A five-point plan possibly worth floating

The terrible destruction of property and the dreadful inconvenience caused to residents in flooded areas in Ireland and Britain could have been prevented if the following precautions had been provided after previous flooding.

1. The building of barriers of reinforced concrete along rivers whose water is inclined to spill.

Barriers of stone and other materials were erected in ancient times where the Tiber enters Rome; and in modern times, the Dutch keep out the sea, and contain rivers, with dykes.