No matter what action we take now, in the next 30 years, we may see an additional 10-30 cm of sea level rise. Our ocean is a lot of water, which heats up slowly and expands slowly.
Today’s sea level is based on historical warming. As we have seen in the past month, many countries and places have already felt the effects of flooding and will only get worse before it improves.
Why urgent action is needed
- Economic impact
Floods cause about 300 million pounds of property damage every year. In our lifetime, we expect this loss to increase by about 25-50% by the end of this century.
In addition, at our current speed, by 2100, 10-20% of global routes will be at risk of severe disruption, and hundreds of airports will be at risk of flooding.
Insurance companies are one of the people most concerned about the impact of the climate collapse and warn that if stronger action is not taken, households and businesses in certain parts of the UK may find themselves unable to insure.
- Pollution and disease
Floods are not just water. It usually carries untreated sewage, leaked toxic chemicals, and runoff from hazardous waste sites and factory farms. This can lead to contaminated drinking water supplies and annoying eye, ear, skin, and gastrointestinal infections.
When the floods recede, bacteria and molds may remain, which can also increase the incidence of respiratory diseases, such as asthma.
- Impact on mental health
The catastrophic loss of lives, businesses, property, homes, and the displacement of entire communities will certainly have long-term effects on mental health.
Studies have shown that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for flood victims still exists for more than two years.
Low-income groups, the elderly, and minority communities are often the most affected.
These people are least likely to have flood insurance, transportation during evacuation, cash on hand, or the ability to resettle. The mental pain of having to repair and replace property is immense.
How do we deal with extreme floods
I have been exposed to a lot of negative effects, but if there is no solution, sharing the problem is not really useful.
What we need to do now is to stop the effects of climate change from happening too late, but we can reduce its impact on our lives.
Action is now needed to improve the regulation of where and how real estate is built, encourage the use of flexible materials, and consider innovative and natural solutions to climate change.
- Reduce the use of fossil fuels
As the overall solution to all extreme weather events, we must first solve the problem of climate change from the core and reduce the rising atmospheric temperature and carbon dioxide emissions.
Currently, the UK emits 350 million tons of carbon dioxide each year. Therefore, we must get rid of the use of fossil fuels, invest in a green new deal, prioritize decarbonization, zero-emission infrastructure and transportation, and create a large number of green jobs in the process.
At present, we need about 40 billion pounds a year to achieve economic decarbonization. In the ambitious plan, this will only account for 1% to 2% of 30-year GDP growth, so it is fundamentally worth the investment.
- Improve flood risk data
Due to the refusal to invest, the UK does lack flood risk data. Since 2013, the UK’s surface water flood disaster map has not been improved, which is absurd.
If people don’t know they’re in danger, how can we help them prepare for surface water flooding?
- Educate people to prepare for floods
No city, town or village is immune to floods, so we must educate our residents and businesses how to prepare. This includes:
- Create a “flood pack” filled with items that may be needed during evacuation, such as bottled water, children’s diapers, cash, medications, mobile phone chargers, insurance documents, etc.
- If your local council does not provide it for free, buy sandbags
- Make sure your insurance is up to date, and take detailed photos of your property to show to your insurance company in case something goes wrong
In addition, we need to prove the possible harm caused by flooding and encourage residents to stay indoors, because watery streets may look harmless, but the water may be full of sewage, may carry very heavy objects, and you cannot see what is under the water. .
- Rethink our infrastructure
In the long run, adapting to the effects of increasing floods will require a complete transformation of the UK’s infrastructure, including drainage and water supply systems, transportation, energy supply and communication networks.
Large-scale flood protection dikes like the Thames River Levee in London require a lot of engineering. Although effective in large cities with floodplains, they are not feasible in smaller rural areas. Therefore, we need to strike a balance between large-scale projects and small-scale property changes. .
Obviously, these changes require a lot of government investment, so we need to make sure to prioritize preparing for extreme weather events, because they will only get worse.
- Increase green space and invest in sustainable urban drainage systems
Trees, hedges, and vegetation increase water absorption, absorb rainfall, and slow surface water runoff, so honestly, as we continue to build and pave the land, it is not surprising that extreme flood events continue to increase.
We still need Implement a sustainable urban drainage system, because every time we have impervious systems such as roads, water surfaces, rolling down hills, and accumulated asphalt pavements, we increase the risk of flooding. These sustainable drainage systems include:
- Permeable paving-rainwater passes through the ground, through gaps between individual blocks or permeable materials (such as gravel or porous asphalt). Large amounts of water can be temporarily stored below the surface and then slowly penetrate into the soil below.This reduces the chance of flooding
- Green roof-the roof includes a layer of vegetation or vegetation as part of the roof covering to reduce runoff
- Swales-shallow vegetation passages on roads designed to store runoff
- Rethinking Britain’s role and responsibilities in flood prevention
One of the problems is that Britain’s flood control responsibilities are scattered among many authorities and there is almost no central supervision.
The local flood authority is responsible for management, the Environment Bureau is responsible for drawing maps, and the Meteorological Bureau is responsible for providing early warning. This makes it difficult for the public to have a good understanding of their own risks and what they can do.
The Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee warned earlier this year that the government was not doing enough to prevent damage from flooding, and said Parliament and local authorities needed more help, including more cash.
Flood funding needs to be decentralized locally and placed within the new national framework for responding to climate emergencies.
As the world gets hotter, fighting floods will only become more difficult, but if the government starts to prioritize effective measures to deal with climate change and extreme weather events, we can reduce the impact and increase the resilience of our communities, economies, and the future .
This author
Sophie Johnson is a graduate of Zoology, full of enthusiasm Protect bloggers from England.
