Prepare for more flooding, warns UK agency

The UK’s Environment Agency is warning the public to prepare for a higher risk of flooding due to climate change.

The national body has launched a new Flood Action Campaign to help raise awareness of the risks and provide advice on how to respond to flooding when it happens.

It follows a pattern of severe flooding which has become more frequent and intense in recent years. The Met Office, the UK’s national weather service, has highlighted how 9 of heaviest rainfalls over the past 100 years have occurred since 2000.

These includes a series of harsh storms which have caused over 36,000 homes to be flooded across the country between 2012-2015. Coastal surges, higher sea levels and unprecedented amounts of rainfall are now becoming commonplace in different parts of the UK. December 2015, for example, was the wettest month ever recorded.

The new campaign includes a tool to search whether your home is in a high risk area and tips to reduce impacts. These include switching off your energy supply, preparing a medical bag and avoiding driving through flood water.

The agency is also offering a free warning service to alert people of dangerous floods when they occur.

Sir James Bevan, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency, said: “Climate change is likely to mean more frequent and intense flooding. Floods destroy – lives, livelihoods, and property.

Our flood defences reduce the risk of flooding, and our flood warnings help keep communities safe when it threatens. But we can never entirely eliminate the risk of flooding. Checking your flood risk is the first step to protecting yourself, your loved ones and your home”

The Environment Agency estimates that in England alone there are 5.2 million properties at risk of flooding. This is out of a total 27 million households across the four nations of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

 

Photo: Rose and Trev Clough/CC