Case Study of Flooding in an MEDC - Yorkshire Floods (June 2007)

Question 1

Give an introduction to the case study

Answer 1

The Yorkshire Floods, United Kingdom (June 2007), are a good primary example of flooding in an MEDC. The river Don in Sheffiled burst its banks and led to flood water submerging most of the city.

Question 2

What were the causes?

Answer 2

Physical Causes:

• Two weeks of intense rain in the middle of June so the ground was already saturated.
• Monday 25th June was the wettest day ever recorded in Sheffiled with 84mm in 21 hours
• It was the wettest June ever, with 135mm of rain in comparison to the average of 67mm
• Sheffield is described as a ‘bowl’ surrounded by steep relief

Human cause:

• Human intervention e.g. building on flood plains, channelisation of rivers and building culverts

Question 3

What were the negative impacts of the floods?

Answer 3

**Social impacts: **

• After the floods many people lived in caravans in their back gardens for 6-12 months and some people were even left without a home or shelter as their homes were flooded and their assets were destroyed - both factors were detrimental as they accounted for large financial payments for repairs of their domestic infrastructure and for certain assests to be replaced
• In some cases the flooding placed strain and stress on family life (pyschological impact)
• 4000 homes were flooded
• Looting of some homes occured in Toll Bar

Economic Impacts:

• Reduction in house prices after floods
• House insurance premiums increased with no flood protection
• 1300 businesses flooded
• Meadow Hall closed for a week costing £20 million in damge/lost revenue
• The stadium’s pitch of the football club Sheffield Wednesday was submerged by flood water, leading to lost revenue, dissapointment from fans, and their first home game of the season had to be played on temporary grounds elsewhere
• The M1 motorway closed impacting on deliveries around Yorkshire

Environmental Impact:

• Flood water contaminated with sewage and rubbish polluted rivers
• The land of the surrounding area was submerged with water and surface water did not infiltrate. Although this was a large inconvenience in the short-term, it did have the converse effect of benefiting the land as the flood water contained useful alluvium and minerals that naturally fertilised the land - positive impact
• The flood caused dangerous pressure of the Ulley Dam which collects water from the Don Valley - lead to evacuation of Toll Bar as a precuation of Ulley Dam bursting
  • Fire crews used seventeen high volume pumps to remove four million litres of water per hour from the reservoir to prevent it from bursting.
  • It was feared that, if the reservoir’s dam was breached, the sudden flow of water could bring down high voltage power lines, and flood the nearby M1 and a crucial regional electricity substation, which supplies the power to the whole of Sheffield.

Question 4

What were the positive impacts of the floods?

Answer 4

Social impacts:

• Families, neighbours and communities were brought closer together
• The council of Sheffield set up a flood warden scheme in Catcliffe village so that the community could monitor river levels

Economic impact:

• In the months after the floods lots of work for builders and decorators became available due to the damage

Evironmental Impact:

• The land of the surrounding area was submerged with water and surface water did not infiltrate. **Although this was a large inconvenience in the short-term, it would have the converse effect of benefiting the land as the flood water would contain useful alluvium and minerals that would naturally fertilise the land. **

Question 5

What were the responses to the Yorkshire Floods?

Answer 5

The reponses:

• Evacuation of hundreds of people from the village of Catcliffe, Sheffield
• The M1 motorway was closed for safety reasons
• The EA (Environment Agency) gave out warnings on TV, radio and weather forecasts on other such mediums
• Army and RAF were brought in to rescue people (by the utilisation of boats and helicopters) and bring sand bags to stop further flooding in homes
• The flood caused dangerous pressure of the Ulley Dam which collects water from the Don Valley - lead to evacuation of Toll Bar as a precuation of Ulley Dam bursting
  • Fire crews used seventeen high volume pumps to remove four million litres of water per hour from the reservoir to prevent it from bursting.
  • It was feared that, if the reservoir’s dam was breached, the sudden flow of water could bring down high voltage power lines, and flood the nearby M1 and a crucial regional electricity substation, which supplies the power to the whole of Sheffield.

Question 6

What were the cricisms of the repsonse?

Answer 6

• Many areas did not recieve enough sand bags to prevent housing from further flooding
• Toll Bar residents were left to clear up damages themselves i.e. the council did not provide skips, so some residents have to pay for skips themselves

Who has the overall repsonsiblity?