Tuesday 7 March 2023

‘UK flood damages to rise by 20%’

The cost of damages from flooding could rise by 20% in the next century.

That’s according to research from Bristol University, claiming that the large rise is directly linked to climate change.

The level of impact depends on whether the country is able to curb its carbon emissions – however, the researchers state that even if climate pledges were to be met, significantly higher floods would still be experienced in parts of the UK.

South Wales, Northwest England and Southeast England would be impacted the most, they say.

Sea levels, terrain, river flow and rainfall patterns were considered when working out the financial implications of flooding in certain areas.

The current annual cost of flood damage in the UK stands at £700 million, the researchers found.

Met Office climate models were used to aid the findings.

Dr Oliver Wing from Bristol University said: “Our model shows that there are many places where flood risk is growing. Being able to understand the communities where this is likely to happen allows us to make sensible investment decisions - about flood defence structures, natural flood management or even moving people out of harm’s way.”