Flooding Case Studies 0.0 / 5 ? GeographyHealthASAQA Created by: Isla SCreated on: 11-05-14 20:40 Boscastle 16th August 2004 310 million gallons of rainfall fell over a small river catchment Localised flash flood No fatalities 1000s of homes/businesses & vehicles swept away £62 million (insurance & loss of trade) 70mm of rain in 2 hours following 2 weeks of high rainfall Village sited at confluence of 3 streams (Valency, Jordan & Paradise) Landslides dammed river at first - then released 3m floodwave conciding with high tide 1 of 5 Tewkesbury Summer of 2007 Rainfall totals highest for May-July in England & Wales since 1766 20th and 21st July - 150mm in 2 days Soil saturated, groundwater levels much higher than normal - little infiltration or percolation capacity River Severn and Aron were flooded Tewksbury is a confluence point By 20th July - T become an island Abbey was a place of refuge (60-80 people slept there) M5 closed Children rescued from school by tractors 1 man died - car swept away Homes & businesses under water 350,000 without water for a while 140,000 without water for a week Bottled water 2 of 5 Tewkesbury Impacts Economic Property destroyed Farmland flooded - 40,000 acres of vegetables & manure & xmas trees (one man) One farmer lost £100,000 worth 163,000 households effected £33 billion 165,000 insurance claims Social Community spirit increased Abbey gave space for people to sleep in Community was against hard engineering Over 1 year after flood, 10,000 still unable to return home Environmental Water treatment plant has new defences (steel walls) Envrionmental Agency removed bridges and digging out streams to help drain water quicker 3 of 5 Bangladesh July & August 2004 38% of total land of the country 800,000 hectares of agricultural land in Dhaka 900 dead - disease from water 20 million affected $2.2 billion - 4% of GDP Infrastructure damage Causes Lies on delta of 3 major rivers (Meghna, Brahmaputra and Ganges) - 80% of country Snowmelt from Himalayas Monsoon Cyclones 2004 - all 3 rivers burst banks Population pressure - settle in flood plain areas Rapid urbanisation Desforestation of Himalayas and Nepal Poor country - river management hard, rely on foreign aid 4 of 5 Bangladesh Response Short Term: Emergency aid Bi-lateral aid sent to UN agencies Self-help schemes Long Term: Dependent on foreign aid Inadequate river management schemes made by foreigners in the past Small scale community based projects - saved lives Flood shelters & early warning systems Financial aid granted for 5 years 5 of 5
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