Possible Causes and Impact of Sheffield Flooding - Case Study Example

Sheffield Flooding Name Course Instructors Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Possible causes of the 2007 summer floods 3 Natural and climatic changes factors 3 Human factors 5 The impact and the significance of the risks caused by the June 2007 floods 6 The response and the role of agencies which were involved in the 2007 summer floods 7 Environmental management systems effectiveness during the 2007 summer floods 8 Lessons from the 2007 summer floods and recommendations to prevent or mitigate the effects of floods to the environment 9 References 11 Introduction A flood usually involves water overflow onto land that under normal circumstances is dry. Floods can occur any time of the year. The occurrence of floods in some areas can be prevented while in some areas control and prevention may be difficult. In the summer of 2007, floods with devastating effects occurred in central and south east parts of England. Several people died during the floods and many homes were damaged. The economic effects of the floods were beyond estimation as many businesses were forced to close down for several days while some industrial products and raw materials were destroyed. Crop plants were also destroyed which had severe negative effects on the agricultural sector. Floods in Sheffield were potentiated by the bursting of River Rother and River Don. The floods in Sheffield resulted in deaths, property damage and damage to homes. Many people were also trapped in their houses during these floods. Possible causes of the 2007 summer floods Human developments and climatic changes are credited for being behind the June 2007 floods in Sheffield in addition to natural factors. Natural and climatic changes factors The primary cause of the 2007 summer floods was the position of the Jet stream during this particular summer. In the United Kingdom, the prevailing weather is largely dependent on the position of the Jet stream. The weather systems of the Atlantic are steered and generated by the Jet stream. The position of the Jet stream varies with the season. The stream’s position in summer is usually to the north. On the other hand during winter the stream moves to the south. Due to this, the Green sea regions and the northern parts of the Atlantic usually experience storms during summer while the southern parts of the Atlantic usually experience such storms during winter. The unusual position of the Jet stream in the far south during the June 2007 summer could have been behind the excessive rainfall experienced in the southern parts and central parts of the United Kingdoms. Sheffield experienced a period of low pressure on 24th and 25th of June 2007. This led to prolonged period of heavy rainfall in Sheffield. Sheffield had experienced rainfall for a month before these heavy downpours. This meant that the saturated soils could no longer absorb more water and therefore the floods resulted. The 2007 summer rainfall was experienced for a prolonged period of time. From its onset in May, it stopped in July. Since there was little evaporation from the ground, the soils were saturated with moisture and the continued rainfall resulted in localized floods. The continuous heavy rainfall in turn led to river flooding owing to the filling of reservoirs by the prolonged rainfall. In addition to these factors, the abnormally warm temperatures which were witnessed during the 2007 summer contributed to the occurrence of the floods. The temperatures were higher than the normal average summer temperatures. The high temperatures are thought to have resulted in increased evaporation which in turn resulted in more clouds being formed and hence more rainfall that resulted in flooding. Human factors The gullies and drains were overwhelmed by water resulting from the heavy downpours. This resulted in more runoff water which led to surface flooding in areas like Sheffield and Hull. As a consequence many towns, villages and properties were damaged. Prior to the 2007 summer floods occurrence, there was no single organization which mandated to oversee and plan for surface water floods. In fact there is still confusion on legislation concerning the different responsibilities to be played by different organizations during flooding. This is credited with being one of the main causes of the devastating effects of the floods that were experienced in June 2007. Many floods are reportedly to have occurred due to the absence of such an organization. Many homes which had been constructed prior to the occurrence of the 2007 summer floods were not resilient to floods. Some of them were constructed in high risk flood plains and therefore the heavy rainfall that was experienced during this period resulted in submerging of many of such homes. As a result many people were trapped in their houses in addition to destruction of property. Another human factor that could have contributed to the occurrence of the floods was unavailability of information. Homes had no information packs concerning flood risks. In addition, there were no procedures which were specific on how flooded homes could be dried and repaired. Furthermore, there was no documented data on how to tackle floods. The impact and the significance of the risks caused by the June 2007 floods The 2007 summer rainfall had devastating effects. It resulted in flooding of many areas that led to loss of life, property and destruction of homes. In Sheffield two people died during the floods. Many people were trapped in their homes and many were forced to be evacuated from their residential areas to alleviate the effects of the floods. From the records of Sheffield city, as many as 1,250 properties were destroyed in Sheffield city. This included industrial, commercial and domestic properties. Damage to domestic property was however confined to fittings, furnishings and fixtures. The flooding of commercial premises resulted in their closure. For instance, the Meadowhall shopping centre had to be closed for one week during the 2007 summer floods. The overflow of water into buildings resulted in destruction of industrial stocks and commercial set ups. Some places like the Meadowhall witnessed electrical fire outbreaks resulting from the flooding of the premises. There was also the flooding of the electricity substations. For instance, the northern Sheffield substation was flooded and this resulted in power supply loss in some areas. As a consequence, Rota power cuts were imposed in some areas to facilitate the process of electrical reconnections. The summer 2007 floods resulted in the submerging of many crops. Many crops such as potatoes, peas and carrots were lost during the floods. Some areas experienced destruction of sewerage lines and hence the flood water contained sewage. When such water submerged crops, the crops were had to be destroyed and restrictions on planting of new crops were imposed in such areas. This impacted negatively on the agricultural sector. The floods also caused flooding of water treatment plants. This threatened the supply of clean water to the population and there were fears of outbreak of diseases due to this. However, water companies worked tirelessly to reduce these fears. The response and the role of agencies which were involved in the 2007 summer floods The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), is charged with the responsibility of managing floods in England and Wales. Flood defense schemes are managed and implemented by the Environment Agency (EA). The EA was actively involved in the 2007 summer floods. Prior to 25th June, EA had issued flood alerts to many parts of England and Wales. The floods however curtailed the operations of many companies since transport and communication was made difficult by the floods. The affected areas could not be easily accessed and therefore the assessment of the damage was not assessed on time. The Anglian agency was involved in pumping water out of houses during the floods. However, the floods impacted negatively on its operations since it could not access its emergence control centre. This meant that the control of the activities of this agency could not be carried out efficiently. The Local Resilience Forum (LRF) of south Yorkshire assisted the National police improvement Agency in the debriefing process. The fire and rescue service (FRS) team was involved in the evacuation of people trapped in their houses. In addition, the FRS provided emergency services such as first aid. The FRS was also involved in extinguishing some of the fire outbreaks that erupted during the floods. The services of RFS are credited for having reduced the deaths and damage that could have otherwise been experienced if RFS was not actively involved during the flooding period. Other category 2 agencies were also involved in the provision of emergence services. However, they had no experience in coordinating with other agencies and therefore they were not effective in provision of their services. Many people who were affected by the 2007 summer floods felt that most of the organizations which were involved in the floods had problems in coordination. The population felt that these organizations were unable to work in partnership and therefore the concerns of the population were not addressed efficiently and effectively. Environmental management systems effectiveness during the 2007 summer floods Environmental management systems (EMSs) are environmental enforcement tool which are stand alone and voluntary based that can be sustainable legally for a prolonged period of time. EMSs are involved in the improvement of the environment performance that could not be possible without them. The EMSs are enforced by the Environment Agency in the United Kingdom. Prior to the occurrence of the 2007 summer floods no companies had internationally recognized EMSs. The environmental systems that were there during the floods were ineffective in preventing or controlling the effects and extend of the floods. For example, the drainage of surface water by sewerage companies was very slow during the period of floods. The delay in the response by these companies resulted in extreme surface water overflow that ended up causing floods. Many homes which were constructed prior to the occurrence of the 2007 floods were found in Sheffield floodplains. In spite the fact that the local authorities had the responsibility of planning and controlling the construction of commercial and residential buildings, they did not carry out this responsibility. The results of this negligence of duty by the local authorities, many people were trapped in their houses which had been constructed in flood plains. In addition, a lot of property was destroyed during the floods. No single agency had the responsibility overseeing the management of surface water floods. Thus no systems were in place to respond to surface water emergence floods. In addition, most of the drainage in place could not withstand the massive water that resulted from heavy rainfall since no agency had overseen their construction and maintenance. Floods which resulted from river bursting occurred mainly due to flood defense overtopping. In spite this, some weaknesses were noted in the flood defenses in Sheffield. Due to this some defenses were carried away by the flood water. From this it is eminent that systems which were in place to protect people from floods were ineffective. Lessons from the 2007 summer floods and recommendations to prevent or mitigate the effects of floods to the environment Flood zone maps were used in the assessing and managing flood portfolio risk in the summer floods of the 2007. This model is only effective in underwriting and assessment of single location floods. In order to assess and manage comprehensively such wide spread floods like the 2007 summer floods, probabilistic models should be used. Coastal and river floods are rampant in the UK. Thus many organizations have put much emphasis on control and prevention of such floods. This is understandable given the seriousness of these floods in the UK. However, the 2007 floods resulted from surface water overflow. The government needs to have an agency that is responsible for the surface water floods. Since local authorities are in a better position of planning and managing their local towns, they should be given the mandate of draining surface water in their localities. However, these authorities should be guided by EA on the management of the drainage of surface water. Flood defenses to combat surface water floods were inadequate during the 2007 summer floods. Thus many resources should be directed toward the construction of such defenses. In addition, construction of commercial and residential properties in flood plains should be done in accordance to guidelines of EA. The drains and gullies were overwhelmed during the floods and therefore sewerage companies need to ensure that the drains and gullies can handle3 large water overflows. They should also improve their storm water pumping capabilities to curb the occurrence of such floods in future. Better understanding of flood risks by service providers is essential in streamlining their services. 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