Central Uckfield, in East Sussex, was under four feet of water. West Sussex towns such as Haywards Heath, Arundel and Steyning were badly affected. Lewes residents were evacuated when the Ouse threatened to break its bank. Local fire service officers declared the flooding as the worst since 1972. Most of the floods were not an accident.
Mechanistic modifications are no match for extreme weather conditions.
Whatever the cause of this week's weather, geographers have warned policy-makers that climate change and global warming are going to create many more extreme conditions in the future.