Somerset Flooding

Somerset Flood Case Study

South Somerset District Council (SSDC) covers an area of 960 square kilometres. Much of the area is low lying which will have a worse impact when flooded . This could be   caused by climate change, global warming or just cyclical changes , the rainfall events continue to be extremely variable and the trend seems to be exceeding towards storm events rather than a delayed rainfall.
In 2008 South Somerset felt the effects of intense storms on 3 occasions in January, May and September and in December of that year a more norml winter event saw a number of areas experience flash flooding.  
First glimpse of the economic impact of the 2014 flooding on Somerset businesses is an average of £17,352 per business being lost in financial terms and productivity in just six weeks estimating that they have lost a combined £1,232,009 in financial terms and lost productivity since the start of this year. The Somerset Chamber of Commerce, the research indicates that the flooding has had an impact on 70 per cent of the businesses surveyed, with almost 40 per cent facing a reduction in customers and more than 35 per cent seeing a fall in sales. Meanwhile, power cuts have affected 14 per cent of the businesses surveyed and one in ten has been without a telephone and/or broadband due to the bad weather conditions.
High winds and heavy rain cause power outages, road closures and widespread travel disruption, with hundreds of weather-related emergencies, including motorists getting stuck in flood water. More than 100 properties suffered flood damage and a number of families had to move to temporary accommodation until their homes were repaired. The Environment Agency warns of flooding on the Somerset Levels and alarm bells ring for the Local Government Association which urges people to look online for details of emergency accommodation in case they are forced out of their homes by rising water levels.
The environmental issues were that Flood water has...