Floods need focus put on planning to reduce costly damage

It would be easy to view the recent storms and flooding as inconveniences or irritants that happen once a year, or even a few times a year, but that we soon forget as we go about our normal lives.

However, the disruption to lives, to work, to productive output, the costly damage to infrastructure and to the economy, as well as the expense of continually ameliorating the underlying causes, are a major drain on our resources.

It is money that could be better spent elsewhere, if only those responsible had done their jobs and prepared properly.