Abigail, Barney, Clodagh and Desmond all visited us in Mid-Wales in the past month and these storms, one after the other with little respite in between, all brought with them much rain and high winds. Desmond, last weekend, was a beast: we have never experienced winds as high as these and for such a long time!

There was flooding in the Severn Valley below us and some main roads were impassable for a while as the rainwater travelled quickly down the hills to the valley where the river burst its banks. The drainage channels around our property quickly became fast-flowing …