News
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Scotland hit by heavy rain and flooding with record water levels
Flood water inundated the streets of Aboyne earlier this week after more heavy rain in Scotland. Source: Mark Runnacles/Getty Images Heavy rains last night have caused extensive flooding in parts of Scotland, with Aberdeen worst affected. People have been evacuated from their homes as emergency services respond to the continued deluge of rainfall in Aberdeenshire experienced since Storm Frank hit…
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Is your property at risk of flooding?
Currently, around 1 in 6 properties in England have a higher than normal risk of flooding. If you are interested in finding out if your property is among these, visit the website Check My Flood Risk here. The risk map is based on the presence and effect of all flood defences (from the sea and rivers), predicted flood water levels, and ground water levels.
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Storm surge maps help save lives
Hurricane Sandy was the second-costliest hurricane is US history, and led to one of the largest-scale evacuations experienced in the country. There was 233 fatalities in total due to direct and indirect causes, and experts say that the use of storm surge maps helped prevent the death toll from being much higher. “During Sandy, we rescued 250 people from their flooded homes, evacuated two major hospitals…
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Storm Barney sweeps through UK, thousands left without power
The second named storm to hit the UK brought gusts of up to 85 mph, and has left without power thousands of homes in Wales, the Midlands, and in southern and eastern England without power. The heavy rains have meant that many flood warnings remain place across England, although there has not been any serious threat of coastal flooding despite…
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8 years of floods in pictures
Gideon Mendel, a South African photographer, began a journey in 2007 making portraits of flood-affected people from around the world. The idea came about in 2007, when the UK experienced a series of heavy summer downpours which put much of Britain under water. Also that summer, 30 million people in India, Bangladesh and Nepal had to escape floods that were much deeper than usual. Since then,…
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The 11th November 1977 – defence failure and flooding at Fleetwood, Lancashire
Thirty-eight years ago, on the 11th-12th November 1977, the coastal town of Fleetwood (and the surrounding area) was flooded following extensive overtopping (and possibly some breaching) of defences. The other worst effected towns included Knott End, Pilling, Morecambe, Blackpool, Crossens and Haverigg . As many as 5,000 properties were flooded (FWN, 2007) with almost 2000 of these to over 1 m depth. This event…
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Two years on from Typhoon Haiyan
It’s been two years since one of the most devastating cyclones in recent history pummelled through southeast Asia. Super Typhoon Haiyan – the strongest recorded storm to make landfall – killed an estimated 6,300 people and displaced almost 1 million. An article recently provided by The Guardian gives a telling story of the current situation in the Philippines, which was the most badly affected country. To…
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First officially named storm headed for the UK?
Several newspaper headlines this week claim Britain could be hit by the first officially named UK storm this weekend. The current forecast suggests southern parts of the UK are expected to see the strongest winds on Saturday (7th November), with 40-50mph gusts along parts of the south coast of England. During Sunday into Monday the north and northwest of the UK is likely…