Carisle Flood 2005 Flashcards
When did the river Eden flood Carlisle ?
The river Eden flooded Carlisle on 8th January 2005
When the river Eden flooded Carlisle on the 8th of January , what was the recurrence interval of this flood?
The return interval was 200years. it was a 1 in 200year flood.
What were the physical factors that caused flooding?
1) Lots on antecedent rainfall which caused saturation excess.
On January 6th there was heavy rainfall for 36 hours (200mm was recorded, which was equivalent to 4 months of rain)
The antecedent rainfall caused there to be a very high peak discharge (over 1520 cumecs) compared to the average discharge of 52 cumecs.
High drainage density, steep sided an large drainage basin.
What human activities made flooding worse?
1)Carlisle is a large built up area
2)Drains and sewage systems overflowed in some areas becoming a source of flooding themselves.
25% of flooding problems were associated with overflowing drains.
Social impacts of flooding?
1) 3 people died
2) 3000 made homeless for up to a year.
3) 4 Schools severely flooded, Newman catholic school didn’t reopen till Easter
4) Increase in stress related illnesses
Economic impacts
1) took about a year to repair damage to homes, and repairs cost £100million
2) 365 businesses had to shut down as no electricity, telephone service or transport.
3) United biscuits, Carlisles largest employe had to close.
~Flooded with 3m of water which caused over £5million in damage.(5% of all damage!)
~33/1100employees lost their jobs
4) 70 000addresses had no power.
5) The sewage works , police station, fire station and council offices were all severely flooded.
6) 80 buses were destroyed (most of the public transport fleet) busses had to be brought in from surrounding areas.
7) many roads and bridges damaged (e.g Warwick road)
Environmental impacts
Rivers polluted with rubbish and sewage.
Flooding increased river bank erosion.
The river Eden runs through North Cumbria, and reaches the sea near Carlisle. What features of the river Eden and its drainage basin could make it prone to flooding?
The drainage basin is very large, steep sided and has a high drainage density.
