Wales flooding: residents hope to return home

The Guardian (UK): Residents and holidaymakers are hoping to learn whether they can return to their flood-ravaged homes and caravans after spending the night in refuge centres.

A large-scale rescue operation swung into action after heavy rainfall sent water several feet deep surging through communities in west Wales.

Some 150 people were rescued and taken to the centres as caravan parks and villages near Aberystwyth were inundated. Twice as much rain fell in 24 hours as normally falls in the area in the whole of June.

Police said the overall number who left their homes, including those who did not need to go to the centres, was nearer 1,000.

Senior politicians, including the prime minister, David Cameron, paid tribute to RAF helicopter crews, fire service teams, coastguard and RNLI lifeboat crews and the emergency services who ensured there were no serious casualties...

Flood water on the A493 at Penmaenpool, from 2008. Shot by Lois Rodgers, Wikimedia Commons via Geograph UK, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license 

Environment Agency Wales warns against water supply complacency

BBC News: Wales should avoid being too complacent about its water supply levels, the Environment Agency Wales (EAW) has warned. EAW director Chris Mills said Wales had enough water "at the moment".

But he added that some rivers were at their limit in terms of how much water could be taken without harming the environment. Calls for Wales to supply surplus water to drought-hit England were dismissed as "too costly" by Welsh Water.

The company said pumping water would prove very expensive and English water firms would would be looking at other solutions. EAW said periods of exceptionally dry weather in recent years had pushed parts of Wales close to drought with many rivers running low.

The agency warned that if Wales suffered a dry spring and summer this year the situation could worsen and impact wildlife living in rivers. It said it had prepared a drought plan for Wales in the event of this happening, and added that the nation was also likely to face future pressure on its water resources as a result of climate change....

Afon Nodwydd, Red Wharf Bay, Anglesey, shot by Porius1, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

Flood insurance argument could leave millions high and dry

Mark King in the Guardian (UK): Up to 200,000 homes in England and Wales have been warned they will struggle to obtain adequate flood insurance after June 2013, when the insurance industry's voluntary flood agreement with the government ends. In 92 constituencies there are 1,000 or more homes at high flood risk, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said after analysing the latest Environment Agency flood data.

Boston and Skegness in Lincolnshire is the constituency with the most homes at significant risk of flooding, with 7,550 properties under threat, followed by the Vale of Clwyd (7,339 homes), Folkestone and Hythe (7,196), and Windsor (7,125). A property is defined as being at risk if it has a one in 75 chance of flooding in any given year.

The risk of households being unable to obtain cover is heightened by an ongoing row over who pays for the flood defences needed to maintain protection for the 5m homes at risk across the UK.

Adrian Webb of esure said there had been a "gentlemen's agreement" between insurers and the government since 1961. "The government of the time said government would be responsible for flood defences, and in turn the insurance industry would include flood cover as standard. At the end of the 1990s it was becoming clear that the government's side of the equation was not being met – and will not be met in future," he said...

Wales set for more floods and hotter summers warns expert

Daily Post (UK): Wales is set to experience more floods and hotter summers, an expert has warned. Nobel prize winner and Denbighshire born Sir John Houghton told the Daily Post how it was likely that floods would rise in North Wales as a result of climate change. The ex-chief executive of the Met Office predicted that millions of people could be holidaying in Wales in the future as a result of warmer summers.

He added while it was hard to say that the recent peak in weather was a consequence of global warming, recent patterns could be interpreted as a step in that direction, he claimed. Last week, Wales recorded the warmest day in the year with places like Porthmadog in Gwynedd shooting up to 24 degrees.

…“The biggest effects we will have in Wales is sea level rise and flooding. The North Wales coast is very vulnerable to storms. We may get warmer summers and in the future if you go to the Mediterranean in the summer that’s going to be very hot and dry, which could mean more people will want to come to Wales.

“Welsh agriculture will have to adapt and countries in Africa and Asia will also get hotter so hundred’s of million could migrate. It’s a serious problem….”

Who knew the Welsh flag sports a glowering dragon? I'm impressed

Flood risk in Wales

Graham Henry in the South Wales Echo: Cardiff could suffer annual flooding later this century if defences are not improved, a report has warned. The Environment Agency Wales has warned that without flood-defence improvements, rising seas could cause damaging floods to towns along the Severn Estuary by 2060, including Cardiff, Penarth and Newport.

Plans identified Lavernock Point in the Vale of Glamorgan at particular risk, while there are risk points identified all along the estuary to Gloucestershire, which includes around 250,000 homes. The report said that, in Penarth, there was a 20% chance each year that waves could rise above the sea wall and cause damage to buildings.

It also identifies increased risk of storms in both Penarth and Cardiff – with the Agency warning that Cardiff could face catastrophic annual flooding within 100 years if defences were not improved. Even with proposed raising of embankments in Cardiff by 0.8m, there would still be a one-in-200 risk of flooding to around 10,000 homes.

The report said: “Flood risk will increase as sea levels rise and storms become worse. Even if the existing defence structures were maintained at their current height, by 2060 the risk of tidal flooding will increase to a one-in-50 chance of flooding in any year.”…

Lavernock Point in the Vale of Glamorgan, shot by Penny Mayes, Wikimedia Commons via Geograph UK, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Unported license

Heavy rain sparks flash floods in Wales

Daniel Davies in the Independent (UK): Firefighters dealt with flash floods today after heavy rain fell on parts of Wales.Forecasters warned of further downpours tomorrow as more wet weather was on the way.

Crews were called out in South Wales after heavy rain during the morning. A spokesman for Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service said: "We have had several incidents of flooding this morning in and around the Swansea and Neath areas.

"We have had about 30 flood-related calls that were affecting properties, gardens and roadways. There was flash flooding for about an hour and a half. That was about 10.30 this morning, but they have subsided now. It has been very busy. It's still raining here but not as heavy as it was earlier."

Rachel Vince, a meteorologist with MeteoGroup UK, the weather division of the Press Association, said the rain storms were moving east towards the Midlands. She said: "There has been some particularly heavy rain across parts of South Wales…..

View of the Pennard Pill as it meanders towards the sea in Three Cliffs Bay, taken from near the ruined chapel and castle. Shot by Christine Matthews, Wikimedia Commons via Geograph UK, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license

Environment minister launches flood strategy to combat impact of climate change in Wales

Tom Bodden in the Daily Post (UK): Future public spending on flood defences in Wales must be targeted at communities most at risk, a new strategy suggested yesterday. Fresh plans for managing flooding and coastal erosion aim to respond to the increasing threat from climate change.

One in six properties in Wales is already at risk from inundation. Predicted changes to rainfall patterns and rising sea levels will significantly increase the risk in the future. Welsh environment minister Jane Davidson said: “Images of the devastation that flooding can cause have been all too present in the media over recent years and this growing risk means that it is more important than ever for householders to take action to protect their properties from the threat of flooding.”

Launching a public consultation, she said: “However there is also a key role for the Welsh Assembly Government to play in ensuring that adequate funding is made available for flood defences and that such money is targeted to the areas that need it most.

“We must also ensure that when flooding does strike there is an effective and coordinated response from authorities that offers real benefit and assistance to those affected.”

The Assembly Government wants views on its objectives, including reducing the impact on communities and businesses. The strategy aims to engage people in the response, and prioritise investment in the ‘most at risk communities’. Coastal flooding plans have failed to deal with the threat of erosion, according to a cross-party report by AMs…

The flood plain of the River Dee in North Wales, shot by Dennis Turner, Wikimedia Commons via the Geograph UK project, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license

Welsh flood defences money ‘needs to triple’

Sally Williams in Wales Online (UK): Investment in flood defences in Wales needs to triple to cope with rising sea levels, increased rainfall and coastal erosion, the Environment Agency said yesterday. The Agency warned that spending on defences needed to rise steadily to £135m a year to maintain the current level of protection.

In a report published yesterday, it said the highest flood risk areas in Wales are Conwy and Gwynedd in North Wales and Newport in South Wales. Environment Agency Wales director Chris Mills, said: “This report spells out that a steady increase in investment is vital to maintain current levels of protection against rising sea levels, more rapid rates of coastal erosion, and increasingly severe and frequent rain storms due to climate change.

“We need to work even more with local communities, the local authorities and others who can help to come up with local solutions on how to cope with increased flooding in the future.”

…The agency’s flood risk manager Cliff Moyce said: “Flood defences cannot stop all flooding and they may not be affordable in all locations. Choices will need to be made about how and where public money is best directed to manage flood risks. We will be working actively with communities to develop innovative solutions to local flood risk problems.”…

Flooded road in Pont Trecynni, Wales. Most days, a small stream flows under the road at this point where a farm lane meets the A487. Heavy rain on October 11 2005 caused flooding here that eventually rendered the lane inaccessible for several hours. Shot by ceridwen, Wikimedia Commons via the Geograph Project, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license

Stormy weather brings severe flood warning in northwest England

Haroon Siddique in the Guardian (UK): The Environment Agency issued a severe flood warning in the north-west this morning as heavy rain and winds hit parts of the UK. More than 115 flood warnings and flood watches were in place, with Anglia and the Thames region the only areas free of alerts.

The severe flood warning, which is expected to remain in place for a couple of days, applies to the river Irwell at Strongstry and Chatterton, near Bolton. "It's quite possible there could be flooding from the river, there is already surface water flooding," an Environment Agency spokesman said. Agency workers were at the scene trying to clear the area.

Lancashire is the main concern for the agency today, with Cumbria at highest risk tomorrow and Friday. "The ground's very wet, the rivers are rising and with heavy rain that we're expecting, in particular for Cumbria, that's where we'll be focusing our attention," the spokesman said. He advised people to keep abreast of developments by visiting the Environment Agency's website.

A number of severe weather warnings are in place. Helen Chivers, from the Met Office, said the heaviest rain was expected in northern and north-western parts of the UK. Cumbria, north Wales and south-west Scotland could see 200mm of rain on high ground over the next few days and winds of 70-75mph….

The River Irwell at Salford in January 2008, looking towards Manchester City Centre, North West England, shot by Ian Roberts, Wikimedia Commons via Flickr, under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0 License

Severn Barrage ‘will lead to flooding’ in Welsh cities

Sally Williams in Wales Online, via the Western Mail: The proposed Severn Barrage will lead to flooding in Cardiff and Newport, a leading Welsh coastal scientist warned last night. Professor Simon Haslett, director of the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching at the University of Wales, Newport, said a barrage would be on a “losing curve” of energy production and was not a “sustainable solution” because it is likely to create more problems than it solves.

The UK Government is keen to harness the power of the River Severn – which has the second highest tidal range in the world – to generate electricity as part of its commitment to source 20% of the UK’s energy from renewable sources by 2020.

Developers of the 10-mile, £14bn scheme, that would stretch from the Welsh coast near Cardiff to the English coast near Weston-super-Mare, say it could generate up to 8GW – 5% of the UK’s energy needs.

Bur Prof Haslett said: “The barrage is designed to create electricity and to stop sea floods. But its development will lead the sea level to rise by three metres in the estuary and that’s going to drown a lot of tidal mudflats that are currently exposed. “It will also increase groundwater levels around Newport and Cardiff, causing a higher risk of localised flooding.”…

I wonder how today's Severn Barrage plan differs from this 1921 diagram of a plan to harness tidal power on the Severn River in the UK. From Popular Mechanics

New plans to combat floods in Wales

Wales Online (UK): Environment Agency Wales is embarking on a consultation process including farming unions and other representative bodies to develop long term plans on how to manage flood risk. We will also be consulting with representatives of communities which are at risk of flooding.

…Traditionally our approach to managing flood risk has been dominated by the construction of defences but in the future it will not be possible to defend everyone, everywhere, all of the time. We must adapt and change to a broader approach and this will include managing the consequences of flooding, working with natural processes. This broader approach must take a long-term view because climate change is a long-term issue and it will take time to make the changes required.

We must consider how we manage water from the moment it falls onto the land, enters our watercourses, flows through our rivers, past our villages and towns, until it joins the sea. If we can improve the management of water that runs off the land, we can produce economic, environmental and flood risk benefits, both locally and elsewhere.

Changing the way we all work to manage flood risk will take time, there is no quick fix solution. The Environment Agency believes this change can only be achieved by working closely and constructively with a range of land managers and owners, and farmers are key to this success

….The Environment Agency is preparing 10 Catchment Flood Management Plans (CFMPs) to cover Wales. These are long term strategic plans and are intended to start to inform the wider debate into the future of flood risk management. CFMPs are supported by both the Welsh Assembly Government and Defra in England and are based on river and not political boundaries.

….It is no longer enough to target flooding through piecemeal local action. Climate change is here and it isn’t going to go away so we need to do things differently. CFMPs are about planning for the future and thinking about catchments as a whole and their impact on neighbouring areas and beyond….

Elwy River, Cefn, in Wales. Photo: Francis Bedford (1816-1894), 1860s. Wikimedia Commons. On occasion my photo research isn't current.