The 1953 floods 60 years on: Have we learned lesson?

Flooding experts from the UK and abroad gathered to commemorate the 60^th anniversary of the 1953 floods in a reception held by the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) and the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) this week.  His Royal Highness The Duke of Gloucester KG GCVO provided the opening address.  

On 31^st January and 1^st February 1953, England, Scotland, the Netherlands and Belgium were devastated by some of the worst flooding in recent memory. The North Sea Flood of 1953 was one of the most devastating natural disasters ever recorded in the United Kingdom. Over 1,600 kilometers of coastline was damaged, and sea walls were breached, inundating 1,000 square kilometers.  Flooding forced 30,000 people to be evacuated from their homes, and 24,000 properties were seriously damaged. 

Six decades on, rising waters remain one of the UK’s greatest challenges. Rising sea levels due to climate change and increasingly severe and frequent rainfall has increased the risk of flooding throughout the UK.   Just this week, nearly 50 flood warnings and 200 alerts have been in place across the country, with south-west England and Wales expected to be worst hit.

Professor David Balmforth, CIWEM Fellow, ICE vice president and chair of the Inter-Institutional Flooding Group, said coastal regions are now better protected by sea defences, reliable flood forecasting, and well-established emergency response measures, but raised concerns that progress on making communities more “flood resilient” was less advanced.

“It is important that we continue to invest in appropriate levels of flood defence works in the future.  However, of equal importance is building the flood resilience of our communities.  Flood forecasts are not universally embedded in the day to day life of all communities at risk of flooding, and in too many cases, communities do not even realise that they are at risk.  Our buildings and infrastructure are also not always designed to resist flooding and more can be done to make them flood resistant – in much the same way that we have made buildings more energy efficient. We have yet to learn that building resilience against floods must be at the heart of any future flood risk management strategy,” he said.

Frank Heemskerk of Royal HaskoningDHV said that the Dutch have changed their approach in recent years, “We now focus on working with water and nature instead of against it.  This means creating opportunities by combining multiple functions when designing flood defences.” 

Integrated solutions are especially important said Heemskerk, as the number of people at risk of flooding has increased significantly since 1953.  

“Risk has increased with development in flood plains,” said David Rooke MBE, Environment Agency Director of Flood and Coastal Risk Management, expressing particular concern over caravans and mobile homes now at risk in the UK.  He said that overall, the UK now has much stronger defences to a much higher standard of protection.

Environment Minister, Richard Benyon said the UK is better prepared than ever to respond to major flooding, but encouraged residents to sign up for advance flood alerts, “Today, people have a much better chance to protect their lives, loved ones and possessions and stay safe by signing up for the Environment Agency flood warnings.”

Minister Benyon said “We are doing all we can to protect homes and businesses from flooding, and expect to exceed our target to protect a further 145,000 properties in the four years to 2015.”

 The reception was sponsored by Jacobs, Mouchel, Halcrow, Black & Veatch and the NERC Water Security Knowledge Exchange Programme (WSKEP), and supported by the Inter-Institutional Flooding Group (IIFG). 

The discussion continued throughout CIWEM’s Rivers and Coastal Group Annual Conference on Delivering Flood Schemes Funding, Partnerships and Opportunities - Emerging lessons held 30 January at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London.

1. The Inter-Institutional Flooding Group (IIFG) is formed of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), the Landscape Institute and the Chartered Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM)
2. Floodline Warnings Direct is a free service that provides flood warnings via telephone, text or e-mail from the Environment Agency.  https://fwd.environment-agency.gov.uk/app/olr/home.
3. More information on the CIWEM Rivers and Coastal Group Annual Conference and other CIWEM events can be found online at http://www.ciwem.org/events/events-calendar.aspx.