Should more have been done to protect Northumberland from flooding?

It's easy after any dreadful event to say that somebody should have done something to prevent it. The question should be COULD anything have been done to prevent it? The answer to that can only be provided by studying previous floodings in Morpeth, Rothbury, Tynedale and the other areas most effected.

I have read that man-made structures and ground surfaces, such as tarmac, increase the level and ferocity of floods. It is certainly true that the impact was so considerable only because homes and businesses lay directly in the path of the floods.

It is time we all learned the lesson that nature is more powerful than we are and that, while it is extremely difficult to bend nature to our will, it requires only forethought and common sense to bend our desires to the realities of our landscape.

Every river will flood at some point, and sadly, the most fertile land - the land our ancestors usually chose to settle on - floods more often than most. Let us first of all concentrate on restoring the homes and businesses of those affected. We can all help by shopping locally and engaging in our local communities.

We must also look to the future though. Let us now stop building on river plains and start developing more permeable surfaces for car parks, roads and other hard-landscaped surfaces to prevent future disasters. Let us take responsibility as a region for the impact we have had on this beautiful land and do our best to live in harmony with it in the future.