LONDON — The sand — some 65 million cubic feet of it — was brought in last summer to defend the seaside villages of Walcott and Bacton from the devastating floods that regularly hit eastern England. When a powerful storm swept across the region over the weekend, the water was kept at bay. When the winds died down and the rains subsided, residents emerged to find cars engulfed by what looked like brown snow drifts. Belongings picked up by the 70 mile-per-hour winds had been tossed from one backyard to another before being buried. “We’ve got tons of sand, but we prefer sand castles over flooded carpets,” said Sheila Mason, a Walcott resident whose fence was damaged and garden covered with sand.

Source: New York Times September 29, 2020 14:37 UTC