UK FLOODS 2014

FLOODING IN A MORE DEVELOPED COUNTRY

BACKGROUND INFO

· GDP per capita ~$36 000

· Between December 2013 and February 2014 large areas of the UK experienced an exceptional run of severe winter storms, culminating in serious coastal damage and widespread flooding.

CAUSES

· A series of storms brought extremely heavy and prolonged rainfall with some areas such as Winchester experiencing levels over 300% above average.

· Some studies suggest that anthropogenic Climate Change has increased the intensity and rainfall lvels of Atlantic storms although there is no definitive evidence for this.

· Several rivers including the River Parrett in the Levels and the River Thames in London overflowed their banks, while in other parts of the country such as the village of Hambledon in Hampshire the ground became so saturated that the water table reached the surface.

· The Somerset Levels are only around 8m above sea level and thus is naturally prone to flooding. Man-made drainage and flood defence systems have been practised since Roman times for farming.

· Some have blamed the floods on human management of the area and have even accused the Labour government of ‘deliberately engineering’ the floods. For example, rivers such as the River Parrett had not been dredged since the late 1990s but the Environment Agency claims this would not have prevented the floods and may have worsened flooding downstream.






IMPACTS

· Several people were killed by secondary effects; for example a 7 years old boy died from carbon monoxide poisoning as his family tried to clear their home with industrial water pumps.

· Over 7000 homes and 3000 commercial properties across England and Wales were flooded and thousands experienced power cuts. Insurers have estimated a cost of around £40k of repair work per household. However this is small in comparison to the 55 000 homes and businesses flooded in 2007.

· The low-lying Somerset Levels were badly affected with 10% of the 650km2 area submerged.

· Many people have had to take time off work or have been able to get to work, while farmers have struggled with flooded fields and ruins crops. However there could be a benefit for farmers who were unaffected if spoiled produce leads to price rises but it is too early to tell if that will happen.

· Conservationists have reported the deaths of 600 sea birds and 250 seals in the storms while inland hibernating animals were badly affect and 5000 fish were found dead in fields in Oxfordshire after the floods subsided. However, waterfowl have benefited as it has increased the area of their habitat.

· Estimates of economic damage range from £630m ($1b) for insurance and repairs, up to £14b ($23b) (1% of GDP) if you include the losses incurred by businesses in the Thames Valley. However, flood protection companies have benefited, such as Van Heck who has sent more than 20 industrial size pumps to Somerset.





RESPONSES

· A large-scale response was initiated involving the military with homes evacuated and 150 rescued in 24 hours along the Thames. However, when Prince Charles visited the SL’s he criticised the government’s slow response with one woman in Somerset being trapped in her home for 13 days.

· £14m has been paid out by the government to help communities recover including £5000 per house.

· Dredging started at the end of March with £5.8m spent on clearing 5 miles of the Tone & Parrett rivers.

· A scheme called ‘Flood Re’ is set to be introduced in 2015 to help people with rising flood insurance.

Discussion point: Could this flooding have been prevented?

PAKISTAN FLOODS 2010

FLOODING IN A LESS DEVELOPED COUNTRY

BACKGROUND INFO

·         GNP per capita ~$2700

·         Flooding began in July 2010; at one point ~1/5 of Pakistan’s total land area was submerged including 69,000km² of fertile crop land.  

CAUSES

·         The river Indus normally floods every year but in 2010 there was prolonged and heavy e.g. 274mm fell in 24 hours in Peshawar on July 29^th 2010. More than half the normal monsoon rains fell in only a week instead of 3months. One reason could have been unusual conditions in the polar jet stream.

·         The river Indus carries a lot of sediment and mud from the Himalayas, which silts up the channel and make it more prone to flooding.

·         Others think anthropogenic climate change could have strengthened monsoon rains, whilst deforestation in the Himalayas has reduced the river’s lag time.

·         Levees built for flood defence were breached and caused sudden huge releases of floodwater.

·         The massive human impact occurred because 2/3^rds of Pakistan’s citizens rely on agriculture for their income and many of them live close to rivers for access to water and fertile alluvial soils.

·         In some places such as the Swat Valley, infrastructure had already been weakened by the 2005 earthquake and not yet repaired.

IMPACTS

·         Flooding submerged whole villages within the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, killing at least 1,600 people, according to the UN. Twelve million were affected in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces, while a further two million were affected in Sindh.

·         Floods directly affected about 20 million people (more than the boxing-day tsunami and Haiti earthquake combined), mostly by destruction of property, livelihood and infrastructure including 100s of bridges and 200 health facilities.

·         The World Health Organization reported that ten million people were forced to drink unsafe water.

·         The total economic impact may have been as much as US$43 billion including damage to the important cotton industry (Pakistan was previously the 4^th largest cotton producer) as 80% of fields were left waterlogged in some areas and crops and livestock were drowned.

·         Illnesses such as gastroenteritis, diarrhoea, and skin diseases occurred due to lack of clean drinking water and sanitation. Pakistan also faced a malaria and cholera outbreak.

·         There were also long-term impacts including: food insufficiencies leading to malnutrition, damage to schools, Taliban insurgencies and an increase from 33-40% of people living below the poverty line.

RESPOSES

·         France donated €1.05 million and 35 tonnes of emergency supplies including tarpaulins, blankets, shelters and anti-cholera medicines, while the UK donated £134.5 million.

·         The United States donated 71 million dollars as well as 56,000 ready meals and two temporary bridges to help reconnect. They also built water filtration plants.

·         However after 6 months charities were surprised by the slow international response as only 56% of the $1.96 billion requested by the Pakistani government had been given. This could be due to the global phenomenon of “donor fatigue”. President Zardari was also criticized for his slow response. Many felt the Pakistani Army was slow to rebuild bridges, deliver aid or set up relief camps.

·       In the longer term flood warning systems are being funded by charities such as Oxfam and the US government, including radio stations used to educate people of the danger of flood water and the different toxins and diseases in it meaning that people will be more prepared next time.

Discussion point: Who was worst affected by these floods? Could they have been avoided?