East Anglia Storm Surges Flashcards
(1953)
What made the storm surge so bad?
There was no stations operating at night when warnings were needed.
Virtually no warnings were passed down the East coast due to phone lines being blown down by the gales.
The tidal surge down the North Sea locally exceeded 5.6 metres above mean sea level.
The winds also generated very large waves in the North Sea that damaged coastal defences.
(1953)
Social impacts?
In England, 307 people were killed and 19 in Scotland.
40,000 people made homeless.
32,000 people were evacuated.
(1953)
Economic impacts?
Infrastructure including power stations, gasworks, roads, 200 miles of railways, sewage services and water services was put out of action.
(1953)
Environmental impacts?
Over 1600km of coastline was damaged.
160,000 acres of land was inundated with sea water and not usable for several years.
(1953)
Responses?
Storm Tides Warning Service was established within the Met Office.
The Thames Barrier was constructed.
A sea wall and groynes were installed in Sea Palling.
(2013)
How high was the surge?
7m
(2013)
Social impacts?
Two people died.
1400 homes were flooded.
Thousands of residents were evacuated in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, and Lincolnshire.
(2013)
Economic impacts?
Insurers calculated the cost of damage at £100 million.
(2013)
Environmental impacts?
Nature reserves were affected by floods (e.g in Norfolk).
Freshwater habitats were polluted with salt water.
What will happen in the future?
Global Warming and sea level rise will make events such as the 1953 and 2013 storm surges more common and more destructive. These events are occurring on average once every 50 years. This will change to once every 20 years in the future.
