Cheltenham floods

 Geology

The recent flooding reminded me of a short story I wrote several years ago, loosely related to a series of floods that happened when I lived in Clevedon, North Somerset.

The image is not of Clevedon but Scarborough.

The flooding resulted from heavy rains from the surrounding hills colliding with the high neap tide coming up the River Avon. The water held back from the hills was such a large amount the floodgates could not retain it, so the water had to be released. You had the perfect storm with the water rushing down, meeting the water drawn up the river by the moon. 

Half of Clevedon's seafront was torn to pieces by the force of the water; waves were breaking over the top of the sailing club, which was situated on top of a 20-foot wall.

People who go on about climate control are to put it in terms they can understand "batty" and crazy, to put it mildly. We are but ants on a spinning ball in the galaxy. If you think we can change the Earth, you are crazy; the matter people forget is the geology of the Earth.

The Earth is a spinning mass with an off-centered axis; at the center of the planet is a molten mass of lava that swishes around like water down the drain.

I make no apologies to people who believe earthquakes are the acts of a vengeful god; I am sorry, but they are caused by our geology, which is the science of the matter.

The area north of Gloucester across to Coventry and Leicester is an alluvial flood plain; this means it is a colossal mud plain, and if it rains, the water has nowhere to drain. 

People who blame climate control for the floods in Bristol have no idea what is the cause of them; the cause of the floods has nothing to do with climate but a lot to do with the Labour Party, which ran the city for decades. In the 1980s, Labour stopped paying for the dredger, the Harry Brown, to clear the river. 

Naturally, if you stop dredging the river, all the silt which comes with the rain will build up and cause flooding.

According to scientists, we could be heading for the Seventh Extinction.