I’d be delighted to publish any blogs that try and draw together the messages and lessons from some of these recent river valley flooding events.

The Coverack floods can be set in several contexts but this week the Met Office warns of ongoing high risk of unprecedented rainfall   New innovative research has found that for England and Wales there is now a 1 in 3 chance of a new monthly rainfall record in at least one region each winter during the period from October to March every year.

The events of the recent Coverack flooding have unsurprisingly caught the national headlines. I wonder do we have the right approach and language for this type of event. I can think of at least two other similar events in the south-west alone

• • Boscastle floods
  • Lostwithiel floods
  • Coverack floods

Language: This is a normal event – discuss      

These are extreme events in one sense but they seem to becoming rather normal. This rather reminds me of the Oscar Wilde quote. ‘To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.’ By the time you’ve had 3, 4, 5 such events patterns determine that people need to start thinking through scenarios and options, not least planners with advice from the water sector.

Some points and questions:

Any conurbation on a steep sided valley, especially in the south-west, might expect exactly the same kind of scenario at some point quite soon.

Given that conventional drainage is quite incapable of coping with this, and often the main roads become the drains, what are councils doing to plan for this.

How are they communicating with residents? Is there guidance and advice?

Have lessons from this type of event been collated? 

I’d be delighted to publish any blogs that try and draw together the messages and lessons from some of these recent events.