Winter storms 2013-14 Flashcards
What are the 3 main primary effects?
Strong winds
Huge Waves
Heavy Rainfall
Facts about the strong winds
Scilly Isles= a gust of 92mph.
Berry Head, Devon recorded= winds of 91mph.
They reached hurricane force!
Facts about huge waves
They were caused by strong winds, high tides and tidal surges.
Max was 25m off Southern Ireland.
Waves overtopped coastal defences.
Heavy rainfall facts
In 67 days it rained twice as much as it normally does.
Secondary effects
Major flooding Major coastal erosion Damage to infrastructure Damage to buildings Damage to sea defences Trees felled by wind Persistent heavy snow in the Scottish mountains
What are the details of the major flooding?
6000 properties flooded
Somerset levels were inundated for months with some villages only accessible by boat
Sections of the river Thames flooded
Large areas remained flooded from late December and through the winter period
Roads underwater
Agriculture hit as large areas of crops were flooded
Details on major coastal erosion
South-west main train line at Dawlish, Devon was suspended in mid-air after the foundations were washed away on a stormy 5th February
Beach profiles altered
Damage to infrastructure
100 000 homes and businesses were without power
Damage to buildings
Roofs damaged in Porhmadog
Structural damage from strong winds
What are the responses to the winter storms?
Temporary barriers deployed at Upton-upon-Severn prevented flooding
Met Office issued a red warning for wind
At the height of the storm more than 15 severe flood warnings were in place for the Thames Valley, Somerset levels and the South Coast
Livestock had to be evacuated from flooded land
A grant of £5000 was given to all affected property owners on top of insurance money
£100million pledged to deal with the flood
£2 million given to the tourist industry
£446 million in insurance claims
