An unthinkable tragedy for Europe; a year's worth of rainfall in eight hours and over 150 people dead. People who as they woke on Tuesday 29 October 2024 had no idea that this would be their last day on earth, no idea that their lives would be snuffed out by a climate event of unimaginable magnitude. Drowned by surging water or crushed by toppling buildings.
The image that will stay with me of the Valencia floods is not one of people suffering or buildings destroyed, but of this street chock-full of cars (below), swept along by an incredibly powerful surge of water. And I'm thinking – how could this possibly happen? The physics of shifting vehicles – sideways it seems – each weighing one or two tonnes, in such numbers along such a narrow street – the sheer violence of what has happened is all too visible, but hard to take in. But it also shows what a car-dependent species we have become.
To those who deny the fact that the climate is changing, here's a list of all the major flood events affecting Poland over the last century. Notice the increasing frequency.
Year/event | Fatalities in Poland |
2024 Central European floods | 9 |
2010 Central European floods | 25 |
1997 Central European floods | 54 |
1947 Polish floods | 55 |
1934 flood in Poland | 55 |
If we don't, the climate will only continue to deliver more extreme weather events, more frequently. Today it's Valencia; next summer or autumn it could hit you, directly.
This time last year:
On death
This time three years ago:
Improvements on the Radom line
This four years ago:
Rural rights of way, revisited
Opole in the late-October sunshine
This time seven years ago:
Work begins in earnest on the Karczunkowska viaduct
This time nine years ago:
Sublime autumn day in Jeziorki
This time ten years ago:
CitytoCity, MalltoMall
This time 11 years ago:
(Internet) Radio Days
This time 12 years ago:
Another office move
This time 13 years ago:
Manufacturing a City of Culture
This time 14 years ago:
My thousandth post
This time 15 years ago:
Closure of ul. Poloneza
This time 16 years ago:
Scenes from a suburban petrol station
1 comment:
Shocking and horrifying. It’s so important for those of us, who are lucky to still be alive, to do whatever is in our power to save the planet for the sake of our children and grandchildren.
May the affected families in Spain find strength from the knowledge that many people are with them in spirit.
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