Water damage From Malcolm Shute Your article exploring the longterm impact of flooding on people’s health (22 February, p 7) was welcome. It seems that reporters flock in while houses are in the process of being Class act From Edward Winfield flooded, but as soon as the water starts to recede, so do the journalists. There is no newsworthiness in the aftermath, and viewers and readers assume that everything simply returns to normal. My parents-in-law were flooded in 1993. At its worst, there was over a metre of dirty water in the house. The place reeked so much of mould that it remained unsafe and uninhabitable for many months after the floods had vanished from reporters’ minds. Luckily, my parents-in-law had temporary accommodation; many of their neighbours were not so fortunate. La Tour-d’Aigues, France From Shaun Machale In light of the constant onslaught of weather systems battering the UK in the past few months, the government may have to think outside the box. Clay has impressive waterretention, but accessing this underground geological sponge may require us to drill down to a seam. This practice has the advantage of not only absorbing floodwater, but also storing it for droughts. I came to this idea when forking my lawn two months ago to reduce

From Malcolm Shute Your article exploring the longterm impact of flooding on people’s health (22 February, p 7) was welcome. It seems that reporters flock in while houses  are in the process of being flooded, but as soon as the  water starts to recede, so do the journalists. There is no newsworthiness in the aftermath, and viewers and readers assume that everything simply returns  to normal. My parents-in-law were  flooded in 1993. At its worst,  there was over a metre of dirty water in the house. The place reeked so much of mould that  it remained unsafe and uninhabitable for many months after the floods had vanished from reporters’ minds.  Luckily, my parents-in-law had temporary accommodation; many of their neighbours were not so fortunate. La Tour-d’Aigues, France From Shaun Machale In light of the constant onslaught of weather systems battering the UK in the past few months, the government may have to think outside the box. Clay has impressive waterretention, but accessing this underground geological sponge may require us to drill down to a seam. This practice has the advantage of not only absorbing floodwater, but also storing it  for droughts. I came to this idea when forking my lawn two months ago to reduce surface water. To this day,  it absorbs endless rainwater. London, UK