A new report from the Environment Agency puts the overall bill for the floods that devastated large parts of the country in the summer of 2007, at around £3.2 billion – with the costs to businesses accounting for almost a quarter of this total.
The Environment Agency’s report attempts to examine the financial impact of the
flooding on all aspects of life, from homes and farming to education and transport – although it recognises there are some impacts it has been unable to quantify fully, such as the effect of stress on individuals, and the impact on nature conservation.
The Environment Agency estimates the number of businesses affected by the 2007 floods to be in the region of 7,000 to 8,000.
Its report says the economic cost to businesses – from damage to buildings, contents and business disruption – was likely to have been in the range of £550 to £800 million, and gives a ‘best estimate’ of £740 million.
This puts the average cost for flooded businesses at around the £100,000 mark.
However, most of these costs – around 95 per cent – were covered by insurance, compared with around 76 per cent of the affected households.
It was homeowners who bore the brunt of the floods, accounting for £1,200 million of the costs – some 38 per cent of the total.
The Environment Agency says it will use the data contained in this report to improve its tools for estimating the impact of a flood. This will help prioritise work, and get more value for investment in flood risk management, it says.
The Environment Agency has already embarked on a number of major initiatives in light of the 2007 flooding, including the
Flood and Water Management Bill currently going through Parliament, which is expected to gain Royal Assent in April this year.
Last year also saw the opening of a new
Flood Forecasting Centre (FFC) – a joint initiative of the Environment Agency and the Met Office – aimed at providing earlier warnings of floods to local authorities and the emergency services and reduce the risk of loss of life and damage to property.
Launching the two initiatives in April last year, Environment Secretary Hilary Benn commented: “The terrible effects of the 2007 floods are still fresh in our minds, and climate change will only increase the threat of extreme weather in the future. We can’t stop rain falling from the sky, or make it rain during droughts, but we can be better prepared.”
According to an Environment Agency spokesperson this is exactly what happened when, seven months later, Cumbria was devastated by severe flooding in November 2009.
“It [the FFC] gave the emergency responders the heads-up, which is exactly what it was intended to do,” he said.
Although the FFC will never be able to prevent all damage from catastrophic flooding, by forecasting five days ahead, it did ensure, in the case of Cumbria, “that emergency responders where given as much time as possible to put procedures in place,” the spokesperson added.
Even so, the financial costs of the
Cumbrian floods – which are unlikely to be confirmed for some time – are expected to be substantial.