Extreme weather event in the uk: Cumbria floods

• Causes / Background information

  • 2015 was one of the wettest years on record
  • The highest rainfall in the UK was in Cumbria which had 773.2mm in December – 5 times the normal average
  • Storm Desmond; 341mm rain over 24hrs in in Cumbria – UK 24hr record.
  • Winds in excess of 140km/h drove low pressure air across the Pennines creating high amounts of orographic rainfall.
• Roads into Keswick were flooded and in some cases washed away.
• A591 remained closed for several months.
• Keswick rugby club flooded 3 times in December.
• Homes in Keswick had no clean water due to the water treatment works being flooded.
• 5,200 homes were flooded in Cumbria and Lancashire.
• Many schools in Cumbria were closed because of flooding, power cuts and loss of water and heating.
• Large amounts of the fragile upland soils were washed into rivers and lakes, affecting water quality and wildlife.
• Thousands of trees were ripped from river banks as well as millions of tons of sediment being transported by rivers and deposited on floodplains and in settlements.
• 43,000 homes across NE England were left without power and 61,000 homes in Lancaster lost power when the electrical substation was flooded.
• Secondary effects

  • Long diversions around closed roads cost an estimated £1m / day because of the effect on the tourist industry.
• Immediate response

  • 100 people were evacuated from Keswick
  • Red Cross emergency shelters were set up to house those displaced by the floods
  • Army rescued trapped people and built temporary flood defences
  • High volume pumps were brought to affected areas
  • The princes trust donated £40000 to support rural communities
• Long term response

  • Tax relief was given to affected businesses and households – they didn’t have to pay council tax.
  • Flood RE is set up – provides cheaper insurance for those homes at risk of flooding
  • Government undertook a flood resilience review to try to reduce power cuts etc. during times of flood.
  • New, bigger flood defences were built in Keswick
  • A new £4.4m flood defence scheme was constructed in Cockermouth, Cumbria in 2013, which included the UK's first "self-closing" flood barriers, closing only when the river is flooded.