Flooding Flashcards
Bangladesh - Impacts of flooding
- 2/3 of land covered by water and the capital was under 2m of water
- 30million people made homeless
- 7million homes destroyed
- 1,300 people died
- Food supples severely affected - flooding destroyed 2 million tonnes of rice and 0.5 million cattle and poultry were lost
- Export industry saw a 20% decrease in industry and 400 clothing factories were forced to close
- Shortage of drinking water and dry food
- Caused crops to rot, wrecked roads/bridges and destroyed villages
- Cost almost $1billion
Bangladesh - Human causes
- Very densely populated - 3/4 of the population live within the delta
- Deforestation - reduction in interception
- Urbanisation of floodplain
- Building of dams in India
- Corruption of funds for flood protection
Bangladesh - Short term flood management
- Boats to rescue people
- Emergency supplies for food, water, tents and medicines
- Fodder for livestock
- Repair and rebuild houses
- Aid from other countries eg. UN
Bangladesh - Long term flood management
- Reduce deforestation
- Build 7 dams in Bangladesh to store water
- Build 5000 flood shelters to accommodate all the population
- Build 350km of embankment - 7 metres high to reduce flooding along the main river channel
- Create flood water storage areas
Boscastle - Causes
- 50mm of rain in 1 hour
- 125mm of rain over a few hours
- Ground already saturated
- Impermeable
- Thin soil
- Steep soils
- Contluencey of rivers Valency and Jordan just above the river
- High spring tide
Boscastle - Immediate effects
- More than 50 cars/caravans swept out to sea
- 6 buildings swept away
- Houses and shops filled with mid/sewage/water
- Bridges swept away
- Roads under 2.75 of water
- Damge to sewage/water/electricity supplies
Boscastle - Long term effects
- 20 accommodation providers and tourist attractions forced to shut
- Cost of repairs and clean-up
- Cost to insurance companies - increase in premiums
Boscastle - Immediate Response
- 6 helicopters and 2 lifeboats deployed
- 150 airlifted to safety, others evacuated
- Emergency centres opened in nearby villages
- Sandbags used
Boscastle - Long term response
- Clean-up operation began within a few days
- New defences cost £4.6 million –> raise the car park, move and raise bridges and widen and lower the river bed
- At risk properties given advice about flood resistamt materials
- Council run special advice days
Cumbria - Causes of flooding
- Heavy rainfall - 316mm in one day
- Rapid runoff - steep slopes, impermeable rocks, thin soils and sparse vegetation
- High soil moisture - ground already saturated from heavy rainfall from the previous 7 weeks
- Torrential downpours in the first 3 weeks of November filled stores eg. Derwentwater Lake
How much of the population live in flood prone areas?
5%
What are the total assets at risk from flooding in the UK?
£238billion
How many houses were under threat in Autumn in 2000?
10,000 homes and businesses in 700 locations
How many flood warnings were there in the Autumn 2000?
1,400 in 90 days
How much damage was done in the Autumn 2000 floods?
£1bn
How many miles of defences were there in the 1953 EA SS?
1,000
How many homes were flooded and how many people were killed in the 1953 EA SS?
24,000 homes flooded and 307 people killed
How many properties are at risk of flooding in the UK?
5.2mn properties
What are the annual flood costs in the UK?
£1.1bn but these costs could rise to as much as £27bn by 2080
How much did the 2007 July floods costs?
£3bn
How much could the government see the value of properties decrease by in high flood risk areas?
£4.3trillion
How much of Bangladesh comprises of low-lying land?
80%
How much of Bangladesh lies below 3m above sea level?
50%
How much was factory output reduced by in the Bangladesh floods?
20%
How many concrete cyclone shelters will be put in place under the ‘flood action plan’ in Bangladesh?
5000
How many properties were flooded in the Shrewsbury 2000 floods?
800
Shrewsbury 2000 - How much did Boots Chemist and M&S lose in sales?
Boots chemist - £25,000
M&S - £975,000
Shrewsbury 2000 - How much did the number of shoppers in the Darwin shopping centre slump by?
60%
Shrewsbury 2000 - How much did the floods cost?
£7-8mn
Frankwell scheme - How deep were the the flood walls?
16m deep to limit the flow of groundwater
Frankwell scheme - How much water did the defences hold back in February 2004?
1.9m which prevented the flooding of 74 properties
Cumbria, December 2015 - How much rain fell?
340mm of rain fell on the Lake District in24 hours
Cumbria, December 2015 - How many people were impacted by power cuts?
60,000
Cumbria, December 2015 - How many homes were flooded?
6,425
Cumbria, December 2015 - How much would insurance cost?
£20mn
Cumbria, December 2015 - How much was spent on flood defences in 2009?
£14mn - but they were easily overtopped
Bangladesh - Natural causes of flooding
- Large drainage basin of the Ganges and Brahmaputra - 1.75millionkmsq
- Confluence of 3 major rivers - Brahmaputra, Ganges and Meghna
- Very low-lying country - 70% is then than 1m above sea level
- Monsoon climate with torrential rain between June and September
