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Good morning. We can’t yet tally up the physical damage from Storm Eunice, but for many of those going through power-cuts and damage to their homes, the emotional toll will continue long after the results have been calculated in pounds or hours of labour. These experiences strip away feelings of security. The precious environments we rely on for safety are tarnished. Familiar landscapes become alien and threatening. In his book The Great Flood: Travels Through a Sodden Landscape, reporter Edward Platt recounts the events of the record-breaking UK flooding of 2013 and 2014. Platt tells the stories of those living with the long-term burden of flooding, walking the long road to recovery following a disaster. For some, normality is never restored. Families have to abandon their homes, communities break down, livelihoods – and even lives – are lost. And Platt reminds us that losses during disasters aren’t just random: those who are already vulnerable or impoverished often face the harshest outcomes. After November’s Storm Arwen, thousands of people went without power for more than a week. For many victims of storms, the feelings of anger, fear and abandonment do not go away when the lights come back on or the water subsides. The anxious anticipation of future damage also takes its toll. We cannot link any single storm to climate change, but we do know that nature depletion, a warmer atmosphere, and rising sea levels can increase their severity and frequency. As the Chair of the Climate Change Adaptation Committee Baroness Brown said yesterday on the Today Programme, the UK is not planning enough for extreme weather. In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus is asked for a sign from heaven. He responds by saying that the people can interpret the sky to predict the weather, but still seem unable to interpret the signs of the times. They’re unable or unwilling to acknowledge the markers of human sin or the presence of God’s grace amongst them. We’ve certainly got better at reading the skies and predicting the weather – even since the Great Storm of 1987. But whether we’re willing to read the signs of the times is another question. Amid this damage, I believe there will be signs of grace: the prayers of those facing the dark, the generosity of neighbours, the bravery of emergency services, new life growing from uprooted trees. But I’m left wondering whether we’ll admit to the signs of our societal sin: those who are left abandoned and afraid, and our slowness to act in a changing climate.