Two new reports from the
Environment Agency today show that 1 in 6 homes in
England are at risk of flooding and that investment
in the building and maintaining of flood defences
will need to almost double to £1bn a year by 2035
Two new reports from the Environment Agency
today show that one in six homes in England are
at risk of flooding and that investment in the
building and maintaining of flood defences will
need to almost double to £1bn a year by 2035, as
climate change increases the risk of coastal
erosion and flooding from rivers and the sea.
In its Flooding in England report, the
organisation has revealed that over 430,000
people in flood risk areas have now signed up to
its flood warnings service and is urging those
who are not yet subscribed to join. The free
service provides vital early warning by SMS,
telephone or email, helping to save the lives of
those at risk of flooding.
Also publishing a Long Term Investment
Strategy for England, the Government’s
environmental watchdog says that a steady
increase in investment will be vital to maintain
current levels of protection against rising seas
levels, more rapid rates of coastal erosion, and
increasingly severe and frequent rainstorms due
to climate change. The funding recommendations
are based on the latest climate change impact
predictions, released yesterday (Thursday 18
June).
The Environment Agency’s strategy estimates
that the annual cost of damage to residential
and commercial property from flooding in
England, as well as the cost of further
disruption, damage to infrastructure and loss of
business, could rise from £2.5 billion to £4
billion by 2035 unless funding for defences is
increased. The organisation has calculated that
the damage avoided through its investment
proposals could save England some £180bn over
the next 100 years but accepts that it may be
necessary to look at other sources of funding
alongside that of central Government.
Over the past ten years, more than 250,000
additional households have benefited from
investment in new or improved defences. The
organisation has completed 90 flood defence
schemes since summer 2007, providing increased
protection to over 58,000 properties.
New figures also released today by the
Environment Agency show that:
- One in six homes In England is currently
at risk of flooding from rivers, the sea, or
surface water from overflowing drains;
- More than five million people currently
live and work in 2.4 million properties at
risk from rivers or the sea — 490,000 of
which have a significant chance of flooding.
The organisation is warning that this figure
would rise to 840,000 by 2035 if future
investment is maintained at existing levels;
- An additional 2.8 million properties are
currently at risk of flooding from surface
water. The Environment Agency estimates that
an additional £150 million a year by 2035
will be required to help mitigate this risk;
- 55 per cent of water treatment works and
pumping stations, 14 per cent of electricity
infrastructure, 2,358 schools and 2,363
doctors' surgeries in England are situated
in flood risk areas, along with some 4,000km
of roads and 2,500km of railway.
The
Long Term Investment Strategy does not
assume that future investment needs will be
funded by central government alone and the
Environment Agency would welcome a public debate
to identify other possible sources of funding,
enabling local communities to contribute to
reducing flood risk in their locality. Sir
Michael Pitt, in his independent review of the
summer 2007 floods, recommended that
locally-funded flood defences should become a
bigger feature of flood risk management.
The Environment Agency’s Chairman Lord Chris
Smith said, "Our 25 year flood and coastal risk
Long Term Investment Strategy for England
presents some important choices for Government,
local authorities, developers and others to
consider."
"The latest UK climate change data shows that
the risk of flooding and coastal erosion will
continue to increase in future due to rising sea
levels and more frequent and heavy storms, and
there are important decisions for us all to take
about how to manage these risks to protect
people, communities, businesses and the economy
in future.
"The Environment Agency has completed 90
flood defence schemes since summer 2007,
providing increased protection to over 58,000
properties. Whilst continued investment in
managing these risks is crucial, we cannot
always prevent flooding so communities need to
take responsibility for being prepared - for
example by signing up to the Environment
Agency’s free flood warning service."
ENDS
Media enquiries: 020 7863 8710 or outside
normal office hours, please contact the National
Duty Press Officer on 07798 882 092.
Regions ranked by the
number of properties
at significant risk of flooding from rivers or
the sea
- South East England Region 111,356
- South West Region 86,178
- East Midlands Region 81,096
- Yorkshire & Humber Region 65,380
- Greater London Authority 40,412
- East of England Region 33,050
- North West Region 28,941
- West Midlands Region 19,173
- North East Region 19,167
Total 484,753
Top ten local areas with the highest number
of properties in areas with a significant chance
of flooding from rivers or the sea
- Boston District 23,700
- North Somerset 20,415
- East Lindsey District 14,949
- Windsor and Maidenhead 11,477
- City of Kingston upon Hull 9,825
- Shepway District 9,065
- Sedgemoor District 8,092
- East Riding of Yorkshire 7,513
- Runnymede District 7,007
- Warrington 6,533
Check if you are in a flood risk area
Use our Flood Map to quickly find the
predicted risk of flooding in your area.
Enter your postcode to see if your property
is in a flood risk area. You can also log on to
get simple advice on what to do before, during
and after a flood.
