Warning UK could ‘easily’ see catastrophic floods on scale of Germany’s deadly deluge

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. open image in gallery Water gushes into a London Tube station during flash floods in July 2021 Germany’s chancellor at the time, Angela Merkel, described the extent and intensity of the flooding as “terrifying”, and told reporters: “I can almost say that the German language doesn’t have words for the destruction that’s been wreaked.” Andy Bord, chief executive of the UK’s Flood Re initiative, a joint scheme between insurance companies and the government which helps make flood insurance affordable, told The Independent: “We were incredibly lucky to escape something similar in this country, and it is absolutely conceivable that the same thing could happen here. open image in gallery A bridge and houses on the Ahr river in Schuld, Germany in July 2021 JBA Risk’s Karen Whittingham told The Independent that while the cost of a 200-year flood event could escalate by 42 per cent by the middle of the century, “if there is no action to reduce emissions, the UK could see a hike of up to 87 per cent in average annual losses to residential properties”. open image in gallery Homes are surrounded by floodwaters in Sohbat Pur city, a district of Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan province He added: “Along with building and maintaining flood defences, we also encourage householders to consider property flood resilience measures to protect the property and recover more quickly in the event of a flood.” Malcolm Tarling, from the Association of British Insurers, told The Independent: “The rising flood risk in the UK is probably the most demonstrable indicator of our changing weather patterns. “It may seem odd that we’re talking about this just after what will be the driest summer in most people’s memories, but the ground is so bone-dry that the water has nowhere to go.” Speaking about the impact of government spending on flood alleviation, he said: “Flood defence maintenance is very cost-effective – for every £1 increase in maintenance spending, almost £7 is saved in capital spending on defences.” An Environment Agency spokesperson told The Independent: “We are already seeing the impacts of climate change through wetter winters and drier summers, and the Environment Agency is working to help communities become more resilient to extreme weather and rising sea levels.