If you buy a house out in the country, you might get an occasional whiff of manure from a neighbouring farm.

If you spend your summers in a cabin in the mountains, you might see a bear. And if you choose to live on a floodplain beside a river, you might get a basement full of water one day.

These things are part of the risk we take when we decide where to live.

So it seems unfair that people who live in West Montrose beside the Grand River were so angry with officials from their township and the Grand River Conservation Authority at a recent meeting for not giving them more warning about a huge downpour June 23 that caused their homes to flood.

Flooding is horrible, of course. No one deserves it.

But those residents also shouldn't have taken their anxiety and frustration out on the people who work for the municipality and the conservation authority, who were doing their jobs as best they could.

Let's step back and take a look at this particular situation.

• The rainstorm was massive. It was 128 mm — a month and a half's worth of rain — falling in a four-hour period, as measured at Luther Marsh in the northern part of the watershed. Nothing like that amount of rain had been observed in one day since record-keeping began 67 years ago.

• There was no warning of the deluge, so officials could not prepare. Weather forecasters talked about localized thunderstorms, but only 10 mm of rain had been predicted. Once 10 times that amount of rain started falling, between 3 and 6 a.m., the staff on night duty at Grand River Conservation Authority needed to figure out what it might mean. "It takes time" to understand an unforeseen event like this, said conservation authority representative Lisa Stocco. "It's a very complex task."

• There were other problems. A wet June meant the ground was wet, and unable to absorb as much water as it might have. Also, reservoir levels were already high. They need to be higher at that time of year so that there will be enough water to put in the river for drinking and wastewater disposal if there is a drought later in the summer. But those higher water levels meant the reservoirs didn't have as much ability as they otherwise would to hold these record-high water levels before they flowed downstream to Waterloo Region.

• Bear in mind that part of the reason the conservation authority exists is to control building on floodplains. The homes in West Montrose were there before these powers came into existence. But today, you can't even put up a garden shed in that area without getting permission from the authority. Floodplain land is especially vulnerable. It's no one's fault.

Warnings of the flooding conditions went out by email, through mainstream and social media, and on the website. The fire chief even banged on doors of individual homes to deliver the news in person.

Some residents felt they weren't warned early enough. Authority and township staff have listened, and are embarking on a long list of strategies to improve the response. They also are applying for government aid on behalf of the affected residents.

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In the aftermath, it's tempting to look around and criticize someone else. One resident even said that unexpected weather events do not vindicate the conservation authority.

But he points his finger at the wrong people. We all know that climate change is leading to more ferocious and unpredictable weather. We all must cope with what we have created. Especially those people who choose to make their homes in a risky place.