Washed Out

The Daily Mirror editorialises:

It's hard to imagine the misery of families flooded out of their homes as Christmas approaches.

Carpets, furniture, wallpaper – everything will be destroyed.

After the filthy water is pumped out, ­properties must be dried and cleaned before people can start thinking of redecorating and replacing their lost goods.

The emergency services performed their usual heroics and badly stretched local authorities are playing vital roles.

So the massively profitable insurance companies had better pay up without quibbling or the public will extract revenge for their penny pinching. 

Heavy rain isn’t preventable and complaining about the weather isn’t going to end downpours. 

Yet cutting spending nationally on flood defences was a false economy by the Tories, transferring the financial cost on to tenants and householders who endure the heartache of disasters.

Storm Desmond couldn’t be wished away but surely we can in future stop so many families being washed out of their homes.

Whenever there are floods in the South, then heaven and earth are moved to deal with them, as well as to try and prevent any repetition. Rightly so. But when are we going to enjoy the benefits of equal citizenship?