UK Floods: Looting, Panic Buying – and a Water Shortage
July 23rd, 2007Via: Times Online:
Food and drinking water shortages, panic buying and the threat of looting have followed the worst flooding to hit England in 60 years.
Amid concerns that the government-run Environment Agency acted far too slowly in responding to serious flood alerts from the Met Office, parts of the West Country woke up this morning to another day under water and the Thames Valley now faces being inundated.
An estimated 90,000 gallons of water a second was surging down the swollen River Thames last night towards Oxford, Reading and Windsor.
The Environment Agency fears that the Thames Valley area will now suffer a similar fate to Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire, where flooding has bought misery to thousands of people. Opposition MPs are seeking an emergency statement from the Government today.
The Times has learnt that the Ministry of Defence was unwilling to supply lorries and drivers without being guaranteed payment for their services. As a result there appear to have been delays in securing the use of high-sided vehicles that could deliver sleeping bags and flood parcels to the stricken communities.
In the area worst affected by the floodwater from the Severn and the Avon over the weekend, some homes were left without running water and supermarkets reported panic buying of bottled water and food, which is expected to create serious shortages for several days.
The Independent wrote earlier this year that there was the potential for massive flooding in the UK – I wish I had the article now. A flood is something very difficult to prepare against – I guess anywhere in the world. In the U.S. you would have to be one rich bitch to be able to pay the insurance costs. And not living on a flood plain I forego the costs. In terms of self preparation though, I wonder, are citizens of the U.K. subject to the same distortions as we in the U.S.? Did their government scientists annointed by Tony Blair sneer and citizens sneer when they read this Independent article? Are they also being trained to be salivating Pavlov mongrels to think and dwell on and identify with the fear of the manufactured Islam-o-facist terrorist “threat” rather than on the reality of life on a planet that is going through a form of female menopause (this is the only analogy I can come up with)? Or is the planet’s death throes? I dunno. All I know is I wish I had a Berkeley filter. All that water in the U.K. and not a drop to drink. Pity the loss. Prepare for natural disasters AND the boogeyman.