.jpg) ITN interview at a flood of theRiver Severn, 2007 | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Duration | 1 June 2007 – 28 July 2007 |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 13[1] |
| Damage | about £6.5 billion |
| Areas affected | (see below) |
A series of large floods occurred in parts of theUnited Kingdom during the summer of 2007. The worst of the flooding occurred across parts of Northern Ireland and Scotland on 14 June;East Yorkshire andthe Midlands on 15 June;Yorkshire, the Midlands,Gloucestershire,Herefordshire andWorcestershire on 25 June; and Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire,Oxfordshire,Berkshire andSouth Wales on 28 July 2007.
June was one of the wettest months on record in the United Kingdom (seeList of weather records). Average rainfall across the country was 5.5 inches (140 mm); more than double the June average. Some areas received a month's worth ofprecipitation in 24 hours.[2] It was the UK's wettest May–July period since records began in 1776.[3] July had unusually unsettled weather and above-average rainfall through the month, peaking on 20 July as an active frontal system dumped more than 4.7 inches (120 mm) of rain in southern England.[4]
Civil[5] and military[5][6][7][8][9] authorities described the June and July rescue efforts as the biggest in the UK in peacetime. TheEnvironment Agency described the July floods as critical[9] and expected them to exceed the1947 benchmark.[10]
June 2007 started quietly with ananticyclone to the north of the United Kingdom maintaining a dry, cool easterly flow. From 10 June the high pressure began to break down as anupper trough moved into the area, triggeringthunderstorms that caused flooding in Northern Ireland on 12 June.
Later that week, a slow-moving area oflow pressure from the west ofBiscay moved east across theBritish Isles. At the same time an associatedoccluded front moved into northern England, becoming very active as it did so, with the peak rainfall on 15 June. Rainfall records were broken across the region,[11] leading to localised flooding. As it weakened, the front moved north into Scotland on 16 June and left England and Wales with a very unstable airmass, frequent heavy showers, thunderstorms and cloudy conditions. This led to localised flash flooding and prevented significant drying where earlier rains had fallen.
On 25 June, another unseasonably low pressure (993 hPa / 29.3 inHg) depression, Cyclone Uriah,[12] moved across England. The associated front settled over northern and eastern England and dumped more than 3.9 inches (100 mm) of rain in places. The combination of high rainfall and high water levels from the earlier rainfall led to extensive flooding across many parts of England and Wales, with the Midlands,Gloucestershire,Worcestershire, South, West and EastYorkshire the most affected. Gales along the east coast also caused storm damage.RAF Fylingdales on theNorth York Moors reported rainfall totals of 4.1 inches (103 mm) in 24 hours, an estimated 3.9 inches (100 mm) in Hull and 3.0 inches (77 mm) onEmley Moor in West Yorkshire. Until 2007, the average monthly total for June for the whole UK was 2.86 inches (72.6 mm).[13]
On 27 June, theMet Office released an early warning of severe weather for the approaching weekend, stating that 0.79 to 1.97 inches (20 to 50 mm) of rain could fall in some areas, raising the possibility of more flooding within the already saturated flood plains.
On 20 July, another active frontal system moved across southern England. Many places recorded a month's rainfall or more in one day. The Met Office atRAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire reported 4.98 inches (126.6 mm): a sixth of its annual rainfall. The college atPershore in Worcestershire reported 5.60 inches (142.2 mm),[14] causing theEnvironment Agency to issue 16 further severe flood warnings.[15] By 21 July, many towns and villages were flooded, withGloucestershire,Worcestershire,Warwickshire,Wiltshire,Oxfordshire,Berkshire, London and SouthWales facing the brunt of the heavy rainfall.
Climate researchers suggested that the unusual weather leading to the floods might be linked to that year's appearance ofLa Nina in the Pacific Ocean,[16] and to thejet stream being further south than normal.[17]
England was affected by the June and July floods, with the North badly hit in June, the West badly hit in July, and many areas hit in both. It was England's wettest July on record.[18]Gloucestershire was the worst affected county – with both some minor flooding in June, and major flooding in July.[9]Non-administrative counties[19] andadministrative counties[20] affected by the flooding are given below.
By 25 July, a number of low-lying parts adjacent to the river inBedford andLuton were flooded[21][22] and one man drowned attempting to swim across the River Great Ouse in Bedford.[23] Parts ofFelmersham[24] andTurvey[25] were also flooded.
On 20 July, theM4 was closed after a landslide caused by flooding between Junctions 12 and 13 eastbound.[26] Approximately 1,100 properties inThatcham were affected by flash flooding.[27]
By 21 July,Newbury andMaidenhead town centres were flooded, the shopping mall in Maidenhead was closed and parts of theGlade Festival were flooded. Officials warned that theRiver Thames, theRiver Ock, and its tributaries fromCharney could burst their banks.[28]
InReading, rail services to the southwest were affected, and westbound trains fromPaddington could go no further.
The flood waters affected theAtomic Weapons Establishment atBurghfield, which handles the United Kingdom's nuclear warheads, resulting in a suspension of work for almost a year.[29]
On 3 June,Stoke Goldington suffered flash flooding affecting 25 homes.[30] Stoke Goldington was affected again on 3 July, with 10 houses being flooded.[31]By 21 July, seventy homes and businesses were flooded by theRiver Ouse inBuckingham and 30 people spent the night in the town's Radcliffe centre,[28] but 10 miles (16 km) away a system ofbalancing lakes preventedMilton Keynes from suffering significantly, apart from a flash flood ofStony Stratford High Street from the River Ouse.[32][33]
On 24 July, four bridges inSt Neots were shut when the river level peaked, and the Environment Agency warned residents in the St Neots,Paxton andOffords areas to expect flooding that night.[34] By 25 July, parts ofSt Ives were flooded.[35] Later the same day, the Environment Agency advised residents near theRiver Great Ouse that the peak had passed and further flooding was unlikely.[36]
On 15 June, heavy rainfall caused the postponement of the fourth test match betweenEngland and theWest Indies at theRiverside Ground,Chester-le-Street. On 23 June, flash floods affected parts ofDarlington[37] and Stanhope Road, Northgate, St Cuthbert's Way, Parkgate and Haughton Road were closed after water levels rose by about2 feet (0.6 m). It has also led to Woodland Road to improve its drainage to prevent such flooding on one of the main roads out the town. On 17 July, flooding affectedPeterlee town centre, closing shops and a local school.[38]
A 64-year-old man hit his head and died after trying to bail out his flooded home inAlston, Cumbria.[39]
On 25 June, flooding affected properties inCoal Aston,Calow andChesterfield town centre, and the A617 was covered by more than 2 feet (0.6 m) of floodwater causing traffic delays.[40]
On 19 July,Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service attended 1,800 calls in a 48-hour period, compared with the usual 8,000 calls a year.[41]
On 22 July,Gloucester City A.F.C.'s Stadium was flooded, and the Tewkesbury road atLongford was completely impassable by the Longford Inn.Tewkesbury was completely cut off with no road access, parts of the town were under around 3 feet (0.9 m) of water and flood waters enteredTewkesbury Abbey for the first time in 247 years.[42] Tewkesbury'sMythe Water Treatment Works were flooded.[9]Severn Trent Water warned that treated water would run out by early Sunday evening in Tewkesbury,Cheltenham,Gloucester and surrounding areas.
Combined military and civil emergency services tried to prevent floods reaching theWalham electricity substation in Gloucester supplying half a million people.[43][44] On 23 July, 50,000 Gloucestershire homes were left without electricity after a major electricity substation inCastle Meads had to be turned off.[44][45] Efforts to stop flooding at Walham substation succeeded;[46][47] the Castle Meads substation was repaired the next day.[48][49][50][51][52]
By 24 July, an estimated 420,000 people were without running water, including most of the population of Gloucester, Cheltenham, and Tewkesbury.[28] Emergency services continued repair work at the Mythe water-treatment works, butSevern Trent Water estimated that water supplies would not be restored for at least 14 days.[48] 900 drinking waterbowsers were brought in, and the Army was mobilised to distribute three million bottles of water a day and keep the bowsers filled.Coors,Carlsberg,Scottish and Newcastle,Inbev andGreene King brewing companies offered 23 beer tankers to help supply drinking water. On 26 July, Severn Trent Water organised a temporary non-potable water supply to 10,000 homes in Tewkesbury.[53] It was not until 7 August – 16 days after Mythe Treatment Works stopped pumping – that the tap water for the 140,000 homes affected was again declared safe to drink.[54]
A man and his 24-year-old son died from asphyxiation from carbon monoxide poisoning on 27 July when attempting to stop flooding in the unventilated Tewkesbury Rugby Football Club cellar.[55][56] On 28 July, the body of a 19-year-old man, reported missing seven days earlier, was recovered in Tewkesbury.[57][58][59]
On 20 July, flooding occurred in many parts of Greater London. Water and power supplies were not disrupted but parts of South West London were under 2 feet (61 cm) of water.Heathrow Airport cancelled 141 flights. Two of four rail lines in South Croydon were closed by landslips.[4] TheLondon Underground was severely disrupted and 25 stations were closed.
By 19 June,Herefordshire was affected by flooding.[60] TheM50 motorway nearLedbury was closed on 22 July due to flooding.[61] More than 5,200 people in and aroundBromyard were without clean water on 22 and 23 July after the pumps at theWhitbourne works failed. Once supply was restored residents were urged byWelsh Water to boil their tap-water until further notice. The village ofHampton Bishop, 3 miles (5 km) from the city ofHereford, was surrounded and flooded by water after theRiver Lugg burst its banks. On the afternoon of 24 July theFire Service began pumping flood water out of the village, but not before 130 residents were evacuated.[62] Some houses, including the Herefordshire home ofDaily Mail writerQuentin Letts, were flooded by a torrent of water gushing from what had previously been only a small, unnamedbrook north ofRoss-on-Wye.
Residents of East Bromyard were rescued after the River Frome burst its banks.
On 12 June,Lostock Hall andPenwortham nearPreston were hit by flash floods.[63]On 3 July, heavy rain caused flooding inEarby[64] andRibchester,[65] affecting homes and causing the Royal Lancashire Show to be cancelled on 9 July.[66] On 4 July, theBlackburnMela was cancelled due to ground conditions.[67] On 18 July,Walton-le-Dale near Preston was hit by flash floods.[68]
Louth and Horncastle were severely flooded, some roads in that area becoming impassable. Children at a school in Horncastle were evacuated because of floods. More than 600-flood related calls occurred across the county. In Lincoln, mainly round the Stamp End area, a house called Shuttleworth House was completely flooded with water in its insides. After power was lost in the area, more than 200 people were rescued in dinghies.
On 27 June 2007, flash flooding caused extensive damage to the villages ofLambley, Woodborough andBurton Joyce. Major towns were hit includingMansfield andHucknall but not as severely as Lambley. The same day, flooding occurred atRetford andWorksop after theRiver Idle andRiver Ryton respectively overtopped their banks.
Many rivers burst their banks, including both theThames and theCherwell inOxford and theOck inAbingdon theWindrush inWitney and theEvenlode.
By 21 July,Banbury[69] and Witney[70] were flooded. Oxford, particularlyBotley, was flooded and some 300 people were evacuated.
On 22 July, the Environment Agency warned of further flooding and 1,500 people in Abingdon were evacuated. Forty thousand sandbags were transported fromGrantham in Lincolnshire to Abingdon and Oxford.
By 23 July, Oxford, Abingdon,Kidlington andBladon were affected; some 3,000 homes including the home ofWilliam Morris atKelmscott were flooded and 600 residents were evacuated, with many taking refuge inOxford United Football Club'sKassam Stadium.[71]
On 24 July, the Thames in Abingdon rose3 feet (0.9 m) in less than 12 hours to a "perilously high" level[47] and the Thames and the Severn were expected to rise to20 feet (6.1 m) higher than normal.[44]
On 25 July, residents ofOsney in west Oxford were advised to leave their homes. About 30 people went to the Kassam stadium shelter while another 250 decided to stay with family and friends. Osney Mead substation, which supplies power to Oxford city centre, was threatened but did not flood. Later that evening the Thames breached its banks atHenley.
By 19 June, rain had washed away the main road atHampton Loade[60] and theSevern Valley Railway line fromBridgnorth was closed after numerous landslips on the line. Also, on 19 June/20 June, parts of the town ofShifnal nearTelford were flooded when the Wesley Brook burst its banks. Some of the residents blamedSevern Trent Water for opening floodgates at Priors Lee balancing lake, but no such gates existed.[72] Repair costs to the railway were estimated at £2 million.[73]
On 26 June, theBurway Bridge collapsed, disrupting one of the main roads intoLudlow, severing a gas main and causing the surrounding area to be evacuated.
On 1 July, a woman was pulled out of the River Severn atJackfield on theTelford and Wrekin border nearIronbridge.[74] By 24 July, the UK National Ballooning Championships inLudlow had been cancelled for the first time in their 32-year history.[75]
By 21 July, flooded parts ofWarwickshire includedAlcester,Stratford-upon-Avon,Shipston on Stour andWater Orton. To a lesser extent, areas of Leamington Spa and Warwick also experienced flooding.[76]
Several nature reserves in theTame Valley, includingLadywalk andKingsbury Water Park were badly affected, just as ground- and reedbed- nesting birds were hatching young.[77]
200 people were forced to leave Witton Road and Tame Road inAston, Birmingham when theRiver Tame flooded. Water entered the streets ofShirley,Solihull.[28] As in Warwickshire, the Tame caused losses at a nature reserve; this timeRSPB Sandwell Valley.[78] In the Dudley borough, flooding damaged local schools, shops and communities. Schools opened their doors with parts of buildings flooded with water; damage in the West Midlands area was estimated at £1.9 billion (2007 GDP).
On 20 July, Swindon had a month's rainfall in less than half a day. More than 50 people were rescued from their flooded homes.[79]
By 19 June,Worcestershire was affected by flooding.[60] A 68-year-old motorist (Judge Eric Dickinson) died after becoming trapped in his vehicle in flood water nearPershore whilst attempting to cross an old ford inBow Brook which was by then 2 m deep.[80][81] The waters were still rising, endangering theconfluence of theRiver Teme and theRiver Severn. On 26 June 2007 theNew Road Ground, home toWorcestershire County Cricket Club, wasflooded after theRiver Severn overtopped its banks, causing the next day'sTwenty20 match againstWarwickshire to be cancelled.[82] On 17 July,Tenbury Wells in Worcestershire was flooded for the second time in three weeks after athunderstorm caused flash flooding.[83] By 21 July theM5 was affected, compounded by the closure of theStrensham services, and the motorway was closed, stranding hundreds in their vehicles overnight.[84]
By 23 July, parts of Worcestershire were under6 feet (2 m) of water and the Army was brought in to help emergency services supply the inhabitants ofUpton-upon-Severn which was cut off by floodwater.[28]
On 1 June, the first day of the floods, a road inCropthorne nearWorcester was brutally forced down by a high impact of water flowing underneath the road in a pipe. The hole it made was 13 feet (4.0 m) deep and 33 feet (10 m) wide, traffic throughout the county was held up due to the collapsed main road. The site was named Cropthorne Canyon.
On 15 June, the region was hit by flooding. Roads including theA63 andA1105 inHull and schools in the region were closed, the Hull Lord Mayor's Parade was cancelled, the Festival of Football was postponed, police declared a major incident, andHessle, on the border betweenHull City Council andEast Riding of Yorkshire Council, suffered two square miles of severe sewage-contaminated flooding.[85]
On 25 June, the region was hit by flooding again. Fire crews received over 1,500 calls in a 12-hour period,[86] dozens of homes inBeverley and about 50 people at a Hull nursing home were evacuated,[87] boats were used to evacuate about 90 people from4 feet (1 m) of floodwater in Hull's County Road North,[87] and in Hessle a 28-year-old man died after becoming trapped in a drain.[88] The new Hullpolice station had to be vacated because of flooding. The next day, only 12 of Hull's 88 schools were still open, affecting 30,000 out of 38,000 Hull schoolchildren.[89]
By 4 July in Hull, six schools were still closed and 120 residents in residential or nursing care had been relocated.[90]
By 5 July, an estimated 35,000 people[91] in streets containing 17,000 homes[90] had been affected by flooding in Hull and by the next day more than 10,000 homes had been evacuated.[92]Hull City Council estimated repair costs at £200 million.[91]
By 24 July, Hull City Council had checked each house in the flooded streets and stated that 6,500 homes had been flooded.[93]
By 27 July, £2.1 million had been allocated to Hull and £600,000 to the East Riding for clean-up and immediate repairs,[94] and £3.2 million to Hull and £1.5 million to the East Riding for further repairs to the region's estimated 101 schools suffering significant flood damage.[95]
By 3 September, figures released by Hull City Council had been revised upwards to 7,800 houses that had been flooded plus 1,300 businesses that were affected.
By 15 June, towns and villages inNorth Yorkshire were flooded, withKnaresborough,Harrogate andYork being particularly affected.[96] TheA59 road atKex Gill was closed due to a landslip where 100 tonnes (110 tons) of earth slid down the hillside and trapped a couple in their car.[97][98] InScarborough, the mainA171 Scalby Road flooded outsideScarborough Hospital, and the ornamental lake at Peasholm Park overtopped its banks and poured down Peasholm Gap into North Bay. NearCatterick, North Yorkshire, a 17-year-old soldier on a training exercise fromCatterick Garrison died after being swept away whilst crossing Risedale Beck, Hipswell Moor.[99] On 23 June, flooding affectedMiddlesbrough.[37]Pickering was flooded afterPickering Beck overflowed its banks. On 18 July, streams overflowed and roads were blocked inBarton,Gilling West,Melsonby,Hartforth,Scotch Corner,Middleton Tyas andKirby Hill after a freak rainstorm,[100] and on 18 July 2007 a cloud burst left parts ofFiley under3 feet (1 m) of water, just caused by the rain, rather than by a river bursting its banks. Pensioners were stranded in the town's swimming pool and rescued by lifeboat.[101]
On 25 June,Sheffield suffered extensive damage as theRiver Don overtopped its banks, causing widespread flooding in the Don Valley area of the city. A 14-year-old boy was swept away by the swollenRiver Sheaf,[102] a 68-year-old man died after attempting to cross a flooded road in Sheffield city centre,[103] and several cattle were washed away, found up to 3.5 miles (5.6 km) across fields in some areas of cultivated land. TheMeadowhall shopping centre was closed due to flooding with some shops remaining closed downstairs until late September andSheffield Wednesday's groundHillsborough was under6 feet (1.83 m) of water. A number of people were rescued byRAFhelicopters from buildings in theBrightside area,[104] while in the Millhouses Park area to the southwest of the city the River Sheaf overtopped its banks causing widespread damage.[105] There was also widespread flooding inBarnsley,Doncaster andRotherham, with much of these towns cut off.
By 26 June, the waters in some parts of Sheffield and the surrounding area receded, and over 700 villagers fromCatcliffe, nearRotherham'sUlley reservoir were evacuated after cracks appeared in the dam.[81][106] Emergency services from across England pumped millions of gallons of water from the reservoir to ease the pressure on the damaged dam, and the nearbyM1 Motorway was closed between junctions 32 and 36 as a precaution.[107]
On 27 June, the Army moved into theDoncaster area after theRiver Don overtopped its banks and threatened the area around what wasThorpe Marsh Power Station. A man was incorrectly reported missing near the village ofAdwick le Street near Doncaster.[108]
On 15 June and on 25 June, the villages ofScissett andClayton West and other parts ofKirklees were flooded by theRiver Dearne, the second time worse than the first.
On 25 June,Wakefield was flooded. Six elderly women, including a 91-year-old, were stranded in their homes.[109]
During the Wakefield flood, hundreds of homes were evacuated in the Agbrigg area of Wakefield and looting was feared, but by 1 July only four looters had been arrested in the city and were later released on bail.[110]
The village ofCollingham (nearWetherby) was particularly affected by the flooding, and one house was looted.
Wales was hit by flooding in June and July, with the Eastern areas most badly affected. It was Wales's wettest June since 1998, and its second wettest since 1914.[111] Thepreserved counties[112] andprincipal areas[113] affected are given below.
On 26 June, roads including theA5 were impassable atCorwen inDenbighshire, a river overflowed at Worthenbury inFlintshire, and properties were affected inWrexham.[114] In North Wales, a man was rescued by fire services after he was stranded on a small island in theRiver Dee inLlangollen,Denbighshire. On 17 July, flash floods after torrential rain forced the closure of a secondary school inPrestatyn inDenbighshire.[115]
Lampeter inCeredigion was affected by flooding on 11 June[116] and then again on 15 June.[117]
On 26 June, properties were affected inTintern on theRiver Wye inMonmouthshire.[114] On 20 July, flash floods affected parts ofNewport,Monmouthshire andTorfaen.[118]
InMontgomeryshire, ten people were taken to safety atTregynon and a dozen homes were flooded atBettws Cedewain on 22 July,[119] firefighters used a boat to evacuate five people from a house nearWelshpool after they were cut off by floods on 23 July,[120] and the same boat was later used to rescue three people stranded in a car on theA483.[119] InRadnorshire, 30 tonnes of debris and earth blocked the only road out of Barland nearPresteigne on 23 July.[120] InBrecknockshire, the River Wye burst its banks inBuilth Wells on 1 July,[121][122] the saturated ground later causing chaos at theRoyal Welsh Show inLlanelwedd on 24 July.[123]
On 20 July, flash floods affected theVale of Glamorgan,[124] causing schools to be evacuated, roads to be closed, and boats used to rescue people from their homes inBarry.
Northern Ireland was hit by flooding in the June and July floods and it was Northern Ireland's wettest June since 1958.[125] Thenon-administrative counties[126] anddistricts[127] affected are given below.
On 12 June, theKnockmore campus of theLisburn Institute inLisburn was affected by flooding. The same day, parts of EastBelfast near the Antrim-Down border that were affected included the Kings Road, Ladas Drive,Strandtown Primary School and theParliament Buildings inStormont, with 80 residents evacuated from their old people's home on the Kings Road and Avoniel Leisure Centre opened to assist flood victims.[128][129] On 2 July, houses were flooded and two people evacuated from their home inCushendall inAntrim after the River Dall burst its banks following heavy rain.[130][131] On 16 July, parts ofBelfast International Airport nearAldergrove inAntrim were flooded by a freak thunderstorm leaving 10 planes unable to land,[132] landslides closed the Antrim Coast Road nearBallygally,Larne, and people were trapped in their cars inPortrush,Coleraine.[133][134]
On 15 June, there was severe flooding aroundBangor inNorth Down,Saintfield,Crossgar andBallynahinch inDown andNewtownards andComber inArds, with shops inCrossgar centre flooded.[135]
On 12 June,Magherafelt was affected by flooding.[128][129] On 16 July, roads inAghadowey,Coleraine[133][134] andPortstewart,Coleraine[132] were rendered impassable by floodwater.
On 12 June,Omagh andDungannon were affected by flooding, with aDunnes supermarket evacuated inOmagh.[128][129]
Scotland was hit by flooding in June and July, with theScottish Lowlands most badly affected. On 12 June, the Met Office issued torrential rain warnings for Scotland[136] and it was Scotland's wettest June since 1938.[137] Thenon-administrative counties[19] andcouncil areas[138] affected are given below.
On 21 June, about 2000 homes were left without electricity and properties were affected as flash floods hitKilmarnock.[139] On 18 July, flooding affected Kilmarnock again, theRiver Irvine burst its banks inNewmilns, and flash floods affected roads including theM77.[140]
On 18 July, floods wrecked homes inCloseburn, power was cut off at Eaglesfield, and roads were closed atMoffat andLochmaben.[141]
On 1 July, rain cancelled the one-day international cricket match between Scotland andPakistan in Edinburgh[142] and by 3 July parts ofMidlothian were flooded, the worst-hit areas including residential areas inDalkeith andMayfield.[143]
On 22 June, heavy storms flooded roads[144] and dumped debris on the railway line inGlasgow.[145] The same day, torrential rain caused a landslide just south ofLesmahagow, closing theM74.[146]
On 3 July, a landslide caused by floodwater disrupted traffic on the A941Rothes toAberlour road inMoray.[147]
On 18 July, heavy rain caused landslips blocking the railway line betweenStrathcarron andAchnasheen for a predicted 10 days,[148]
On 25 June rain forced the 108-year-oldBeltane Festival inPeebles to be held indoors for the first time.[149]
Areas affected by flooding during this period were as follows (see above for specific citations):
Following the flooding in late June, the rescue effort was described by theFire Brigades Union as the "biggest in peacetime Britain".[5] Following the flooding in July, theRAF said it was carrying out its biggest-ever peacetime rescue operation, with sixSea King helicopters from as far afield asRAF St Mawgan in Cornwall,RAF Valley inAnglesey andRAF Leconfield in theEast Riding of Yorkshire rescuing up to 120 people.[6][7][8][9][150] An RAF heavy liftChinook helicopter was also employed to move aggregate to reinforce the banks of theRiver Don.[151] The Environment Agency described the situation as "critical".[9]
4x4 Response groups from throughout the UK assisted councils and blue light services during and in the immediate aftermath of the flooding. During the recovery phase a number of responders from around the UK4x4 Response assisted theRed Cross in the distribution of fresh drinking water in the Gloucestershire area after mains drinking water was contaminated.
TheHealth Protection Agency advised people that the risk of contracting any illness was low but that it was best to avoid coming into direct contact with flood water. There were no reported cases of any outbreaks. In some areas bottled water was handed out where sewage works got flooded.
The floods caused widespread crop damage, especiallybroccoli, carrots,peas and potatoes. In parts of Lincolnshire it was estimated that 40% of the pea crop may have been damaged, with other crops also suffering major losses. Prices of vegetables were expected to rise in the following months.[152]
Environment Agency chief executiveBaroness Young said that about £1 billion a year was needed to improve flood defences. The Association of British Insurers has estimated the total bill for the June and July floods as £3 billion.
A report by theEnvironment Agency in 2010 concluded that "the scale and seriousness of the summer 2007 floods were sufficient to classify them as a national disaster", and that the "total economic costs of the summer 2007 floods are estimated at about £3.2 billion in 2007 prices, within a possible range of between £2.5 billion and £3.8 billion.
On 3 July,Environment SecretaryHilary Benn announced that the Government would increase the spending on risk management and flood defences by £200 million to £800 million by 2010–11.[153]DuringPrime Minister's Questions in theHouse of Commons later that month, Prime MinisterGordon Brown promised £46 million in aid to flood-hit councils and £800 million rise in annual spending on flood protection by 2010–11, confirming Hilary Benn's announcement. Brown also pledged to push insurance firms to make payouts.
On 22 July, the Government convenedCOBRA to co-ordinate the response to the crisis.[154]
Visiting Gloucestershire on 25 July, Mr. Brown praised emergency services for their efforts, but added: "We've got to get the supplies stepped up. We will get more tankers in, we will get more bowsers in, we will get more regular filling of them, and at the same time, morebottled water will be provided."[53]
On 8 August 2007, Defra announced thatSir Michael Pitt would chair an independent review of the response to the flooding. On 4 September of that year the Cabinet Office website launched a comments page to let people affected by the flooding contribute their experiences to the review.
Sir Michael published his interim report on 17 December 2007.[155]
In April 2010 the government passed the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, which implemented many of Sir Michael Pitt's recommendations.[156] The Act gives more power and responsibility to the Environment Agency and local authorities to plan flood defences co-ordinated across catchment areas and the wider country, to counteract the tendency for defences to be built for upstream areas without much thought for how this might be making flooding worse for downstream areas. In also brings in a new regime whereby new building activity which exacerbates flooding by reducing the capacity of land to absorb water will need to be accompanied by the construction ofsustainable drainage systems such as grassy roofs, ponds and soakaways.
Hull City Council was criticised for not insuring the city's libraries, schools and other public buildings. In response, Hull City Council said that "Many councils do not have the feature in their budget",[citation needed] but other flood-hit councils were insured. It was thought that council tax payers would be left with the bill, as emergency Government funding would not cover it.
In June, councillors in Hull claimed that the city was being forgotten and had the floods occurred in theHome Counties, help would have arrived much more quickly. One in five homes in Hull was damaged and 90 out of the city's 105 schools suffered some damage. Damage to the schools alone was estimated to cost £100 million. TheBellwin scheme for providing aid after natural disasters was criticised as inadequate by Hull MPDiana Johnson.[158] The lack of media coverage of flooding in Kingston upon Hull led the city council leader Carl Minns to dub Hull "the forgotten city".
In July, the Government came under mounting criticism of its handling of the crisis, the fact that responsibilities were spread across four departments and no single minister could be held responsible, and the fact that the Army had not been called in to assist.[159]
The Observer newspaper stated on 22 July 2007 that the Government had been warned in the spring by the Met Office that summer flooding would be likely because theEl Niño phenomenon had weakened, but no action was taken.[160]
In response to the criticism,Environment SecretaryHilary Benn said on BBCSunday AM that "This was very, very intense rainfall, with five inches in 24 hours in some areas; even some of the best defences are going to be overwhelmed". He praised the way the emergency services had dealt with "unprecedented" levels of rainfall and said he had "total confidence" in the response of the Environment Agency.
Conservative leaderDavid Cameron called for a public inquiry into the flooding after visitingWitney, the main town in hisOxfordshire constituency.[161]
ThenLiberal Democrat leaderSir Menzies Campbell accused the government of lack of preparation leading to a "summer of suffering", and said, "With sophisticated weather forecasting as we now have, particularly in relation to what's happened over the weekend, there are quite a few questions as to how it was that flood-prevention measures were not in place or were not more effective."[162]
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