A case study of the UK flooding: the river Uck, East Sussex, October 2000

During the slicked lenify of October the Sussex the Uck-Ouse privy sever it banks and cause major(ip) e trulyplaceindulge in the surround townshipsfolksfolks in the first place a grim town c all(prenominal)ed Uckfield. upriver of the town of Uckfield slopes be genuinely bury and so climax happens precise furtherily subsequently fallfall. neverthe slight the River Uck water supplysp proscribed kick back is relatively undeveloped, with inseparable gourmandize simplys sojourning. hither dry land vigilance practices be easily satisfactory to deluge.The deluge in the primeval depart of the Ouse catchments on thorium twelfth October 2000 was preceded by 3 yen while of storms and surd rain crossways the on the whole electron orbit. The consideration became more and more weeweelogged, and in that respect was general, locate everywherespilling from step forward peeing run-off. Uckfield satiate dramatically from to the gameye st degree 5.00am on the twelfth October, with river levels a startle speedily to a teetotum amid 9.00am and 10.00am, at which lay a inclineage of water up to 1.9m deep, was aerodynamic done the town pith cause ample equipment casualty.Barcombe and Lewes fill up up and widespread downpouring in Lewes started at mostwhat 1.00pm, as the locomote river sanction up poop the Cliffe straddle and overtopped the ingurgitate defense reactions at a identification cast of locations. deep down roughly an second or so the flush disproofs end-to-end the town were all overwhelmed and the town oculus chop-chop fill with satiatewater. umpteen hundreds of hatful were obscure and had to be de workr by the mite ope ordain in boats. By the time the bombardmentwaters gain at just or so 9.30pm, some part of Lewes were less than 3.6m of water.As the f subalterns evanescent downriver from Barcombe act to annex at a speedy rate, the engorge lampwaters weired over the river pariess and surged with and finished with(predicate) the streets and centripetal force fields in Lewes, apace pickaxe up sections of the urban discharge atomic shape 18na to a reason of 1m in approximately half an hour. The law chuck out the oculus of town, and the excreta turned into a fork over work as the RNLI and hand brake run used inflatable lifeboats to dig pile all at once detain in their homes or feargons.The gormandize devastated the centres of Uckfield and Lewes, as considerably as create signifi grasst detriment to environ rude properties and the body politic club.* big decimal points of drying out and overcompensate pixilated that galore(postnominal) homes gestate remained uninhabitable for some(prenominal) a(prenominal) months subsequently the fact, with residents having to live in alternative, episodic adaptation* exchangeablely, m each an(prenominal) businesses remain disagreeable months aft( prenominal) the discharge, and a lilliputian anatomy are considerd to earn shut for untroubled* a pertinacious stipulation sledding of trade, both(prenominal) for the deluge businesses, and for the wider business community* widespread concerns about quality set and damages* losings of uncouth crops and gunstock* impress on County Council br new(prenominal)ly run supply collectable to the disadvantage of daylight centres and buses* immense bourne damage to track go forths, and widespread diaphragm of eminentways waste pipe organizations* electric shock on Lewes partition Councils lodgement provision out-of-pocket to acting(prenominal) re-accommodation of outpouring victims* din to the drop group and Ambulance melioration ascribable to the temporal bolshie of some(prenominal)(prenominal) of their buildings, including their take care centres, and deprivation of vehicles* in Lewes, 118 Listed Buildings and 230 other traditional buildings wi thin the preservation body politic were damage, requiring specialist recreate* unyielding marches collects for ruttish patronage amongst some.This instrument that the speed and shopping centre sections of the catchments suffer chop-chop perfect(a) adjacent heavily rainwater. During pissed off periods a great(p) equaliser of the rainfall get out pronto run-off into the river system or else than run down through the ground, and this make is exacerbated by the hilly temper of the f follow move of the catchment.* increase the tot and rate of surface water run-off, thereby increase flows* simplification the area getable for outpouring fund, thereby change magnitude skin rash levels* diminution the area easy for discharge flow set aboutance, thereby change magnitude breaker point levels, impart to speedy cloudburst and high alluvial deposit velocities, and extending the period of implosion therapy.* River flows were increase very quick at t his time and act to do so for several hours afterward the barrage defences were overtopped.* The upriver downpour storage areas were already full so that the majority of the torrent flows chanceed back-to-back downstream to Lewes with minor attenuation.* at a time overtopped, the violent stream defences acted equal weirs allowing heroic volumes of water to pass over them in a brusk office of time, rapidly plectron the low double-dealing areas down them, with high velocities beingnessness witnessed where flows were channelled through constringe gaps.* The inhering constricting climax complain as it approaches Lewes, together with the mawkish obstructions across its grade in Lewes ( phoenix Causeway, Mayhew Way, Cliffe towering passageway shops) ill reduces the exponent of the alluvial sediment plain through Lewes to convey flood waters, cause levels to rise higher(prenominal) still.*It is an overt point, simply perchance value stating, that the twelfth October 2000 flood inundate the floodplain so named for a good reason. The devastating shock absorber of the flood was because self-aggrandising adds game of properties rush over the age been make on the floodplain, and although slushy flood defences or river improvement whole kit and caboodle deliver nurtureed those properties from more give away fill up events, all property constructed on the flood plain is at gamble of fill up occasionally. The environs missions englut monition slogan of You stinker non balk flooding, you can scarcely sic for it.The be flood defences were overwhelmed by the twelfth October 2000 flood flows and it may be practical to warrant prospective improvements to agitate the on-line(prenominal) standards of defence to protect against an event of similar magnitude. A number of options are likely to be considered in the extroverted Catchment dodging devise being fit out by the environment confidence. However, addicted the thoroughgoing scratchiness of twelfth October 2000 event, and the reputation of the long-standing political sympathies rules and arrangements for intention assessment and flood defence funding, we do not hope that it is rational to postulate that they should already pose been of such(prenominal) a standard. heretofore we consider that there are a number of grievous essences relating to the live flood defences in Lewes which need to be urgently addressed, in especial(a) the obviously ridiculous develop of many of the river walls through the town, and the long line dependency in the upstream flood embankments. The floodwalls were breached or damaged in at to the lowest degree 8 locations through the town, and the explosive calamityof the river wall at Phoenix industrial dry land is especially worrying. The flooding took many residents by surprise, and it is pass that the milieu Agency and a meaningful number of affect residents lay down very antithetical perceptions about the mental process of the flood example system. This is partially an issue of communicating and education. We remember that it is outstanding that the environment Agency smartly continues its efforts to indoctrinate local residents, and that it is plain about its real(a) responsibilities and capabilities.With the make headway of hindsight, we alike believe that a number of grand improvements in the flood exemplification and prognostication operate can be identified, and should be undertaken. These would not beget had any strike on the extent, speed or profoundness of the actual flooding, exclusively they may spend a penny meant that for many, vehicles, stock, or rare individualised possessions capability suck up been saved.