Rising sea threatens to overwhelm flood barrier
Rising sea threatens barrier
Environment agency chiefs have warned the Government that urgent action must be taken to strengthen the Thames Barrier to avoid London being flooded.
Experts are so concerned they are drawing up a plan to save the capital from disaster brought about by climate change. They believe it will cost £4 billion to improve the city’s flood defences.
Yesterday, four of London’s European Parliamentary representatives met senior agency executives to discuss flood risks. They were told by 2080 the organisation expects sea levels in the Thames Estuary to rise by an average 26cm to 86cm, with extreme conditions pushing water levels up to 2m higher. To combat the threat of swamping that parts of the capital face, the agency has launched a project, Thames Estuary 2100 (TE2100), which aims to protect the 1.25 million Londoners at risk.
Dave Wardle, the lead project manager on TE2100, said: “We are looking at what to do after 2030. Then the levels of protection the barrier can offer is reduced due to climate change.”
He added: “If we do nothing, then thousands of lives and properties face a real threat. The barrier provides a high level of protection but sea levels are continuing to rise and our climate makes heavy rainfall and stormy conditions in the future more likely.
“The cost of maintaining the Thames Barrier and developing other flood defences could cost £4 billion over half a century.”
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