Lessons from the Flood

The power and impact of the element of water on our lands will be a key factor in the future of our planet over the next few years.

While in our different ways we have grieved for the suffering of Australia (for it is not just Queensland which is affected by flooding), little consideration has been given to the economic repercussions, which will be substantial. The costs of rebuilding towns and cities will be massive, and It is ironic that Australia, one of the few western countries to be relatively stable during the financial crises of recent years, will pressured severely by the huge costs and losses that are inevitable and may find herself very fragile fiscally for a long time to come.

All of us will be part of this too, as food and commodity prices will rise from what is happening, and, in particular, the global insurance industry will be badly damaged: some big corporate failures can be expected which will shake the markets. I say this not in the spirit of pessimism but of realism and, indeed, some optimism since the necessary re-shaping of old processes will provide opportunity to simplify, diversify and re-balance.

Meanwhile, all the focus is on Australia, a rich western country, while, going almost unnoticed, floods are devastating Sri Lanka, where nearly one million people have been displaced and many are dead in places that were hit by the great Tsunami of six years ago. They are in desperate need of help. So too is Brazil, another country that has been seriously affected by flooding for weeks, and where over two hundred and fifty people have died.

Just as climate change is caused as much by the demands of nature as it is the activities of man, so too nature will change, forcibly, the attitude and conduct of man if we do not do it voluntarily. So far we have failed to co-operate, but it is not too late to begin.