Somerset Floods

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Somerset Floods

Causes

  • LOTS OF RAINFALL - low pressure from the Atlantic meant 350mm of rain fell in Jan and Feb (100mm above average)
  • HIGH TIDES AND STORM SURGES - swept water up Bristol Channel meaning it burst its banks
  • LACK OF DREDGING - hadn't been done for at least 20 years, clogged with sediment
  • LOW LYING LAND
  • LAND USE - converted from grassland to intensive maize farming, causing it to retain less water

Effects

  • FARMING - 14,000 hectares underwater for 3-4 weeks, 1,000 livestock evacuated, 16 farms evacuated, take up to 2 year for the soil to be restored
  • PEOPLE - >600 homes flooded, residents in temporary accommodation for months, isolated communities lead to thieves, villages like Muchelney cut off, insurance price increase, power cuts
  • TRANSPORT - roads cut off, railway from Bristol to Taunton closed, only route out of Muchelney was by boat
  • BUISNESS - tourism lost = £200mil, 'flood tourists', small businesses loss = £1mil
  • OTHER - damage costs in total = £10mil, pumps to reduce water costed £200,000 a week
  • ENVIRONMENTAL - floodwater contamination, lots of debris, water had to be reoxygenated before being pumped back into rivers

Overall summary

I think the social impacts were the most significant as people were subject to isolation leading to serious problems like thieving and the inability to attend school or buy food easily. However, it could be argued that economically the area was hit hard, with the main impact being on the thriving agricultural industry which depended on the soil for crop growing; once this was waterlogged it cost hundreds of thousands to attempt to return it to its usable state, having a long-lasting effect on farming in Somerset.

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