Floody floods

[Al Tha Funkee Homosapien]

Just shows how reliant we all are on these networks and services and it only takes one of them to stop working and people start acting like savages. I dread to think what people in this country would be like if a really, really bad disaster like a major earthquake or hurricane struck.

[The Gush]

Sort of reminds me of an episode of Twilight Zone where aliens descend on a supposedly civilised friendly All-American suburb.  They switch off the water and power supply for a few hours before the respectable neighbourhood descends into anarchy.  "Foolish earthlings!"

[George Oscar Bluth II]

It reminds me of the fuel crisis from a few years ago, where there were warnings that, if the blockades lasted there might at some point be shortages in the shops. Of course people took this as a cue to panic buy, therefore creating shortages where there would have been none if people had just bought what they'd normally buy.

People are idiots.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

It's a difficult situation- do you stay at home and go without what you need, safe in the knowledge that "hey, at least I'm not stupid like those retards!"? If that commodity is say- food, water or shelter then it's difficult to be smug exactly. Most people panic-buy because in the event of people panic-buying, you're left without any other choice in an emergency.

Of course the supermarkets could manage and distribute their stock better, but that's like so socialist man, wake up and smell the shortages, or whatever.

[Marvin]

Shouldn't there be at least some looting going on?

There has been, we saw the flooded Morrisons here being looted yesterday.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

That's more like it.

[Al Tha Funkee Homosapien]

Thieves got off with at least £15.67 of goods. BA-DOOM-SPISH!!!

[Paaaaul]

FUCKING HELL

From our window, I have just witnessed a procession of people trying to get water from our supposedly-filled-5-times-a-day-but-empty-since-10am bowser with buckets, pots, and the last few people had enormo-bottles which they would have difficulty carrying if they could actually fill them up.

We ran out on Sunday, and must have used less than three litres so far, plus some stream water to flush the bog. If they don't fill these bowsers regularly, people will be taking not just more than they really, truthfully need to get by, but MUCH MUCH more than they really need, 'just in case'. There are people just driving around trying to get water out of every bowser they come across. Bung some coppers on these bowsers, they may need some by the weekend at this rate. People must be bathing in the stuff.

BTW, our water bill is about £6 a month, on a meter. And surprisingly, we don't stink. (Apart from my posts)

Apparently, some cunts went round last night, in Gloucester, turning on all the bowsers and running off.
Some people are scum.

Nice of the bowser people to finally recognise the need for them in Cheltenham too, today.

[Uncle TechTip]

I'm glad someone mentioned Southern bias. I was away for the Yorkshire floods but watching yesterday I just knew that there wasn't this much coverage first time around. I bet they didn't have half the fucking BBC News team standing round in a flood in Sheffield, pointing at imaginary computer graphics. They even had the WEATHERMAN there yesterday FFS, that Dan Corbett wanker, who just did the weather at the end on location and actually distracted the viewer from his job, which is just doing the weather. At times like this it's really difficult to be a defender of the BBC. You just have to hold your hands up and say, "yep, they're squandering money and getting no value". Please don't get me started on the viewer videos which added NOTHING to what the professional camera operators had already shown us - oh look, there's another car covered in water, only this time it's like you're watching it on Youtube.

[George Oscar Bluth II]

There are times when amateur photos and video are valuable in news reporting, usually in the direct aftermath of an event when professional news crews aren't there, like those pictures taken of the bus or of the evacuation of the tube on 7/7, but putting low quality photos of floodwater on, when we've just seen high quality pictures of floodwater filmed by pros smacks of bosses telling people to "connect with the YouTube generation" without understanding why YouTube is successful.

EDIT: Now I think about it, weren't the photos taken of the evacuation of the tube taken and sent in by someone on here?

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

CUNT ALAGIAH

[Uncle TechTip]

He's a true cunt. Did you see the bit where he claimed the copy of King Lear was found lying open on the page with the 'storm' speech... and a textbook just randomly opened on the page about floods. I'm writing to Ofcom, the BBC are making up the news again.

[Marvin]

I agree to an extent with the whole Southern-bias thing, but the situation has been different. The rain and flooding on Friday was the same as two wet months, within about 20 hours, and in Worcestershire and Gloucestershire there literally wasn't a village or road that wasn't in some way affected.

Now nearly four days later you have nearly an entire county without any water for what could be up to two weeks, thousands of people homeless, hundreds of people still trapped, in the case of Tewkesbury an entire town centre flooded - literally not a single building escaped the water, whole sections of roads and bridges on A roads that just aren't there anymore and tens of thousands of people without electricity.

I have friends and family affected by the flooding up North, and I agree it wasn't covered that well, but it's worth bearing in mind that Cheltenham and Tewkesbury were flooded to a similar level at the same time and that didn't make the national news then either.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

He's a true cunt. Did you see the bit where he claimed the copy of King Lear was found lying open on the page with the 'storm' speech... and a textbook just randomly opened on the page about floods. I'm writing to Ofcom, the BBC are making up the news again.

That's the bit I was referring to, although I did a very poor job of articulating it through the sandstorm of George's cunt epicentre.

[George Oscar Bluth II]

George Alagiah is slowly morphing into Kent Brockman, then?

No suprise to see the 6 o'clock news resorting to that kind of sentimental claptrap, it's been addressed at the lowest common denominator for years.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Front end BBC news coverage is presented in the most tabloid-style way I can ever remember. These big-events that require on-the-scene reports and helicopters bring out the worst in them all. King Lear for fuck's sake. That's one of the most painful things I've ever seen.

THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT THE WAY THESE PEOPLE MOVE THAT TELLS YOU: I HAVE AN APPOINTMENT AT THE RESTAURANT OF DEATH.

That's George Alagiah. That's him, today.

[duckorange]

Despite the headlines of impending doom, Reading remains resolutely unflooded. In fact, I've seen the Thames LOADS higher than it is now, so I suspect a media over-reaction.

I did my bit by tutting at the woman who bought a trolley-load of bottled water in Sainsbury's last night.

[George Oscar Bluth II]

Sky News have a special montage to introduce their coverage of the floods with sad violin music, pictures of people in dinghy's and then the words "FLOOD CHAOS" in big white letters.

Not quite in a level with FOX News' Iraq war coverage introduction montage that featured (honest to god) little CGI fighter planes flying in front of the presenters though.

[SetToStun]

There has been, we saw the flooded Morrisons here being looted yesterday.

Careful, it's only looting if they were darkies. White people are simply gathering emergency supplies. Did Katrina teach you nothing?

[The Bejesus]

I saw Mark Austin reporting from god-knows where the other night.  His report started with "The water reaches my thighs here...".  He then walked off and his thighs seemed to bend in the middle as if....as if they were knees!

[danielreal2k]

1 hour special on a puddle in London, and our last story tonight most of Gloucester wiped out now the weather..