EPSRC funds projects designed to improve flood protection

Over the past five days, parts of England and Wales have been affected by flooding caused by heavy rainfall and the Met Office yesterday issued a severe weather warning for areas of Wales and south-west England.

Similarly, the Environment Agency had four flood warnings and 38 flood alerts in force across England yesterday.

The projects designed to cover the management and mitigation of such flood risks will be carried out at the universities of Newcastle, Nottingham and Durham.

According to the EPSRC, researchers at Newcastle University will lead a team to look at the most critical flood scenarios caused by sequences or clusters of extreme weather events striking vulnerable systems of flood defences, urban areas, communities and businesses.

They will assess the risk of situations where a second flood may strike before coastal or river defences have been reinstated after damage or where householders and small businesses are in a vulnerable condition recovering from the first flood.