Boscastle floods, UK (MEDC case study)

It was a flash flood

It is within the Valency valley, normally a quiet stream which follows a very steep course

There are steep slopes and a narrow river channel which allowed massive amount of water to flow in the same place all at once

The weather was a major factor

- the whole south-west had been battered with stormy weather leading up to flood on the 16th August , meaning the ground was saturated

- The 16th was a very hot day, with clear skies in the morning and high temperatures all day

- The combination of high localised temepratures and the abundance of unabsorbed surface water, coupled with moist winds off the sea and the effects of the local relief (bodmin moor) caused a great deal of moist, warm air to travel upwards quickly

Flood waters came without warning

Businesses and homes were ruined (Harbour Restaurant)

Nobody was killed or injured

Some buildings were completely ripped from their foundations

cars swept into the sea - the village car park was completely emptied (20 cars)

Some days before returning home

water level reached 1st floor of most buildings (8 - 9 ft)

affected tourism short term but boosted it long term

effected places all along the coast

Desperate calls to the emergency services - ran onto roofs, they had to careful of phone lines

60 people saved and most were evacuated to the nearby village of Camelford

RAF were "fantastic" in airlifting people to safety, 7 helicopters rescued 100 people

An inspection of the damage took place in the morning

6 teams went from house to house to check for anybody - they spray painted cars and doors with yellow dots to avoid another team checking them again - efficient

counselling support was provided

John Prescott visited the next day to assess the damage and give the right amount of money for the damage, also insurance companies paid for any of their customers that had cover

Little money was spent as it is a very rare occurrance

a bridge was raised so that debris wouldn't get stuck, like last time

the channel was widened and deepened

the car park was changed to a permeable surface