Flooding in parts of England in the summer of 2007 cost the economy £3.2bn
18/1/2010 BBC … , the Environment Agency has said.It also calculates that investment in flood defences will need to almost double,
to £1bn a year, to protect properties in the future.
Thirteen people died and hundreds had to be rescued after parts of South and
East Yorks and Gloucestershire flooded.
Around 48,000 homes were affected, each costing between £20,000 and £30,000 to
repair, the agency added.
The cost for flooded businesses averaged between £75,000 and £112,000.
While almost every business was adequately covered by insurance, the agency said
a quarter of affected homeowners were not fully insured.
Other calculations published by the agency showed that farmers lost an average
of £1,150 per hectare of land flooded, while the cost of damage to
infrastructure such as roads, water supplies and power networks was put at
£660m.
“ The high costs of flooding underline the importance for continued investment
in reducing flood risk ”
Robert Runcie, Environment Agency
The report also factors in damage to communications, transport and roads of
around £230m, with costs to local councils of £140m, while agriculture suffered
losses of £50m.
The agency adds that 400,000 pupil days at schools were lost because of the
floods in June and July 2007.
Robert Runcie, Environment Agency director of flood and coastal risk management,
said: “The 2007 flood cost homeowners, businesses, emergency services and others
some £3.2bn.
“The high costs of flooding underline the importance for continued investment in
reducing flood risk, particularly as climate change means that we are more
likely to see more severe and frequent flooding in future.”
The costs of the more recent flooding in Cumbria, which saw road bridges
destroyed by rising river levels, would not be known for some time, Mr Runcie
said. But he warned the cost would be “substantial”.
And the Environment Agency is warning that the average annual cost of flood
damage could rise by 60% by 2035, unless funding for defences is doubled to £1bn
a year by then to protect against climate change.