The blame game will go on forever while property insurance in the region will go up and property prices will be hit because of a perceived greater risk of damage in the future. The government will need to invest heavily in flood defences sooner rather than later.
The government may also need to extend its insurance cover for flood risk areas - we will see.
It doesnt matter how good we think we are at controlling water levels, or not in this case. The way the climate is changing, low lying areas will be increasingly affected. Personally i will never buy a property in these areas.