Valley flood risk being debated

A debate is taking place over how to manage flood risk in the future

The future of the Cuckmere Valley in East Sussex is under discussion with a first drop-in session being held for interested people to have their say.

An Environment Agency draft strategy suggests the area is allowed to go back to being a tidal estuary.

But some local councils argue that, rather than no further maintenance of existing defences, more should be built in order to keep the valley as it is.

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Flood plain homes scheme deferred

Hundreds of properties were flooded when the rivers burst their banks

Plans to build 100 more homes on a Gloucestershire estate have been deferred after concerns they might be prone to flooding.

Protesters gathered outside Tewkesbury Borough Council offices on Tuesday as local politicians met to discuss the scheme for the Wheatpieces estate.

The town's Conservative MP Laurence Robertson said a 1901 Ordnance Survey map showed it to be on a flood plain.

The developer has now been asked to review the scheme's drainage system.

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Northeast’s water world

Samudra Gupta Kashyap

Posted online: Saturday, September 15, 2007 at 0000 hrs



Assam had hardly recovered from two successive waves of floods, with farmers trying to make up for their losses by planting a late variety of paddy, when a third and even more devastating wave of floods struck, wiping out almost every sapling. It has been an enormous loss, and this third wave will leave behind a trail of destruction that will have a deep and long-lasting impact on the state’s economy even as the Brahmaputra and its numerous tributaries continues to flow above the high-water mark.



Floods have remained a scourge in this region since 1950, when a devastating earthquake not only raised the bed of the Brahmaputra but also changed its course. As if the floods were not bad enough, last year the state had its first brush with drought. Consequently Assam, which had in 2001 recorded its maiden surplus output of rice, has since slipped again, with agriculture — the mainstay of its rural economy — being very badly hit.

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Kenya: Trapped in Budalangi Flood Plain

UN Integrated Regional Information Networks

10 September 2007
Posted to the web 10 September 2007

For Grimanus Otuka, a father of four and resident of Budalangi, in Hakati division of Kenya's western Busia district, the area is not a comfortable place to live because of the floods every few years.

"We are continually rebuilding our houses only for the floods to affect us again," said Otuka. "We keep losing our property and unfortunately this time round some people also died. We are always starting from scratch."

Otuka's family is one of hundreds displaced after the recent flooding. At least 20,000 people were forced to leave their homes, according to the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS). Budalangi has an estimated population of 64,000 people.

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Thousands in the flood map danger zone

JEREMY WATSON AND MARC HORNE (jwatson@scotlandonsunday.com)

MORE than 100,000 Scottish homes and businesses are at risk of being flooded because of climate change ministers have warned.

The Scottish Government today published a detailed national map showing the areas most in danger of being deluged by rising water levels.

The document reveals that almost 12,000 properties in Glasgow and around 8,000 in Edinburgh are in officially designated flood zones.

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Insurance is a washout for flood victims

By Richard Gray, Science Correspondent, Sunday Telegraph

Last Updated: 12:17am BST 02/09/2007

Flood victims are being left with "worthless" home insurance cover after being blacklisted in the wake of the devastating floods that swept across the country this summer.

Householders hit by the flooding in Yorkshire and Gloucestershire over the past two months have been presented by their insurance companies with massive excesses of up to £10,000 and new clauses that mean they will not receive a payout if temporary flood defences are not erected.

Hundreds of thousands of homes not hit by flooding are also facing premium increases as they are classed as being in high-risk areas

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Needed: A 50-year flood plan

By Robert Bea
August 27, 2007

After two years, there's a lack coherent vision on how to provide adequate flood protection. The Army Corps of Engineers is doing 5,000 different things, one of which is flood protection. The state is even more muddled. You don't have modern technology; the quality is not what you would call world-class.

Money has been coming in dribs and drabs. Billions of dollars is big, but before you get adequate flood protection for New Orleans, you better start thinking about $50 billion to $100 billion, and 50 to 100 years to do it. The Netherlands had its Katrina in 1953, and it is still developing its system. It has expended about $50 billion. You don't have to be a professor to get it.

But we can see some strides going forward. Local citizens who want protection are now involved in getting that protection. There's a recognition that flood protection is not just a New Orleans problem, it's a national problem, it's a problem in our own Sacramento Delta; it extends to Kansas, Chicago. We've been watching it unfold across the U.S. last week.

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Insurers warn on cover for flood plain homes

By Andrea Felsted and Jean Eaglesham

Published: August 20 2007 22:14 | Last updated: August 20 2007 22:14

Insurers warned on Monday they could be forced to take a harsher line on insuring new houses built on flood plains as they pressed the government to spend more on maintaining flood defences.

In a strongly worded letter to Hilary Benn, environment secretary, Stephen Haddrill, director general of the Association of British Insurers, claimed blocked drains and watercourses were partly responsible for the floods.

Mr Haddrill called for the government to think again about building housing on flood plains, and warned: “Insurers will in future scrutinise new developments more closely and warn of potential uninsurability more robustly.”

The industry trade body wants £150m spent on maintaining Britain’s flood defences on top of the £800m the government has already pledged to spend in 2010-2011. It is also seeking more details on how this promised investment will be spent.

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Victims march against building on flood plains

David Smith
Sunday August 19, 2007
The Observer

Thousands of residents of one of the worst-hit towns during last month's devastating floods staged a march yesterday to protest against plans to build homes on flood plains.

People living in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, called on the government to avoid siting large housing developments in areas vulnerable to flooding. Organisers said about 2,500 people took part, many placing bottles of water on the borough council's doorstep, to symbolise the floodwater generated by building in such places.

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