IT could have been much, much worse. The flooding has disrupted life in many parts of North Yorkshire, but this time householders and businesses have escaped devastation.

One of the worst hit villages, Naburn, was temporarily cut off by the rising waters. But even here, residents felt no sense of panic, merely surprise that this should happen in June. Compare their experience to that of families in the Calder valley in West Yorkshire, evacuated in their hundreds from ruined homes.

In York only a handful of properties have been at risk of flooding. How different the scene would have been ten years ago, before the flood defences were built. City centre streets used to disappear underwater with alarming regularity. Awesome floods in 1982, 1947 and 1931 proved truly catastrophic for York and its people.

Whenever a natural calamity occurs, people look for someone to blame. In the case of flooding, the organisation responsible for flood defences, the Environment Agency, is an obvious scapegoat.

The agency was justifiably criticised for not issuing adequate warnings before the great floods last year, when the River Derwent burst its banks with disastrous results.

But today we should pay tribute to the agency. It has no control over the freak summer deluge that caused the rivers to overflow. Neither can we expect it to prevent flooding altogether.

What the agency can do is restrict the damage, and it has done just that. The flood barrier did its job. Moreover, this time the warnings were spot on. They were prompt enough to allow councils to take vital action such as closing sluice gates and putting out sandbags. Similarly, businesses and householders on the front line were given the time to take emergency measures.

As the floodwaters recede, so we count the cost. Without the efforts of the Environment Agency and its partners this too could have been much, much worse.