Floods threaten thousands of homes along the Thames

The Guardian (UK): Thousands of homes along the Thames have been told to prepare for significant flooding, as the number of severe flood warnings in the south of England rises to 16. Fourteen of the warnings relate to a lengthy stretch of the Thames through Berkshire and Surrey, and two remain in place in the Somerset Levels.

The Environment Agency (EA) said the Thames warnings stretched "from Datchet to Shepperton Green, including Ham Court and Chertsey, as river levels in the area are extremely high and are forecast to continue to rise".

The communities secretary, Eric Pickles, said the areas were expected to suffer significant problems by the middle of the week. The latest storm was predicted to arrive in southern England and Wales on Monday evening with heavy rain of up to 0.78in (20mm), MeteoGroup said.

While emergency work to prevent flooding continues, including the distribution of tens of thousands more sandbags by the Royal Marines, the EA boss has hit back at government critics. Lord Smith has accused ministers of "getting in the way" of vital work to deal with devastating floods by turning the crisis into a political row.

The peer defended the quango's handling of the situation and issued a furious broadside at what he said were attempts by politicians to undermine the work and reputation of the agency in a bid to secure better media coverage....

A flood gate in the Thames, shot by Nigel Chadwick, Wikimedia Commons via Geograph UK, nder the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license 

Floods could overwhelm London as sea levels rise - unless Thames Barrier is upgraded

Steve Connor in the Independent (UK): There is significant risk of London being hit by a devastating storm surge in the Thames estuary by 2100 that could breach existing flood defences and cause immense damage to the capital, a study of global sea-level rise has found.

Melting of polar ice sheets and mountain glaciers could increase sea levels significantly over the coming decades leading to a 1 in 20 risk that the existing Thames Barrier would be unable to cope with an extreme storm surge, the study concluded.

Extreme storm surges that can breach the barrier would in the past have occurred with a frequency of about 1 in 1,000 years, but in a warmer world they could occur as frequently as 1 in every 10 years, scientists said.

The increased threat posed by rising sea levels is one of the reasons why flood defences around the Thames estuary and the barrier itself will be strengthened.

An international panel of glaciologists and climate scientists said there is still huge uncertainty about how sea levels will change in the coming century as a result of climate change and its effect on polar ice sheets and mountain glaciers....

The Thames Barrier at night, shot by John Sparshatt, Wikimedia Commons via Geograph UK, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license