General Discussion

What can u say. Thoughts go out to all those who have and are suffering due to this. Praises to all the emergency service personnel.

Old Fart, I felt very sorry for the people interviewed who have had to leave their homes.  I do hope the Leisure Centre are coping, especially now they have no cafe or kitchen.  @michaelclayson - if help is needed please let us know.

@OLD FART. i saw on bbc and sky that the railway line is to be out of action for 4-6 weeks.The sleeper service is not running until Monday March 3rd.  i saw also a young man with a young child all but crying as he had to evacuate and he said last night was scary. i echo that full praise to be given to emergency personnel and services.      

I would say 4-6 weeks is a bit optimistic at the moment

@flo.   At the moment, immediate needs are catered for. This is going to be a long haul though, and we will all need to rally round. I'll keep everyone posted, as it's been very clear over the past 24 hours that we are a town that cares for our neighbours.

The emergency services and local council officers have been amazing.  To see them in action, so calm, so thorough in looking after people, and above all incredibly sensitive to people's fears and confusion.

I visit Dawlish as often as I can and was astounded to see the damage on the news.

I hope everyone there is safe and warm.

Please take care of each other

As Paul would say, "it's only a bit of flooding".

Would it not be an idea to call in the Armed forces to assist even if its just tidying or getting ready for the next storm. By weekend the local emergency services are going to be knackerd and unable to handle another onslaught

And still the government and COBRA still flap around like headless chickens. Man power and heavy equipment is what is required. We have tens of thousands of able bodied people in jail who could be used to help clear etc, America uses this workforce to a positive extent!

The army has the man power and the heavy equipment and organisational skills, something the governemnrt lacks in buckets. The one and only thing that is stopping anything being done is money. The governemnt and every other official body does not want to spend its budget or taking responsibility.

Some of the flooding around the country and sea wall damage could have been prevented by essential maintenance being carried out and not by the cheapest contractors bid. Quality means endurance and stability. Something this governements lacks considerably.

There I've had my morning moan.

The Army has the means to rebuild the wall but before they can be used the powers that be have to call a state of emergency . A further problem will be the continuing bad weather do you put lives over property and can this work be carried out while we have one severe weather front after another. The problem with these events is we all get wound up because we perceive that nothing is being done but as i type loads of concrete resin are on there way to be poured this afternoon to protect properties so hang in their folks things are being done.