It's truly awful Woody, but it doesn't end here.
I lived near Kinmel Bay in North Wales when the sea defences gave way in the late '80s and hundreds of homes and businesses were flooded to a similar extent.
It was over a year before people could be moved back into their homes, such is the destructive force of water mixed with raw sewage from the drains. It is not just a case of drying out - the ground floors have to be almost re-built.
The most destructive thing to the community though, is money. Those who have full insurance are OK. The majority of people are under-insured, and many have none at all.
So an appeal goes out, and people contribute generously from around the country. Inevitably, those with the least insurance cover get the most help from the appeal fund.
Boy though, does this cause resentment! 'Feckless chavs' do very nicely while those 'prudent' souls get nothing.
I last visited Kinmel Bay about ten years ago and was told that the resentment was still as raw as ever. Be warned, Woody!
In a similar vein, I did a job for a surveyor a few months ago who had been involved in assessing claims for flood damage in the Hull area a couple of years ago.
Rather than get involved in organising repairs etc, insurance companies attempted to come to cash settlements with people. If repairs would cost £30,000, a cash offer would be made of £20,000. The idea was that individuals would be able to sort their own repairs out more cheaply, doing a lot of the grunt work themselves.
Huge swathes of people took the cash, bought plasma tellies etc, went to Benidorm for a fortnight, returned home to a $hithole, and loudly complained about those 'ba$tard insurance companies'!
I am sure that Cumbrians are a lot more sensible...
