The Contributory Factors Causing the Floods in Sheffield - Case Study Example

Environmental Management Name Course Instructor’s Name July 4, 2010 Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 The contributory factors causing the floods 3 The immediate impact and significant risks caused by the flooding 5 The agencies involved and their response and role during the flooding period 6 The effectiveness of environmental management systems during the flooding period 7 The lessons learnt and recommendations to prevent future flooding or mitigate its effects on the environment 8 Conclusion 10 References 11 Introduction The overflow of water onto land which is usually dry is referred to as a flood. It is occurrence has no specificity in terms of time. Thus some flooding can be controlled or prevented while others cannot. A severe flooding was experienced in south-east and central England in the summer of 2007. Thirteen people lost their lives during this summer flooding and about 44, 6oo homes were damaged (Met Office, 2007). Many businesses were damaged in addition to economic damage that was severe. In Sheffield the bursting of River Don and River Rother had devastating effects. Many properties, industrial units and commercial units were flooded as a result of this. Many bungalows were submerged by the floods. The contributory factors causing the floods The June 2007 flooding in Sheffield are attributed to changes in the climate and man made developments (Smith & Petley, 2009). In spite the increased risks of flooding due to changes in climate and human developments many issues contributed to the devastating effects of the 2007 floods. First, the legislation on flood risks regarding the responsibilities of various agencies concerned with flooding was and is still confusing. In addition, many homes which had been constructed prior to this period of flood were not flood resilient. Furthermore, information packs to homes lack information on the risks posed by floods (Smith & Petley, 2009). Moreover, no specific procedures were in place to aid in drying and repairing homes which were flooded. Finally, there was no data on how to tackle floods. Housing facilities in Sheffield are located in flood plains and many of the homes found here were built in areas which are hazardous in terms of flooding. The floods of 2007 were caused by several factors. First, the Jet stream position was the primary cause of the floods. The weather of United Kingdom is significantly dictated by the Jet stream. The stream generates and steers the Atlantic weather systems. The movement of the Jet stream is in accordance to seasons. In summer it usually moves to the north while in winter it moves to the south. Thus storms are restricted to the northern parts of Atlantic and the green sea regions in summer and to the southern parts during winter. During the June 2007 summer the Jet stream was unusually far in the south. As a result the central and southern parts of the UK received abnormally high amount of rainfall. The warm sea temperatures which were experienced during this time were greater than the average temperatures. This was thought to be another factor that contributed to the occurrence of the floods in the 2007 summer. The increased temperatures are thought to have resulted in the formation of more clouds that resulted in more rainfall (Met Office, 2007). The prolonged period over which heavy rainfall was experienced was seen as a contributory factor to flooding in the 2007 summer (Smith, 2007). The rainfall was experienced from May to July. The ground was saturated with moisture and since little evaporation occurred localized flooding occurred. The sustained heavy rainfall resulted in the flooding of rivers since many reservoirs which absorb rainwater had been filled with the prolonged rainfall (SYLRF, 2008). The low pressure which was experienced in Sheffield between June 24th and 25th led to prolonged heavy rainfall period. Sheffield had been receiving rainfall for a month for 24 hours prior to this time (SYPA, 2008). The saturated soils resulted in flooding since the water had no where to go. Another cause of the flooding was the overwhelming of gullies and drains with water. This resulted in flooding of cities such as Sheffield and hull. The consequences of these floods were experienced in many villages, towns and many properties were destroyed. The absence of a single organization charged with the responsibility of planning and overseeing the floods caused by surface water was a key cause of 2007 flooding. It is reported that largest percentage of the floods was as a result of the lack of such organization (Met Office, 2007). Flooding in Sheffield was mainly caused by the pluvial and fluvial floods. The immediate impact and significant risks caused by the flooding One of the impacts of 2007 rainfall was the occurrence of surface water floods in Hull. This resulted in damage and disruption of very many homes and businesses. In addition, the banks of river Don burst and resulted in the flooding of Doncaster and Sheffield. Other areas such as Worcestershire, Lincolnshire and Derbyshire also experienced flooding. These floods resulted in deaths and destruction of homes in addition to private property damage. In Sheffield two people lost their lives. In addition, industrial and commercial properties were greatly damaged. Many people were forced to be evacuated from their homes. According to officials of the Sheffield city, about 1,250 properties were damaged in Sheffield. People were also trapped in their business premises and their homes (SYLRF, 2008). Domestic property damage was confined to furnishings and other fittings and fixtures. Commercial premises such as shops were flooded and some such as Meadowhall shopping centre were forced to be closed for about one week during the flooding. Stocks of industries and other commercial set ups were damaged due to flow of water through the building (Met Office, 2007). For instance there was a fire outbreak in Meadowhall area caused by flood water. The electricity substation situated in the northern parts of Sheffield was flooded. This led to power supply loss. This forced the power supply company to impose rota power cuts to necessitate the reconnection process (Reuvid, 2009). Another sector that was badly hit by the flooding of 2007 was the agricultural sector. Many crops were submerged by the summer floods of 2007. Crops such as carrots, potatoes and peas were lost in the course of the June floods. Total insurance claims increased during the period of the flooding due to property damage and home destruction. Many people were threatened with lack of clean water due to flooding of many water treatment plants (Smith, 2007). In spite the warning of occurrence of floods, the significance of the floods outweighed the floods that were expected. In areas where floods had sewage, the affected crops were destroyed and further planting of new crops was restricted in such areas. The agencies involved and their response and role during the flooding period From the views of the people who were affected by the 2007 summer floods, the organizations involved did not work in partnership in addressing the concerns of the affected people. Flood management in England and Wales is under the guidance of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) (Matthews, Smith & Knowles, 2009). The management and implementation of defense schemes are carried out by the Environment Agency (EA). Many flood alerts had been put in place by EA by June 25th in many parts of England and Wales. During flooding period many companies had difficulties in terms of transport and communication. Accessibility to the affected areas was thus difficult and therefore the damage of the floods could not be assessed immediately. For instance the Anglian agency could not access its emergency control centre during the period of floods. The Anglian staff was involved inn pumping water out of houses (SYLRF, 2008). The debriefing process was carried out by the National police improvement Agency with the help of Local Resilience Forum (LRF) of South Yorkshire (H.M. Fire Service Inspectorate, 2007). The fire and rescue team provided emergence services that reduced the number of deaths and property damage. Category 2 agencies were inexperienced in coordinating with other agencies involved in provision of emergence services. The effectiveness of environmental management systems during the flooding period Environmental management systems (EMSs) are a stand alone environmental enforcement tool which is voluntary based but which can sustainably be compliance legally. EMSs usually improve the environmental performance which would not be achieved without it. The environmental Agency plays a major role in enforcing environmental management systems. The systems which were in place during the flooding period were ineffective in curbing the effects and extend of flooding. For instance, the water and sewerage companies’ drainage systems could not quickly drain surface water during the flooding period (Met Office, 2007). As a result there was extreme overflow of surface water which resulted in the occurrence of the floods. In addition, Sheffield is mainly made up of floodplains and the local authorities which are charged with planning had not controlled the construction of residential and commercial properties in the flood plains (Smith, 2007). As a consequence of construction in these areas many people were trapped in their houses and much property was damaged. Furthermore, the absence of an agency that is entirely charged with the surface water floods meant that the systems in place could not withstand the drainage of surface water. The flooding resulting from river bursting was mainly due to overtopping of flood defenses. However, flood defenses in Sheffield had some weaknesses and thus were carried away by the flooding water (National Audit Office, 2008). This implies that the defense systems in place to protect the public need to be reviewed. The lessons learnt and recommendations to prevent future flooding or mitigate its effects on the environment It was realized during the flooding period that flood defenses were inadequate. To this end it is recommended that more flood defenses be build. In addition, many parts of Sheffield are flood plains and construction of residential and commercial properties need to be guided by the EA recommendations (SYLRF, 2008). Since gullies and drains played a major role in the flooding, many companies involved in provision of water and sewerage services need to ensure that drainage is efficient in towns. In addition, storm pumping need to be improved to facilitate drainage during flooding. The sewerage and water companies need to understand the flood risks in order to streamline their services during such emergences caused by flooding (Matthews, Smith & Knowles, 2009). It is apparent from the floods that many organizations in UK put more emphasis on coastal and river flooding with little focus on groundwater and surface water flooding. Even though this is understandable since coastal floods are the most serious in UK, the 2007 floods were mainly as a result of surface water flooding. The absence of organization charged with the responsibility of surface calls for attention by the government to address it (SYPA, 2008). Local authorities need to be mandated to drain surface water in their respective areas of jurisdiction. The local authorities should receive guidance and advice from the Environment Agency on how to manage surface water drainage (Smith & Petley, 2009). Sewerage system and public drainage is under great pressure and therefore regulatory changes need to be implemented to ease this pressure. The Environment Agency need to carry out regular checks on its flood defenses in the rivers to reduce cases of flooding. This is tandem with the recognition that some defenses in Sheffield were carried away during flooding of 2007 (SYPA, 2008). In addition, the defenses’ heights need to be increased so that during heavy rains they are not overtopped like what was experienced in 2007 floods. The assessment and management of flood risk portfolio was mainly based on flood zone maps in the 2007 summer floods. Such models are only usefully when assessing and underwriting flood risks in single location. Thus to provide comprehensive assessment and management of flood risk portfolio, probabilistic models should be adopted (SYLRF, 2008). Conclusion The summer floods of 2007 had devastating effects throughout United Kingdom. In Sheffield three people perished during the floods. Many commercial and private properties were destroyed. There were also electricity shortages in addition to disrupted business activities in Sheffield. The floods were caused by several factors. Agricultural sector was also greatly affected by the floods and many crops were destroyed. These included the extreme northern position of the Jet River, the warm sea temperatures which were experienced during this period and the prolonged period of heavy rainfall. In addition, gullies and drainage systems were also overwhelmed. The environmental management systems in place at that time could not counter the floods since no agency had been charged with the responsibility of overseeing the surface water floods which were main cause of the 2007 summer floods. Many organization were involved in the rescue and evacuation of people affected. This reduced the effects of the floods even though there was no well coordination of these agencies. Thus there is still much that need to be implemented to curb the occurrence and effects of future floods. References H.M. Fire Service Inspectorate. 2007. Fire and Rescue Service manual: Vol. 2: Fire service operations, Incidents involving rescue from road vehicles, Volume 2. London: The Stationery Office. Matthews, G., Smith, Y. & Knowles, G. 2009. Disaster management in archives, libraries and museums. London: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. Met Office. 2007. June 2007-Record Rainfall. Available at http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/interesting/june2007/ [Accessed 2 July2010] National Audit Office. 2008. New Dimension: Enhancing the Fire and Rescue Services Capacity to Respond to Terrorist and Other Large-scale Incidents. London: The Stationery Office. Reuvid, J. 2009. Managing business risk: a practical guide to protecting your business, 5th Ed. London: Kogan Page. Smith, K. & Petley, D. 2009. Environmental hazards: assessing risk and reducing disaster, 5th Ed. London: Taylor & Francis. Smith, M. 2007. The Great Flood: How Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley, Doncaster, Chesterfield and Worksop Survived the Summer Storms of 2007. London: At Heart Ltd. South Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum (SYLRF). 2008. Final Report on the Flooding of Summer 2007. Available at www.southyorkshireemergencies.co.uk [Accessed 2 July2010] South Yorkshire Police Authority (SYPA). 2008. Lessons Learned by South Yorkshire Police During the Flooding of 2007. Available at http://www.southyorks.gov.uk [Accessed 2 July2010] Read More