North of England Floods hypocrisy

[Thracian]

Apologies if something is already underway but am I the only one who's wondering when there 's going to be a fund set up to help all the people whose homes have been ruined and whose lives have been so despairing affected by the floods?.

As a pal of mine mentioned if it had been Africa or any other distant corner of the Earth the PC warriors would have been shaming the lot of us into some sort of charitable reaction.

Word is that some will be months getting into new homes and that it may take longer than that before the worst hit areas are fully recovered.

On the subject of the floods I couldn't help but think of Manwell's Quote of the Week when the guy came out with a reason for not amputating the trapped foot of that lad who died by the sewage pipe. "Someone thought if we cut his foot off he might get an infection and die."

Extraordinary, yes. But a far-reaching comment that in some ways.

[Head Honcho]

I think the difference between here and Africa is that we already have the resources to cope with it once the water is gone.

The problem at the minute is that it's still raining therefore making it almost impossible to get rid of the water.

Once the rain stops we'll see some improvement I reckon.

Most are covered by insurance thankfully so I doubt any charity will make much difference.

[Thracian]

I think the difference between here and Africa is that we already have the resources to cope with it once the water is gone.

The problem at the minute is that it's still raining therefore making it almost impossible to get rid of the water.

Once the rain stops we'll see some improvement I reckon.

Most are covered by insurance thankfully so I doubt any charity will make much difference.

There's much in what you say I suppose but that makes me even more glad it's not my house that's underwater. It really is far worse a situation in many places than people seem to realise.

[Stuliasz]

As I'm sure many of you know, Sheffield is just a city of hills and valleys and those valleys are not a nice place to be right now. Fortunately I have since left but seeing what it is like now, there doesn't seem to be anywhere near enough being done to help these families in what is a terrible and unfortunate disaster to have hit them.

[Alexikokopops]

Yes, I've always wondered why they receive aid in places like Bangladesh after flooding, especially with the extensive insurance policies everyone has on their homes.

Things like the 1998 flooding of Bangladesh are highly comparable to the flooding here.

1200 killed, millions left homeless.

The similarities are endless.

Those bastard PC warriors shaming us into giving money, shame on them I say!!

[Bryn]

Hull is an extraordinarily flat city and some of the places were completely submerged. I dread to think what a basin like Sheffield was like.

But I agree that charity is unnecessary, and I feel that it would probably be better spent on those more needing. I think there will be plenty of resources made available to people up here without the need for the average hard worker to shell out any aid.

[Phube]

Why should the Government (us) pay cause some cheap, northern folk didn't pay for home insurance???

Of course help them whilst their homes are under water, but not pay for them to be re-done. Would you expect the governmant to pay if your car was caught in a flood, if it wasn't insured???

[davieG]

There is another side to this insurance lark, what with the ever increasing risk of flooding, often down to the Government allowing builders to build on flood plains and local governments not keeping rivers clear some people have been totally priced out of paying for insurance where the risk has increased.

So let's not get all high and mighty about those that haven't got insurance, sure there will be some cheapskates amongst them but many are very genuine.

[Phube]

There is another side to this insurance lark, what with the ever increasing risk of flooding, often down to the Government allowing builders to build on flood plains and local governments not keeping rivers clear some people have been totally priced out of paying for insurance where the risk has increased.

So let's not get all high and mighty about those that haven't got insurance, sure there will be some cheapskates amongst them but many are very genuine.

BUt if I can't afford insurance for a particular car... I wouldn't get it!!! And you can't say they didn't know they were buying in a flood plain, environmental searches pick that sort of thing up! I would never buy on a flood plain, it's just stupid! But then I'm sensible and know that a one in 50 year flood can happen every year!

[Hullfox]

There is another side to this insurance lark, what with the ever increasing risk of flooding, often down to the Government allowing builders to build on flood plains and local governments not keeping rivers clear some people have been totally priced out of paying for insurance where the risk has increased.

So let's not get all high and mighty about those that haven't got insurance, sure there will be some cheapskates amongst them but many are very genuine.

There is plenty of hypocrisy all round on this matter.

The leader of Hull City Council was on national radio on Thursday pleading for financial assistance to help it sort out the residents who are suffering. These residents (within the City Council catchment area) are in the main either council tenants or residents of a major development called Kingswood. The council themselves have very little insurance, they self-insure so they are worried about their budget being swallowed up in one fell swoop. THis obviously has massive political implications. I don't for one moment question Carl Minns' concern for those who elected him, I just wonder whether there's an agenda he's not admitting to.

Kingswood is a low lying development next to the River Hull for which planning approval was given by......Hull City Council.

As davieg said there are many genuinely unfortunate cases but there are more than enough people that I see in my day to day life who make the choice of widescreen tv's, cigarettes and sky tv over insurance, be it for car, life or home.

On the other hand, we seem to have more than enough money to send our soldiers to war, we should find be able to support people like the residents of Toll Bar in Doncaster who still have water in their houses.

[Hullfox]

BUt if I can't afford insurance for a particular car... I wouldn't get it!!! And you can't say they didn't know they were buying in a flood plain, environmental searches pick that sort of thing up! I would never buy on a flood plain, it's just stupid! But then I'm sensible and know that a one in 50 year flood can happen every year!

The majority of London is built on a flood plain though.

[davieG]

BUt if I can't afford insurance for a particular car... I wouldn't get it!!! And you can't say they didn't know they were buying in a flood plain, environmental searches pick that sort of thing up! I would never buy on a flood plain, it's just stupid! But then I'm sensible and know that a one in 50 year flood can happen every year!

Yes, but it's now not just the flood plains flooding, because they've built on flood plains other areas that were never before at risk have now become the new flood plains.

I'm not excusing everyone but the Government & Local Government have a lot to answer for as well.

[davieG]

There is plenty of hypocrisy all round on this matter.

The leader of Hull City Council was on national radio on Thursday pleading for financial assistance to help it sort out the residents who are suffering. These residents (within the City Council catchment area) are in the main either council tenants or residents of a major development called Kingswood. The council themselves have very little insurance, they self-insure so they are worried about their budget being swallowed up in one fell swoop. THis obviously has massive political implications. I don't for one moment question Carl Minns' concern for those who elected him, I just wonder whether there's an agenda he's not admitting to.

Kingswood is a low lying development next to the River Hull for which planning approval was given by......Hull City Council.

As davieg said there are many genuinely unfortunate cases but there are more than enough people that I see in my day to day life who make the choice of widescreen tv's, cigarettes and sky tv over insurance, be it for car, life or home.

On the other hand, we seem to have more than enough money to send our soldiers to war, we should find be able to support people like the residents of Toll Bar in Doncaster who still have water in their houses.

Agree with that, even our recent ancestors will be turning in their graves based on some of those people defined as in poverty.

[Bryn]

There is plenty of hypocrisy all round on this matter.

The leader of Hull City Council was on national radio on Thursday pleading for financial assistance to help it sort out the residents who are suffering. These residents (within the City Council catchment area) are in the main either council tenants or residents of a major development called Kingswood. The council themselves have very little insurance, they self-insure so they are worried about their budget being swallowed up in one fell swoop. THis obviously has massive political implications. I don't for one moment question Carl Minns' concern for those who elected him, I just wonder whether there's an agenda he's not admitting to.

Kingswood is a low lying development next to the River Hull for which planning approval was given by......Hull City Council.

As davieg said there are many genuinely unfortunate cases but there are more than enough people that I see in my day to day life who make the choice of widescreen tv's, cigarettes and sky tv over insurance, be it for car, life or home.

On the other hand, we seem to have more than enough money to send our soldiers to war, we should find be able to support people like the residents of Toll Bar in Doncaster who still have water in their houses.

Yeah Kingswood is in bad shape. It's a very new development, and is one of the fastest growing housing communities in England. There's a large number of residents now and almost all of them have been affected, some of them drastically.

To reinforce Thracian's point about the Local Council having a lot to answer for, one of the major problems caused on estates like Kingswood, Bransholme etc. in north Hull close to the river Hull was due to the fact that a disused underpass near to the river was filled with a substance which was pretty much mud, and so a massive mudslide ensued. (Something like that anyway, there was definately a mudslide due to a poorly filled underpass).

[Jon the Hat]

You can condemn councils all you want, but they are under enormous pressure to provide affordable housing, and they have to build it somewhere. They are generally speaking between a rock and a hard place.

[davieG]

You can condemn councils all you want, but they are under enormous pressure to provide affordable housing, and they have to build it somewhere. They are generally speaking between a rock and a hard place.

That may be so but there's little point in solving one problem by creating another, I also included Central Goverment as well who are quite happy to see house prices rise and let it be contiuned to be viewed as a good thing, as well as not providing the right social, political and financial 'environment'.

[Phube]

The majority of London is built on a flood plain though.

I wouldn't live there either, even if you paid me!!

[Hullfox]

I wouldn't live there either, even if you paid me!!

Fair point.

[davieG]

I wouldn't live there either, even if you paid me!!

Well I was born there but I don't live there!

[Raj]

Why should the Government (us) pay cause some cheap, northern folk didn't pay for home insurance???

Of course help them whilst their homes are under water, but not pay for them to be re-done. Would you expect the governmant to pay if your car was caught in a flood, if it wasn't insured???

Agree totally!

[BartonFox]

Yes, I've always wondered why they receive aid in places like Bangladesh after flooding, especially with the extensive insurance policies everyone has on their homes.

Things like the 1998 flooding of Bangladesh are highly comparable to the flooding here.

1200 killed, millions left homeless.

The similarities are endless.

Those bastard PC warriors shaming us into giving money, shame on them I say!!

So why should I have to fund that

Sheffield and the like, being part of the UK and all that, in all honesty are much more deserving of the British pound

[Raj]

So why should I have to fund that

Sheffield and the like, being part of the UK and all that, in all honesty are much more deserving of the British pound

Tut tut tut tut

[Alexikokopops]

So why should I have to fund that

Sheffield and the like, being part of the UK and all that, in all honesty are much more deserving of the British pound

My point was that Thracian can't sit there and say it's PC warriors shaming people into giving money.

Clearly people in that situation need aid, and that's why people contribute, not because they're being PC.

I resent being labeled with the stigma of PC (which it has become) just because I want to help people in a different country.

As for the flooding in England, yes people should receive help now, and afterwards while people are still sorting out their houses so they can actually live in them, but if they haven't got house insurance when living on a flood plane, or any area that's likely to flood during heavy rainfall, then they're a bit silly really.

I really want to add a comment about now I don't want my tax money going to one thing or another since I've been a tax payer for a week (this isn't aimed at you Barton by the way, just in case it seems like it is).

So here goes:

I don't see why the Government should spend our taxes on these idiots, blah blah blah, and so on.

[Raj]

This is how i see it..

We are lucky to live in a country such as UK.

We may all moan about the services (NHS.,Education,Policing, etc..) from time to time but in contrast to many many countries its miles better.

Overall the British public are very giving as they prove year in year out.

Whenever there is a tragedy in the world they give loads.

However tragedies are dependant on lifestyle.

A flooding in North England and a flooding in (for example)Bangladesh can mean the difference between a famliy having to relocate for a few weeks and having a massive headache sorting out their homes,furniture etc....

However the Bangladeshi family could be facing disaster WE in Britain could never comprehend.Their house could be ruined,they may have family members dead,disease,raw sewage floating about everywhere and months and months without anywhere to live.

The last thing i want to do is preach to ANYONE.

But if someone from a good standard of living wants to help out someone who they may never see BUT know full well that (IF!) the money gets to them,it WILL have a very beneficial effect on ther lives!

Should it REALLY matter if you give to someone in this country over someone in REAL need...after all we are ALL members of planet EARTH!!!!

(sorry for blabbering on!!!!)

[BartonFox]

This is how i see it..

We are lucky to live in a country such as UK.

We may all moan about the services (NHS.,Education,Policing, etc..) from time to time but in contrast to many many countries its miles better.

Overall the British public are very giving as they prove year in year out.

Whenever there is a tragedy in the world they give loads.

However tragedies are dependant on lifestyle.

A flooding in North England and a flooding in (for example)Bangladesh can mean the difference between a famliy having to relocate for a few weeks and having a massive headache sorting out their homes,furniture etc....

However the Bangladeshi family could be facing disaster WE in Britain could never comprehend.Their house could be ruined,they may have family members dead,disease,raw sewage floating about everywhere and months and months without anywhere to live.

The last thing i want to do is preach to ANYONE.

But if someone from a good standard of living wants to help out someone who they may never see BUT know full well that (IF!) the money gets to them,it WILL have a very beneficial effect on ther lives!

Should it REALLY matter if you give to someone in this country over someone in REAL need...after all we are ALL members of planet EARTH!!!!

(sorry for blabbering on!!!!)

Why don't we just chuck all our cash in to a pot and split it evenly between everyone