On Monday August 11 torrential rain pounded Devon and Cornwall. The wet weather front moved east to London, where more than 25mm (one inch) of rain fell in a few hours. It continued slowly north: Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Leicestershire and Suffolk were battered. Wales had some of its heaviest rainfall in years and then 50mm fell in Edinburgh. Dozens of rivers were put on flood alert and thousands warned their homes could flood. Two people died and many homes were wrecked.
Less than a week later, Northern Ireland was hit by its worst floods in a century when four weeks' worth of rain fell in about three hours. Then, two weeks ago, large areas of the Midlands, the north-east and Wales recorded some of their heaviest rains ever. Yet again, drains could not cope, rivers overflowed, thousands of homes were inundated and farmers across Britain lost vast acres of crops.
The intensity of the UK rainfall this summer came as no surprise to academics at the University of East Anglia's climate unit. Last month they published research into how rainfall was changing. The trend of lighter summer rains experienced in the 1980s and 1990s had been reversed and in winter, they said, it was now twice as likely as only 40 years ago, that extremely heavy rain would fall.
People affected by flooding in the past few years didn't need academics to tell them that rain is falling more heavily and more often, but it took the 2007 deluge - the biggest British civil emergency in 60 years - to concentrate official minds .
Between May and July last year, nearly 40cm of rain fell on average across England and Wales. Three people were killed and 48,000 homes and 7,000 businesses were flooded. There was extensive flooding in the Don, Severn and Thames rivers and their tributaries. Roads, schools, power and water supplies were all disrupted.
Much of the damage in 2007 came from surface water flooding - when drains are overwhelmed after intense rains. More than 300,000 people were left without drinking water, and in Yorkshire and Gloucestershire 140,000 homes were left without clean water. Much of Sheffield only just escaped power cuts. Insurance companies were handed a £3bn bill and Britain was left to contemplate how vulnerable its infrastructure is and how unprepared people are for extreme weather.
Inadequate response
The flood led to a major review of government's emergency responses. Independent civil engineer Sir Michael Pitt spent eight months taking evidence from 1,000 flood experts from the Environment Agency, local government, water companies, the emergency services, drainage boards, councils and landowners, as well as holding public meetings and seminars. He concluded that Britain was incapable of responding quickly or adequately to extreme weather.
He found gaps in flood defences. There was also a culture of complacency and lack of cooperation in some of the bodies that had responsibility for managing flood risk and maintaining drainage systems. Some organisations witheld information from others and some duplicated work.
Britain, he said, needed just one body to oversee all flood defence policy and clear roles for everyone else. He urged a complete overhaul of emergency planning, and pressed government to treat flooding as a threat on a par with terrorism.
His review was finally published in June, contained a total of 77 proposals, with a further 15 urgent recommendations. The government, which has spent £5bn on flood and coastal erosion risk in the past 12 years, pledged to increase flood defence spending by one third, from £600m to £800m a year, by 2011. It accepted the Pitt report almost in full and responded by promising an action plan with new laws to streamline emergency planning and response systems.
The Environment Agency will now take the overview role for all inland and coastal flooding, with local authorities taking the lead on the ground. The government plans to support the agency and local authorities by giving them new powers, but legislation is slow. It could take another two years before all the new laws and reforms are in place.
The government says there has been progress: according to the Environment Agency, 73,000 more people are now signed up to receive flood warnings. There is now much better coordination between itself and the Met Office to forecast and warn emergency services and power companies about extreme rainfall. Hotspots naturally vulnerable to surface water flooding have now been identified.
"We need to legislate to ensure the drains are working properly. We will give the Environment Agency strategic overview of drainage and local authorities statutory powers over drains to ensure they are kept clear." So landowners will be required to keep drainage ditches and culverts clear....#65279; If they don't, councils will be able to intervene - for example, doing the work themselves and charging the landowners for it," says floods recovery minister John Healey.
Persistent push
Healey holds monthly meetings with ministers from the departments affected by flooding. "We have recognised that the problems don't disappear with the flood water. It needs that persistent push from government to force the pace," he says
Surprisingly, the public seems more resigned to floods than ever and reluctant to defend their properties. A survey in June found that only one third of households who have been flooded in the past have taken any steps to reduce the future impact of floods and only 10% of the 2 million people who live in premises that are said to be at risk, but have never been flooded, have done anything.
With the land already sodden, more rain expected and the traditional heavy autumn rains still weeks away, it looks certain that there will be more flooding in this year. "All of us could do more to make sure we are prepared", says Healey who is fast becoming one of busiest men in government.
