Poor, poor Germany

Belgium and parts of Eastern Switzerland. Truly tragic. I do hope the UK will help however they can.

I wish we'd sent some help. Lots of other countries have done so.

Germany is hardly a third world country !

What ? We don’t get much European news here. I will google it.

Oh, I just saw it. How dreadful. We are so insular here, sometimes I just despair. All we talk about is Covid Covid Covid. Those poor people.

A devastating catastrophe, so so sad.

I saw some footage about Belgium just after I posted Kali2. I hadn't realised it had affected parts of Switzerland too.

I too hope no one in Government is pondering over "Foreign Aid" tonight NotSpaghetti. They are our neighbours and our friends and we need to do anything we can to help.

PippaZ

I saw some footage about Belgium just after I posted Kali2. I hadn't realised it had affected parts of Switzerland too.

And the Netherlands Pippa but Germany is the worst.

There are some good explanations and satellite images online about the way the high pressure "fronts" circled Germany and in effect trapped the rain in one area.
The recent (pretty alarming) floods in London were part of the same system apparently.

Biscuitmuncher

Germany is hardly a third world country !

Would you ignore a neighbour?

The loss of life is tragic. None of us would ignore a neighbour in immediate need. Communities come together and provide safety, food, shelter in the aftermath of something like this. I live in an area prone to flooding and that is what happens here. We all feel sorry for the people affected but we can do nothing that will make any difference now. Germany, Belgium, and the NL are rich countries. They will rebuild just like communities in the UK and anywhere else does after events like this.

As a country we should send our condolences. A message from QE11, Boris etc. I would think that would be all we would expect if the situation was reversed.

What do those who think we should do more think that we should do given that there is nothing we can do to save lives?

Good post Mamardoit
It’s tragic for those who were swept away in the floods and their families and condolences from the government have no doubt already been sent, plus offers of any practical help am sure, but it’s only certain areas ( in all the countries the floods went through) that were affected and they are all affluent countries not third world ones.
Nobody should turn this sad event into yet another Conservative government bashing exercise.....it’s unworthy to do that.

I don`t remember any country helping us out when we had floods,and we have had some hum dingers ie yorkshire/shropshire/london to name but a few.
I feel for them of course,but Germany isn`t a poor country,far from it.

Lemongrove
There’s no such thing as a subject that can’t be turned into a conservative bashing.
Having said that: your very smart, I bet you can think of one ?

Well, as long as Brexit isn’t mentioned anytime soon Meryl I shall be thankful.

As a country we should send our condolences. A message from QE11, Boris etc.
I thought that was all done yesterday along with an offer of any help needed?
Of course we don't just ignore the tragedy. It's mainly Germany, Belgium and Holland.

Would it be wrong to criticise any Government that would not offer practical help if required? Especially if not offering help is linked to some political disagreement?

And in this case, the current Government, and the current political disagreement?

This seems so dreadful when we are basking in sunshine but, of course, it could so easily have been the UK. It is the position of the jet stream at the moment.
I felt for all of those affected but especially The Netherlands, so much of which is low lying and reclaimed land.

Extremely worrying.
Fires again in the States, floods in Europe, plagues of mice in Australia and Covid.
It seems Biblical.

TIMETOGO you may not remember it, but the Dutch were very quick to send equipment and expert help to Somerset when there were floods a few years ago.

They have extensive loss of life for such a develpped country.
And in the case of Germany, I read that their emergency services were overwhelmed so couldn't get enough helicopters etc to everyone.

Just thought we could send (or at least offer) some troops. Maybe that's naive but I don't think so.

Here in Belgium the rain just never stopped for about 4 days, it was torrential the only time I have seen rain like it was during a monsoon in Thailand.
Luckily we live on a hill the road and pavement were just a river, running down to a large square with an underground car park. The cars were floating in it.
Good friends are flooded out, their garage is used as a musical instrument workshop by their son, it is completely flooded.
In a local news sheet yesterday it was pointed out that the UK never asked for help from the EU if they had it would have been given.
Sun shining today hope it continues, garden is waterlogged.

Yes, threexnanny, the Dutch have a lot of expertise in this area and were willing to support us despite the fact that we are a wealthy country.

Surely we must all now accept that climate change is a reality. Unfortunately some still deny it. I believe it's not enough to tell people about the danger, they actually need to feel it. It looks as if more and more of us will do just that.

I didn`t know that threexnanny.
Thank you for the info,which i shall share.

The UK and EU offered immediate help, as reported briefly on the national news. Some practical aid (personnel and equipment) was accepted by the affected countries from their nearest neighbours.

The best thing we can do to help anyone affected by climate change is to take it seriously and campaign for awareness and action.