Flash floods are on the rise, while the budget to tackle them sinks | Bob Ward

The Environment Agency has warned the UK to expect more flooding, but his advice seems to be a deaf ear

An exhibition of new moving image at Somerset House shows the human impact of flooding around the world during the last five years and gives an idea of ??how climate change may disrupt life and live.

Images of major floods in the UK, Pakistan, Australia and Thailand victims and survivors, and to cope with the flooding of their homes and their consequences. Photographer Gideon Mendel, said that his intention is "to present them as individuals, not as anonymous statistics." He adds: "Coming from different parts of the world, their faces show their vulnerability, despite the great differences in their lives and circumstances."

One of the most striking exhibits show Margaret standing knee deep in water Clegg in the living room of his home in Toll Bar, Doncaster, which was flooded when the Don River exceeded its banks in June 2007 Following recording of a shower.

It is not clear to what extent, if any, climate change has contributed to the occurrence or intensity of flooding in summer 2007 in England and Northern Ireland, which cost the UK economy more than $ 3 billion. A single extreme weather event can not be definitively attributed to climate change, whose influence can be detected and measured by analyzing statistical trends looking back over several decades. This means that it can not be assured for many years on how flood risk is affected.

know the basic physics of a warmer atmosphere can be more humid and contains more water vapor, in theory, increase by 7% for each additional degree Celsius. As a result of climate change should increase the intensity of the water cycle in many parts of the world, causing droughts, floods and much more.

An analysis of climate trends in the UK between 1961 and 2006, during which the average temperature has risen by one degree Celsius, said that while winters have become significantly wetter, the number and severity of heavy precipitation events has increased. Meanwhile, the summers have become drier and heavy summer rains have fallen throughout the UK, except in the north of England, where some of the 2007 floods came, and Scotland to the north.

Climate change is expected to increase the risk of flooding in many parts of the UK. Projections published by the Department of Environmental Affairs, Food and Rural (Defra) in 2009, suggested that as part of an "emissions scenario means" winter precipitation in general should be higher in the 2080s, while that summer rainfall should generally be lower, especially in the south.

The UK climate change

risk assessment, published by Defra earlier this year, found that these trends mean annual damage potential of coastal and river flooding in England and Wales Wales could increase by around £ 1.2 billion today to as much as 12 billion pounds in the worst case for the next 80 years.

This increased risk of damage could have important consequences, at least not in terms of price and availability of insurance against flooding to homes and businesses. Indeed, a crisis approaching, with insurers warn that next year can not continue to provide coverage to 200,000 high-risk properties, exposed to greater risk from 1 to 75 hundred-year flood.

• under an agreement dating from 2000, insurance companies have cover against flooding subsidized properties at high risk in exchange for greater government investment in coastal defenses and river.
• Currently, the Environment Agency is responsible for the construction and maintenance of these defenses. The agency said that the government must increase its annual budget for managing flood risk by 9% in 2014-15. Government, but the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has highlighted the intention to reduce the risk of flooding the funding body by 10% during this period, and have more responsibilities to local authorities, despite their budgets are shrinking.

aa

Perhaps even more disturbing is the abandonment of the risk of flash floods caused by heavy rains are often very localized areas may be flooded with poor drainage, especially in cities. Of the six million properties in the UK are currently at risk of flooding, four million are at risk from surface water flooding.

However, when the risk assessment of climate change, in which the government bases its national adaptation plan was published earlier this year, scientists have noticed that it was flawed because " she had neglected the possible future changes in flash floods and other major threats.

The evaluation stated: "Although the number of properties at risk of flooding surface water is similar to the amount at risk of flooding and tidal river, the appropriate information for analysis were not available at the time of writing. "

Find best price for : --Political----Economics----School----London----Ward----College----Imperial----Grantham----Martin----Defra----Australia--