Floods are God's vengeance for our sins, warn bishops

Floods are God's vengeance for our sins, warn bishops

By DAVID DERBYSHIRE - More by this author » Last updated at 07:33am on 2nd July 2007 Comments

Rt Rev Graham Dow: believes the extreme weather is the direct consequence of mankind's lack of respect 'for each other'

The floods which claimed seven lives and deluged thousands of homes were the result of "moral degradation", senior Church of England bishops said yesterday.

While stressing that those affected were innocent victims, they claimed the devastation was the consequence of the West's decision to ignore Biblical teaching, with an "arrogant" world "reaping what we have sown".

Although scientists say it is impossible to blame a single weather incident on global warming, the church leaders said the floods were almost certainly the result of man-made climate change.

The Rt Rev Graham Dow, the Bishop of Carlisle, whose district suffered horrendous flooding two years ago, believes the extreme weather is the direct consequence of mankind's lack of respect "for each other, for the planet and for God".

He said: "This is a strong and definite judgment because the world has been arrogant in going its own way.

"We are reaping the consequences of our moral degradation, as well as environmental damage."

The Bishop of Liverpool, the Rt Rev James Jones, said people no longer saw floods as an "act of God".

"However, we are now reaping what we have sown," he told the Sunday Telegraph.

"If we live in a profligate way then there are going to be consequences."

Last week's floods affected 27,000 homes. Despite heavy showers over the weekend, the feared return of the floods failed to materialise.

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Rt Rev Graham Dow said the recent floods were the result of 'moral degradation'

Across Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and the Midlands river levels were falling.

However, last night there were four severe flood warnings still in place, all covering the swollen River Don in Yorkshire.

A national flood centre was set up over the weekend in Worcestershire, following complaints that last week's emergency response was chaotic.

Yesterday the Met Office confirmed that June was on course to be the wettest since records began 93 years ago.

Today, most of Britain will have sunshine and showers which could be heavy with thundery storms, particularly in the North.

Tomorrow, southern England and Wales will have persistent rain with showers elsewhere which will ease off a little on Wednesday.

The wet weather has heightened concerns over the building of homes on flood plains.

Developers and local councils will face "stern action" if they try to build on such areas, the head of the Environment Agency said yesterday.

Baroness Young pledged to use tough powers created last year which allow the agency to call in the Secretary of State to overrule any planning decision that ignores its advice on flood risk.

Forecasters have warned that the rest of the summer is also likely to be a wash-out - with just one day that will live up to the scorching summers of recent years.

They said the sun will shine on Sunday July 15 but the wet weather that has ruined May and June will continue until the end of August.

Piers Corbyn, founder of long-range forecasting firm WeatherAction, said: "You can forget about summer, the forecast is terrible.

"It's hard to find a day where it won't rain somewhere. The best chance for a dry day is July 15 so plan your picnic for then.

"There will be some improvements in August but really we will not have a summer this year." The Met Office is blaming cooler sea temperatures in the Pacific Ocean prompted by the El Nino weather system for bringing a depression over the country.

Met Office forecaster Adam Scaife said: "If our forecast is correct then unusually cloudy windy conditions may continue this summer."

And weatherman John Kettley, founder of the British Weather Service, added: "The Great British Summer was those glorious few weeks back in April."