Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Somerset Levels January 2014 65million m3 floodwater covered 65km2 -…
Somerset Levels
January 2014 65million m3 floodwater covered 65km2
Impacts
Social
600 homes affected and road cut off leaving people stranded.
Economic
Cost Somerset between 80-140 million to pay of the damage and accident repairs.
Cattle and farm animals had to be fast sold or moved on as they were in danger. This caused some people to loose money on their animals as they were hurried to make sell them.
Businesses were put completely our of trade loosing thousand of pounds due to flooding nothing could be sold incase it had contamination.
Environmental
7000 hectares of land and crops was ruined beeing left to sit in 3ft of water for 2 months
Thankfully there was said to be little impact on the wildlife around the area.
Causes
Physical
Long or Prolonged rainstorms didn't help.
Powerful jet stream drove low pressure system across the Atlantic
12 Major storms didn't help the situation. The storms occurred in
December 2013 and mid February 2014
Human
The river Perret hasn't been dredged for over 20 years meaning a lot of deposition which just adds to the height of the water rising. It was meant to happen every 5 years costing 20million had this happened the river could have been deeper and longer. Farmers had warned the government this was going to happen and it needed to be dredged.
There had been building on the sea floor which increased the risk of the flood.
Landscape
Previously covered by sea but drained in the 17th century for agriculture Channels built to drain he marshes Romans built tidal flood defenses Vulnerable to both tidal flooding and storm
Local Management
Environmental Agency
62 Pumps work 24 hours a day removing 1.5 tones of water.
The pumps were borrowed from the Netherlands.
Defences
Nearly 50 defense systems that needed repairing. Like Embankments pumps and costal defenses.
Emergency Report
Royal Marines helped cut of roads and villages.
Police patrol increased.
Future
Dredging of the river Perret happened after the flood.
Farmer will be payed to store water that is mumped out.
Attempt to reduce run-off towards houses and housing development.