41: Buckets?

The rain had been falling for days and days.  The land was flat so there was little chance of water running downhill.  Puddles sat everywhere, many of them growing so quickly they were joining up into small lakes.  Within a week the entire plains region was expected to be underwater.  Unless something was done.

Farmers were asked to help by digging channels in their fields so the rainwater would run away and could be diverted to other areas or into the sea.  But most of the rain didn’t fall in the farming areas, so the farmers wanted the water routing to them.

The army were asked to help by building barricades round the worst areas, to hold back the water.  But the water seeped between gaps in the planks and found its way out anyway and soon the barricades were under water too.

The government even tried to encourage the public to help with the problem by asking them to pray to whatever Gods they believed in for a halt in the rain.  Some ministers even joked maybe they should perform rain dances.  But the people of Spain didn’t like their government making jokes about religion and, as they saw it, voodoo, so they threatened to strike if nothing was done.

So the other countries around Spain came together and offered to help.  “We’ll offer you a bailout,” they said.  But the government refused and said they would handle the flooding of their plains their way.

In truth, there really isn’t much to do except wait for the weather to improve.  And now the rain has caused the Spanish plains to become very soggy indeed.

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