Storm Desmond Case Study

• Storm Desmond

  Date = 2015 December
• Storm Desmond was an extreme rainfall and flooding event in Cumbria
• The environment agency is responsible for dealing with flooding.
• Primary Response

  • farmers, Cumbria county council, mountain rescue teams and the police helped with the initial impacts of the flood
  • £58million were funded for flood protection and flood management strategies for Cumbria
  • 100% of the flood defences were repaired a year later
  • 6 new flood warning areas were created to help evacuate more people in future floods
  • 3 main bridges were repaired like Pooley bridge and many other roads were also fixed
  • 70,000 tonnes of debris and gravel were removed from rivers to increase channel capacity preventing flood risk
  • flood action groups within small communities where people volunteer to help others during floods
• Long term management response

  • £5,000 of financial grant was given to each flooded home
  • the environment agency helped restore hundreds of hectares of upland peatland areas as they are a natural flood defence (holds lots of water) but farmers destroy peat bogs
  • the government invested a further £72 million to protect at least 5,000 homes in the future - "slow the flow" project ensured better drainage systems to prevent flood risk
• peat


  high vegetated content, made of semi-decomposed soil (like sponges)
• strengthening defences 


  like channel straightening, flood walls and levees help increase the channel capacity of the river.

  • strengthening and repairing infrastructure like roads, bridges and railways
  • mobile flood defences and portable water pumps for winter
  • using bridges as barriers for flooding (Staveley bridge)
  • monitoring areas with high flood risk
• upstream management


  by using the knowledge of the landscape to slow the flow of the water and reduce flooding.

  • dredging and clearing debris which are blocking rivers or reducing channel capacity
  • land management techniques like peat aeration
  • working with farmers and locals which have the best knowledge of the area
• maintenance

  • repairing 150 flood and coastal defences
  • repairing highways, roads and footpaths
  • supporting local communities with maintenance work
• community resilience 


  • network of community flood action groups who recruit volunteers, as we cannot always rely on the government
  • providing flood warnings to over 6,000 properties across Cumbria