Consequences of flooding
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  • The consequences of flooding should be investigated so that physical impacts are observed; such as those on landform and ecology.
  • Human impacts are identified as demographic, economic and social.
  • The Key Question does not demand a comparison of the impacts of flooding although this is often a more complete approach when analysing flood events.
  
     
  Physical Impacts  
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  Image http://myauralfixation.blogspot.com/2011/01/queensland-floods-2011.html Queensland flood pics Jan 2011  
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  Human Impacts  
  Risk diagram http://www.floodsite.net/juniorfloodsite/html/en/student/thingstoknow/geography/risk1.html  
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   Question 3 - May 2009  
     
     
     
  What are the flood risks to your home and school?  
  5 million people live under the threat of flooding from rivers and coasts, that's one in ten houses in the UK. 200,000 of those are at very high risk, meaning that they have a one in 75 chance of flooding each year. However, this does not include the risk of flooding from plumbing, which affects every household. In spite of this, 40% of people in the UK do not have household insurance. On top of this, the Environment Agency warns that many vital services have been built on flood plains and are at risk from inundation. This includes:
  • 2,215 power stations
  • 737 sewage and water treatment sites
  • 401 schools
  • 680 health centres
  • 99 police stations
  • 86 fire stations
  • 82 telephone exchanges
  • 46 ambulance stations
  • 13 hospitals

(Figures from The Independent website: "Flood risk to power, schools and hospitals").


What damage can water do to your home and personal items?

Even a small amount of water can cause a lot of damage to properties. As little as 2.5 cm of water can damage cellars, walls, drainage, electricity, plaster, skirting boards, doors, radiators and window frames; damage totalling in the region of £16,750 and taking 55 days to repair.

At depths of 100cm, additional parts of the property to be damaged will include gas, sockets and wiring, wall paper, kitchen units, appliances, plumbing, doors, stairs, soft furnishings and contents. At this depth, the damage is likely to cost around £37,300 and take 76 days to repair.

According to Norwich Union, taking flood resilient measures within your home could save you £4,500 and 27 days of repair time for a flood of 2.5 cm, and £23,100 and 42 days of repair time for a flood of up to 1 metre.

 

  
     
 

The extent of the threat was highlighted in July 2007 when 350,000 people in Gloucestershire lost their water supply when a treatment works was disabled by the floods; they will remain dependent on bottled water and bowsers for another two weeks. And in the Tewkesbury area, 50,000 homes had their electricity supply cut off.

But an even greater disaster was averted when agency staff and the armed forces stopped flood water knocking out an electricity substation on which 500,000 homes depend: the water stopped just two inches short of the top of the hastily assembled defences.