From mid-December 2013 to mid-Febuary
2014 there were 12 major storms, which ment
the ground was saturated and could not
absorbe anymore water so it flooded
High tides and storm surges from the Bristol channel
prevented water from getting into the sea
Storms were
caused by a
powerful jet
stream (narrow
band of very
strong wind
currents that circle
the globe svereal
Km above earth)
driving
low-pressure into
the system and
storms across the
atlantic
The storms were the worst in the UK in 20 years
and caused the river Parrett and tone to flood
Human causes
Building were
developed on
floodplains, below
sea level
There was a change in farming
practice- from grassland to
maize, this means the land was
less able to retain water, it ran
over the surface rather than
being absorbed
The river was not dreged properly for 20 years
(involves digging up weeds, mud and rubish from the
river bed), that ment that the River Parette was
blocked and could carry less water than it should be
able to, a river should be dregged every 5 years but
this costs £4 million
People brlieve that if the
river had been dregged the
extent of the flood wouldn't
have been as bad/
Farmers warned
the government
about the need to
dredge the river
byt they didn't
listen
What were the
effects of the
flooding
Social
600 homes
affected
Villages such as
Muchelney were
completely cut off
Journey times were made longer as
roads were inaccessible
Economic
The finical cost to the Somerset
economy was between £82 million
and £147 million
Businesses lost
trade
Mnay of the livestock had to be
moved out of the area and sold
Environmental
6900 hectares
of agricultural
land was
underwater
for a month
Chemicals from farmlands and
sweage were put into the
water supply
Natural England
reported that the floods
seemed to have little
impact on the wildlife
How did different stake
holders respond to the
flood in the short term
and thre long term?
Short term responses
Giant pumps were
brought from the
Netherlands
The royal marines
were deployed to
help people in cut
off villages
Environmental agency
instslled 62 pumps
(working 24 hours a day)
to remove 1.5 million
tones of water- they were
borrowed from the
Netherlands
Police increased patrols
Long term
responses
Remove silt and
weeds from the
river bed, which
reduces run-off
Repair the 50 defences across
Somerset that were in need of
repair (e.g.pumps, floodgates)
Could farmers be paied to keep
flood water on their land?
National management: A 20
year flood plan was made
which included: dredging the
river, repairing damaged flood
banks,making pumps
permenant, building a tidal
barrier (similar to the one on
the Thanmes)
Should the Somerset
Levels be allowed to
return to a natural wet
land?
If it was to return
to a natural wet
land it would mean
there wouldn't be
a problem with
flooding.
Many MP's don't want
this and invested a lot
of money in defences
as they have houses
there