While the weather conditions of recent days were amazingly extreme for the time of year, the fact that they had been comprehensively predicted suggests that the level of preparation displayed by the authorities was simply inadequate.
It must be accepted that a deluge in which 63 per cent of the average rainfall figure for the whole of August arrived in the space of just nine hours between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning was always going to cause considerable difficulties.
However, while the downpour was an act of God, the resources which were available for coping with its consequences have been widely questioned.
Counties Derry, Donegal and Tyrone were worst affected, with the flooding across the north-west region described as the most serious in living memory and the eventual repair bill running into many millions of pounds.
More than 100 people had to be rescued from their homes after roads and bridges collapsed, leaving vehicles swept away and one car actually left on top of another as the River Faughan burst its banks outside Derry city.
Farmers lost considerable amounts of livestock, with the number of chickens killed in one area of Tyrone alone officially listed at 55,000, and the overall total of confirmed lightning strikes approaching 2,000.
It is clear that emergency workers on the ground performed heroically on both sides of the border, saving lives and preventing even more devastating damage to property, but there were firm indications that they were hampered by an infrastructure which has suffered from a long-term shortage of investment.
Although the image of DUP leader Arlene Foster and the Sinn Féin MP Elisha McCallion standing together in Derry to assess the position was a powerful one, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that, in practical terms, a much more effective and coordinated financial response would have been possible if our devolved structures were still operating.
Compensation schemes are being urgently implemented, and it is important for the payments to be finalised without delay, but suffering residents also need to be provided with assurances about what will happen when the next weather warning is issued.
There will be obvious fears that a storm in August which turned large parts of three counties into something resembling a disaster zone could be followed by even more dire events in the depths of winter.
It is no exaggeration to suggest that fatalities could easily have taken place in some districts since Tuesday and it is absolutely essential that all the lessons are officially taken on board.
