Thames valley flooding

Have you seen the images from England's Thames valley? More than 5,000 houses had to be evacuated because the water is everywhere. London is not as yet threatened, but downstream the situation is pretty bad. Somerset sinks away in the water, literally.

And what's even worse, for tonight a hurricane wind force and more rain is predicted!

I just heard prime minister Cameron saying each house owner or business owner will get 5,000 £ to fortify their property against floodings. Now I just hope they won't have to pay back that money later on...

In 1953, when big parts of Holland and also of Flanders were flooded by the Schelde, my grandparents also took part in the misery. A dike near the town of Dendermonde broke, and the water of the Schelde came washing down towards the town's center. My grandma said you could hear the water coming. They just had time to get some food and some coals upstairs. Luckily they had a little stove there, as my mum and dad had married the year before and they hoped to have a baby soon. So grandfather had a stove placed in their bedroom to keep the baby warm... As the water mounted up to 1,50 meter downstairs, they were very lucky to have the possiblility to warm up a bit and also warm up food. But as the day passed, the water did not go away and the food became sparse.

So the Red Cross came to their rescue and handed out warm clothes and food to those in need. Only ... they got the bill for every can of soup they had taken and for every bag of potatoes! My grandma was ever so angry about it. You are completely into misery, and then you need to pay money for some help? Luckily they had a good insurance, so all the damage to furniture and wallpaper was covered. Our house is pretty sturdy and was able to survive the flooding without any structural damage. But when you know where to look, you can still see the flood line on our living room wall.