Published at 14:09, Friday, 20 November 2009

THE eyes of the country have been on Cumbria over the past 36 hours, during which the equivalent of six months rainfall in London and the south east fell on towns and villages devastated by floods.

The sheer, breathtaking scale and rapid speed of rising, rushing floodwaters which overwhelmed homes and businesses, has been unprecedented.

Destructive waters brought down bridges, left families fearful for loved ones and friends, made so many homeless.

Few in Cumbria fail to understand the terrors of a flood. The consequences of extreme weather are known to be merciless – known because they have already been experienced.

Priorities now are naturally concentrated on the continuing urgency of rescue operations. In the here and now, families made so suddenly and unexpectedly homeless need safe haven, some marooned by rising waters must be brought to safety, infrastructure made treacherous by the unstoppable forces of high volumes of fast flowing water need to be made secure.

But here is just the start of the protracted suffering must Cumbrians know to expect in the wake of frightful flooding.

Those stunned by the shock and panic of the events of the last long, dark hours, will only now be realising that their misery is just beginning.

It’s unlikely many will be able to return home in time for Christmas. If the experience of families in Carlisle is any measure, some can expect long delays of months, even years before their lives can return to some semblance of normality.

When immediate drama has subsided, when TV cameras have withdrawn, that’s when the generosity of Cumbria’s extended family will be needed most.

That’s when all those whose lives have been ripped apart by savage forces of nature will need our help and support.

And when we must be ready to give it.

Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk