premium, so we'll all share a little of the damage. I wonder if there will be any attempt to take back their profits from the developers?

Educating people in better risk assessment wouldn't be a bad plan, either.