BBC Flood Review Roger Harrabin ‘The Government’s Flood Resilience review was due to be published this week, but has been postponed because the politician in charge, Oliver Letwin, lost his seat in Cabinet. [And floods minister Rory Stewart have been moved on – no surprise that this has been delayed] It is expected to be published in late summer, along with the government’s progress towards a 25-year environmental masterplan for the UK. Britain’s roads, bridges, railways, hospitals, electricity, gas, water and internet remain at risk from floods, a government review will admit. It will say some services – such as electricity – are increasingly protected from extreme rains but others – like telecoms – lag behind. BBC News understands the study will say rainfall should be managed from the source of the river to the sea.
The review was prompted by December’s floods in the North of England. Its conclusions will be widely welcomed, but some critics warn the report masks the full problem by ignoring some types of flooding. That is because it focuses on floods on rivers and at the coast, whereas some floods are caused by rainfall failing to drain away far from rivers or the sea. Swenja Surminski, from the Grantham Climate institute, told BBC News: “This review is supposed to be comprehensive, but it creates a false sense of security that if you’re away from a river or the coast you’re home and dry and that’s not the message we need to be sending.” Click here to read more
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