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case study
when did tewkesbury flood?
july 2007
where is tewkesbury located?
tewkesbury is in the south-west of england, in the county of gloucestershire.
it’s in between the cities of bristol and birmingham, near the border of wales.
social impacts
13 people died and hundreds have to be evacuated
30000 properties without power for 48 hours
infrastructure severely affected - roads were cut off and badly damaged
most properties were damaged in the area
economic impacts
more than 18000 insurance claims
9000 businesses affected
flooding cost local councils £140 million
argiculture sector severely affected
environmental impacts
soils became degraded due to contamination from roads and industrial sites
soils became waterlogged, destroying plants and crops
human causes
building on floodplains
no flood defences in Tewkesbury
physical causes
little sunshine meant evaporation rates were low
the geographical location of Tewkesbury is vulnerable to flood events due to two rivers meeting in the town
soils were already saturated due to the heavy rainfall occuring in the months leading up to the flooding
the summer of 2007 in England and Wales was the wettest
short term responses
evacuation of vulnerable people
flood warnings were issued by the environment agency
920 requests were made to recover flooded items
army personnel supply food to the cut-off town of Upton-on-Severn
long term responses
additional funds to protect important public utility buildings such as electricity substations and water purification funds
£800 million to be spent on flood defences
