After the damage and disruption caused by that unseasonal deluge, many of us can be forgiven for becoming sceptical about the ability of our flood defences to cope with large volumes of water.
Rivers across Shropshire have been full and fast this past week, some breaking their banks in places across natural flood plains. But as I write, fresh floods have not damaged homes or commercial premises.
Even high risk sites, some of which have still not fully recovered from the summer downpours, have escaped unscathed so far. I sincerely hope it stays that way for the rest of this winter.
Our local authorities, agencies and companies responsible for flood risk management are becoming all too aware of the challenge of extreme weather events.
I chaired a meeting last week, just as local river levels were rising, with all the public sector bodies who could help with Much Wenlock's flooding problems from last summer. We agreed to set up a Flood Forum to focus on ensuring existing defences are in place and identify what else may be needed.
Much of our flood defence infrastructure is based on withstanding levels of flooding that happen once in 100 years. As several parts of the county suffered two of these in successive months last summer, the case is growing for a fundamental review of flood defence standards.
The Environment Agency advice about building on flood plains needs to be accurate, but also heeded by planning authorities when considering applications. Insurers are already looking more closely at properties in vulnerable areas. Local planners please take note.
Despite its claims to be offering help, the Government has yet to agree to fund the cost of replacing vital infrastructure in the county, such as the Burway bridge in Ludlow. It needs to be clear that local authorities can call on emergency funding to deal with the aftermath of such disasters.
