Experts: U.K. must act now to prepare for rising sea level
A joint study by the leading U.K. civil engineering and architectural associations says that steps must be taken now to protect coastal towns from rising sea levels; the reports says policy makes should consider three options for tackling rising sea level: “retreat” — moving critical infrastructure and housing to safer ground; “defend” — building town or city-wide sea defenses; and “attack” — extending the existing coastline and building out on to the water
Experts warn that parts of coastal towns in Kent, United Kingdom, could be lost forever unless radical measures are taken to improve sea defenses. The authors of a report entitled “Facing up to Rising Sea Levels,” say places like Margate and Herne Bay could look drastically different in 90 years’ time, unless planning authorities and the Government sit up and take notice.
Yourthanet.co.uk reports that according to the study — a joint effort by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) — rising sea levels, more storms, and sinking landmasses could leave many U.K. coastal areas vulnerable to extreme flooding.
Last year the Environment Agency revealed that one in six homes in England are at risk of flooding from rivers, the sea, or overflowing drains, and that investment in the building and maintaining of flood defenses will need to almost double to £1 billion a year by 2035.
It also ranked the South East as being the most at risk region with 111,356 homes in danger, and Shepway the sixth most at risk local area, with 9,065 homes in danger.
The report by ICE and the RIBA suggests three options for tackling rising sea level, one of which is to “retreat” by moving critical infrastructure and housing to safer ground.
The others are to “defend” by building town or city-wide sea defenses, and to “attack” by extending the existing coastline and building out on to the water.
Hamer said: “We’re not promoting any one of these options, but trying instead to identify the positive outcomes of each. It’s absolutely serious now. While the solutions we have come up with are for a vision 100 years into the future, the longer we leave it to attract revenue for sea defenses and to plan to move communities to more sustainable locations, the fewer options we will have.”
