On 29 January, ICE and the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) hosted an event to mark the 60th anniversary of the 1953 East Coast Floods and to look at how this has informed the approach to current flooding issues.
High profile speakers included the Duke of Gloucester; Richard Benyon, the Environment Minister; and David Rooke MBE, Director of Flood and Coastal Risk Management at the Environment Agency.
The event also brought together engineers from the UK and the Netherlands to illustrate how the floods impacted their respective countries and share best practice in flood and coastal erosion.
Remembering the floods
On the night of 31 January and into 1 February 1953, the Netherlands, Belgium, England and Scotland were devastated by some of the worst flooding in recent memory. In the UK, over 300 people lost their lives and a further 30,000 coastal residents had to be evacuated. The flood and waves overwhelmed sea defences, damaging over 1,600 km of coastline and inundating 1,000 km² of land.
Learning the lessons of history
Sadly, many of the deaths caused by the floods could have been avoided if an effective flood warning system had been in place and communities had been given sufficient time to evacuate. At that time, forecasting technology was relatively primitive and there was no single body responsible for issuing flood warnings.
Both David Rooke and Royal HaskoningDHV's Frank Heemskerk claimed that if the East Coast Floods occurred today they would cause approximately five billion pounds to the British and Dutch economies, respectively.
Working with the water
Since 1953 the Dutch government has strategically planned its flood schemes to ensure that they work with water rather than trying to isolate communities from it. Multi-use infrastructure, such as car parks that act as flood levees, is a feature of Dutch planning. While moves towards a partnership approach to flood risk management have happened in the UK, there is a great deal to learn from the Netherlands.
ICE and CIWEM would like to thank the Duke of Gloucester for his ongoing support for the lecture series, the speakers and the sponsors − Jacobs, Mouchel, Halcrow, Black & Veatch and NERC WSKEP − for their generosity.
If you’re interested in sponsoring future lectures in the Duke of Gloucester series, please contact Andrew Wescott at andrew.wescott@ice.org.uk.