The secretary of the environment has proposed that the impact of Storm Babet was more difficult to anticipate due to the eastern direction of the rainfall.
Thérèse Coffey’s statements made to the Committee on the Environment in the House of Commons prompted the Liberal Democrats to strongly encourage her to take control and refrain from constantly placing blame on others for her shortcomings.
The Environment Agency reports that at least seven individuals lost their lives and hundreds were displaced due to Storm Babet, which also caused flooding in approximately 1,250 properties in England.
On Tuesday, Coffey informed MPs that during Storm Babet, the Met Office and the Environment Agency’s flood forecasting center were successful in predicting weather patterns due to our usual rain coming from the west. This has become a skillful practice for us.
“Il n’y avait pas de pluie venant de l’autre côté et nous n’avons pas autant d’expérience à ce sujet. Par conséquent, notre précision pour prédire où une telle pluie abondante tomberait n’était pas aussi élevée que si cela avait été le cas.”
The Environment Agency relocated resources from certain areas to Yorkshire and the north-east. However, there were still some locations that felt they could have benefitted from additional pumps.
The secretary of the environment, who met with affected residents in Retford, Nottinghamshire on Monday, announced that £5.2 billion has been designated to safeguard homes and businesses from flooding from 2021 to 2017.
However, she recognized that it appeared that her department may not meet its goal of safeguarding 336,000 properties by 2027.
Coffey informed members of parliament that a speedy evaluation would take place in response to concerns raised by certain UK communities impacted by flooding. These communities expressed a feeling that they should have been provided with additional pumps to prevent them from getting inundated.
Liberal Democrat environment spokesperson Tim Farron expressed disappointment, stating that the environment secretary consistently makes misguided statements and decisions.
It would be almost comical if it weren’t for the fact that so many people have suffered greatly due to Thérèse Coffey’s incompetence, when she blames the wind for the government’s inability to protect homes from flooding.
Source: theguardian.com
