Letter: Flood victims

Sir: While it is tragic to see any loss of life, the death toll in the Missouri floods is minimal compared to the 3,000 estimated to have died already in Nepal this year. As the floodwaters move down into India and Bangladesh, we can expect those deaths to be multiplied many times.

The survivors in the Midwest will at least be compensated. Their lives will have been severely disrupted but not, in most cases, destroyed. As poverty in much of the world worsens, let us not forget the many millions of desperately poor people forced to live on lands which are unstable or prone to flooding.

The US has the resources to mitigate such disasters. Much of the developing world does not. With net resources flowing from the majority developing world to the minority rich countries, one could be forgiven for thinking that it is the poor of Nepal who are financing the recovery of the flood victims of Missouri.

Yours sincerely,

SIMON BURNE

London, N1

(Photograph omitted)