KENT NEWS: Emergency planners have drawn up Kent’s most detailed flood response document ever amid fears of rising sea levels, storms and sinking landmasses.
In response to the 2007 floods that caused catastrophic damage throughout the UK, council officers have compiled a comprehensive report to ensure the county is fully prepared for any future deluge.
The plan – which will be regularly updated on KCC’s intranet site – includes information on risk assessments, which locations are most likely to flood, the role of the emergency services, how to warn and rescue people, and more.
Senior emergency planning officer Tony Harwood, who compiled the report, told KOS Media it was important the flooding threat was taken seriously.
He said: “Across the various agencies in Kent, we have planned for flood risk for many years. However, experience from the summer 2007 floods of Sheffield, Hull, Gloucestershire and elsewhere really focused our minds that the planning needed to be stepped up a level.
“The Environment Agency has identified some 70,000 households in the county that are potentially vulnerable to either fluvial (river/stream) or coastal flooding, so we obviously need to be prepared to protect them.
“It’s not good enough to come up against problems during a flood event – we need to do the proper planning. A flood plan does already exist but this is a far more sophisticated document.”
Mr Harwood said the plan was drawn up in response to a report on the 2007 floods by former KCC chief executive Sir Michael Pitt, who is now chairman of the national Infrastructure Planning Commission.
Sir Michael put forward 92 recommendations for local authorities to take into account when drawing up their flood response agendas, which Mr Harwood said the county council had.
He added: “Because of our perception that we have some vulnerability to flooding, we are seeking to get ahead of the game here on the planning, which will soon become enforced by legislation under the forthcoming flood and water management bill.
“We unfortunately have some form on this. The February 1953 floods along the eastern coast of England affected Kent, and people will remember the River Medway flooding of Tonbridge and Maidstone in autumn 2000.
“Both impacted the county significantly so it’s important we learn lessons from them.”
According to the Environment Agency, one in six homes in England are at risk of flooding from rivers, the sea or overflowing drains, and that investment in the building and maintaining of flood defences will need to almost double to £1 billion a year by 2035.
Earlier this year a joint report by the Institution of Civil Engineers (Ice) and the Royal Institute of British Architects (Riba) warned that parts of Kent’s coastal towns could be lost forever within 90 years unless radical measures to improve sea defences are taken.
While agreeing that the issue was a serious one, Mr Harwood said there was no fear that tackling it would be left until the last minute.
He said: “I absolutely agree that our resilience to flooding needs to be enhanced and we need to be pragmatic about the problems facing us. But it’s something the engineers and district councils are working at to ensure the defences are up to it.”
The flood response plan is included on the agenda for the flood risk management committee meeting on Tuesday (March 9).
POSTED: 07/03/2010 13:00:00
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