1. For each of the boxes on the previous slide – colour in green if the topic refers to an aspect of physical geography and red if the topic covers a feature of mainly human geography.

2. In groups investigate one physical and one human box and identify as many factors as you can which may have an impact on the severity of a flood. For example, ‘Nature of the land’ will be affected by the gradient of the land, soil type, vegetation etc). Explain how these factors make a difference and what experts you should consult for each of these areas.

3. other information would be useful and where might you find it?

4. Report your findings back to the rest of the class, do you agree or disagree with the other groups?

Water BoardsIndividualsPressure GroupsLand owners e.g. Farmers, homeowners British Rail Franchise companiesHighways AgencyLocal and National news agencies (TV, radio, press)University Research departmentsGeologistsCobraEnvironment Agency

Local AuthoritiesGovernmentVolunteersPolice Fire serviceMedical RescueArmyMeteorolgical OfficeInsurance CompaniesHouse buildersGas, electric companiesSewage works

WHO ARE THE PLAYERS?

Imagine a dialogue between two different people from the list of key players on the previous slide. Note that some people may be extremely angry depending on the decisions made due to the severe consequences of flooding, and of the impact of possible solutions to this complex problem.

List the key concerns of each of the participants.

Write a brief scenario to summarise the key issues in the debate (you may get some ideas by watching TV news broadcasts).

What is the scale of the problem?

• How can the problem be assessed? Factor in:• number of homes affected (actual and percentage)?• cost to society in lost production• cost of repairs• cost of preventative measures.

• What is the geographical distribution of the problem? Who is most likely to be affected?• Who pays for the damage? – individuals, communities, insurance firms, the Government?

• A previous Government response: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-winter-storms-2014-government-response

MAP EXERCISE

On the Thames Valley map download:1.Locate the rivers - Thames, Colne, Kennett, Lodden, Mole, Pang, Thame, Wey and Wye2.Locate and name the towns – Aldermaston, Bracknell, Henley, Maidenhead and Reading3.Locate Heathrow airport4.Locate the M4 motorway

Tributary of the River Thames

Discharge (volume of water in cubic metres per second). Unless the water is shallow 1 cumsec is enough to knock a person off their feet.

Drainage basin area in sq km.

River Mole 5.43 510River Wey 6.95 910River Colne 4.05 ?River Wye 1 ?River Lodden 2.16 1000River Kennett 9.75 1200River Pang 0.62 170River Thames 3.9 800

RIVER THAMES (at Reading) 258RIVER THAMES (at London) 156

Download this spreadsheet which plots the Thames river tributary discharge

1. Where is the Thames larger? Why do you think this is? Is this pattern true for all rivers?

2. What seasonal difference is there likely to be if any?3. Is there a correlation between discharge and the size of the drainage area? Test

this by comparing ranks or by drawing a graph with a best fit line – remember if there is only a weak correlation the line will have no meaning. Look at the anomalies to identify the rivers that do not obey the general rule. Can you think of why there might be some variation in your results? – What other factors might come into play?

4. How could you plot the above figures on a map?5. These are average figures – what is likely to happen in times of flood?6. What problems might occur where two rivers meet in times of flood?7. Watching the news and using information provided can you see patterns in where

there are floods?

RESOURCES in chronological order (oldest first)1. http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/nov/02/uk-likely-face-winter-

floods2.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/feb/01/january-uk-wettest-winter-month-250-years

3. http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jan/05/uk-winter-storms-worst-two-decades

4. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jan/30/flooding-experts-uk-adapt-climate-change

5. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/feb/09/uk-floods-political-blame-game-severe-weather-warnings

6. http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/feb/10/flooding-costs-one-billion-pounds-insurance-expert-warns-rising-premiums

7. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/feb/02/flooding-winter-defences-environment-climate-change

8. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jan/06/britain-wild-weather-rain-storms-floods

RESOURCES in chronological order (oldest first)

•http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/interactive/2013/dec/30/weather-storm-flood-warnings-across-britain-interactive•http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/interactive/2014/jan/05/uk-winter-storms-map-interactive•http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/interactive/2014/jan/06/uk-weather-wind-and-waves-map-interactive•http://www.theguardian.com/environment/interactive/2014/jan/10/how-thames-barrier-protect-london-flooding•http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/interactive/2014/jan/30/uk-floods-soldiers-deployed-somerset-levels-interactive•http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/interactive/2014/jan/31/heavy-rain-wild-weather-england-wales-interactive•http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/interactive/2014/feb/05/uk-storm-flooding-coasts-map-interactive•http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/interactive/2014/feb/06/uk-storm-flooding-rain-map-interactive•http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/interactive/2014/feb/11/uk-floods-rain-map-interactive•http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/interactive/2014/feb/12/uk-storms-floods-crisis-map-interactive

SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEMS

1.Do nothing (always an option – but only if you have considered the consequences).

2.Look at the efforts of the Dutch - in a country where 20% of the land and 21% of the population is below sea level, and where 50% of the land is less than one metre above sea level – how have they reacted?

3.How did the Earl of Bedford drain the Fens with the aid of Vermuyden?

4.What has been done so far in the UK to protect against flooding? How successful have these initiatives been? Has it been cost effective? (Consider soft engineering, and hard engineering as well as controls designed to manage river flow such as dredging).

5.To understand the importance of river activity it is necessary to understand channel flow characteristics. All rivers have energy from the flow of mountains downhill towards the sea. That energy can be used to overcome friction with the bed and banks, and any excess energy will be used to speed up the river flow which in turn can result in erosion of the bed and banks and the carrying downstream of the load. All rivers strive to be in equilibrium and constantly erode and deposit material, changing the river shape to attain this goal.

What are the costs and benefits (pros and cons) of flood protection schemes?

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/feb/13/floods-david-cameron-spending-pledge-treasury-defra

Complete the following cost benefit analysis task. You will need to download this PDF document and this accompanying Excel document.

Use the link below where there are 50 images of the weather damage being suffered by Britain in the winter storms.Choose five images to summarise the main problems. Explain your choice.Compare your choices with a partner, is there a right answer?http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/owen-paterson-at-odds-with-david-cameron-over-claims-winter-storm-hercules-was-linked-to-climate-change-9049185.html

More images can be found here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-26152345

http://www.buzzfeed.com/alanwhite/27-staggering-new-pictures-of-the-somerset-levels-floods

Before and after images can be found here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26082070

Go to the following video link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApbZuu_eYeM

Look at the damage to Tewksbury. Watch the video (above) of past events and reach a judgement concerning the severity of the 2014 floods compared to previous years.

You might want to consider: - areas affected - cost - loss of life - disruption to daily life - duration of floods - time taken to return to normal

Should we regard floods as an occasional hazard to be endured or should we try to put in place measures to control it?

You should be aware of the concept of a once in a hundred year flood, once in a twenty year flood etc... You also need to understand that these may coincide and that it is possible to get two one in a hundred years floods in consecutive years.

To what extent have climate conditions changed over time and how significant is this change on the frequency and likelihood of floods?

It is hard to quantify a question like this but it is possible to provide some evidence using the following statistics graphs and maps.

http://www.carbonbrief.org/blog/2014/02/met-office-spells-out-climate-change-link-to-uk-flooding-in-four-graphs/

http://www.carbonbrief.org/blog/?issue=1119(Search for 12 February 2014)

Other useful references

For geology and flood issues see maps 12 and 16http://a0768b4a8a31e106d8b0-50dc802554eb38a24458b98ff72d550b.r19.cf3.rackcdn.com/geth1205bjyc-e-e.pdf

Meteorological Office

http://www.carbonbrief.org/blog/2014/02/met-office-spells-out-climate-change-link-to-uk-flooding-in-four-graphs/