TO outsiders, it may seem odd that we are still fretting about flooding.

After all, we have just enjoyed one of the driest summers for years. Rain has been absent for so long that today's showers were almost a novelty.

But there are many people in North Yorkshire whose hearts drop to their boots in every downpour. These are the householders who have experienced the misery of flooding, some of them twice over. They will never forget it.

Their heartache did not end when they were finally able to return to a dry house, often months after the floods finished. Since then, they have had to face a battle to renew their insurance. Without it, their home is effectively worthless.

Now those properties which are most at risk of flooding have been pinpointed by a new mapping system. What impact that will have on the owners' ability to get any sort of cover, let alone at a reasonable premium, remains to be seen.

We must hope that the insurance industry will play fair with them. They should take into account two key developments: the millions of pounds invested in new flood defences; and the latest computer model which predicts York has only a one-in-80 chance of a repeat of November 2000's disaster.

Meanwhile, the new mapping system is good news for many householders. Until now, you could live in a house some distance from the danger area and still be hit by an insurance hike simply because you shared a postcode with previously flooded properties. That blight should now be lifted.

Updated: 12:11 Wednesday, September 10, 2003