EU funding secured for partnership initiative to increase flood resilience

The National Flood Forum, in partnership with the Rivers Trust, have secured funding to work together to reduce flood risk in parts of the UK. The aim is to understand and reduce residual flood risk through a combination of measures.  In the case of the Rivers Trust, this will be through catchment based approaches, which will also deliver environmental benefits.  The National Flood Forum will work with specific communities so that they can identify and work with partners to reduce their risk and be prepared for a flood incident. 

What does it mean in practice? – Flood resilience

Climate change will likely result in increased rainfall in Europe. Higher river levels could lead to increased risk to life and likelihood of damage to property and infrastructure if flood defences are breached. In addition, the frequency and intensity of heavy rainfall is increasing. This may lead to damage to infrastructure in densely built areas and agriculture. On a national level there are plans and policies about how to deal with climate change, but the challenge is how to apply these to local measures.

In September 2016, the EU’s North Sea Region Programme gave the green light for the start of a water safety project called: ‘Flood Resilient Areas by multi-layEr Safety Approach’ (FRAMES).

Put simply, FRAMES aims to reduce the consequences of floods by:

1. Increasing social resilience (resilient communities)

2. Increasing resilience of infrastructure (resilient areas)

3. Making policy recommendations to reduce the recovery times after a flood (increased response capacity)

The Rivers Trust and National Flood Forum propose to work in partnership, together with local communities, local authorities, river trusts, and catchment partnerships to deliver the multi-layer safety approach in the East of England.

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