Interim Report Learning lessons from the 2007 floods lessons from Learning Learning lessons from the 2007 floods An independent review by Sir Michael Pitt The Pitt Review Cabinet Office 22 Whitehall London SW1A 2WH Tel: 020 7276 5300 Fax: 020 7276 5012 E-mail: [email protected] Sir Michael by Pitt review independent An www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/thepittreview Publication date: December 2007 © Crown copyright 2007 The text in this document may be reproduced free of charge in any format or media without requiring specific permission. This is subject to the material not being used in a derogatory manner or in a misleading context. The source of the material must be acknowledged as Crown copyright and the title of the document must be included when reproduced as part of another publication or service. The material used in this publication is constituted from 75% post consumer waste and 25% virgin fibre December 2007 December Ref: 284668/1207 Prepared for the Cabinet Office by COI Communications Home Office figures show Areas of Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire, WEATHER REPORT WEATHER REPORT NEWS REPORT WEATHER REPORT Summer 2007 that 3,500 people have which supply about 40% of British produce, Severe thunderstorms A month’s rain falls Overnight rain causes Some parts of Yorkshire receive over four times the been rescued from flooded see thousands of tonnes of vegetables ruined. homes and a further 4,000 and the resulting floods in one hour in Kent. floods in Boscastle, average monthly rainfall. Severe rain in Hull causes Experts predict that floods will cost an extra Floods Timeline call-outs were made by leave parts of the Residents of Folkestone three years after record surface water floods. £1bn a year by 2075. country under water. also have to contend floods hit the village. the fire, ambulance and The Environment Agency (EA) has 26 severe flood with thunderstorms police services. warnings in place, as well as further warnings affecting and lightning. NEWS REPORT more than 200 rivers across England. One man dies after NEWS REPORT Ulley Reservoir being swept away by NEWS REPORT a bursting river, in Multiple lightning strikes One man dies while attempting to clear debris from a North Yorkshire. hit an oil refinery at manhole in Hessle. Elsewhere, there were another three Fawley, Southampton. Evacuations under way flood-related fatalities. More than 30,000 people are left Fortunately there are no from homes and schools homeless in Hull. reports of fire or damage. but blocked roads and Over 700 people are evacuated from villages near Ulley disrupted rail services Reservoir near Rotherham. The M1 is closed as a precaution. leave people stranded and The fire brigade launch the ‘biggest rescue effort in hamper rescue efforts. peacetime Britain’. Neepsend electricity sub-station is inundated affecting almost 40,000 people around Sheffield. JUNE 12 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101112 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 NEWS REPORT WEATHER REPORT NEWS REPORT WEATHER REPORT WEATHER REPORT WEATHER REPORT WEATHER REPORT NEWS REPORT NEWS REPORT NEWS REPORT WEATHER REPORT Environment Secretary Forecasters warn of Prime Minister Gordon Met Office issues a Met Office predicts heavy Tropical storms, mini Over 3 inches of rain fall in just 12 hours over much Mythe water treatment works floods, leaving over Environment Secretary Floods hit the Thames Another heavy downpour Hilary Benn announces treacherous weather for Brown visits flood victims Severe Weather Warning rain, thunderstorms and tornadoes and torrential of south and south-west England. 350,000 people without clean water for up to 17 days. Hilary Benn announces region as evacuations of rain falls across an increase in funds, for the rest of July. in Yorkshire. A £14m for 50mm of rain in some even tornadoes, as strong rain hit parts of England The lack of water for drinking, cooking, washing and a further £10m to take place in Oxford, while England, causing localised flood protection to £800m support package for flood parts of the country for winds and low pressure causing flooding and sanitation causes severe distress to thousands of people, supplement the existing other areas around the flooding in Gloucestershire. by 2010/11. zones is announced for the day. sweeps across England. leave hundreds of people NEWS REPORT despite efforts to distribute bottled water and bowsers. flood recovery grant River Thames are warned areas affected by the The EA issues severe stranded. made available to local of heavy rain and risk of Severe flooding across Gloucestershire, including There are fears that Walham electricity switching station, recent floods. weather warnings in the authorities. flooding. The EA has six Tewkesbury, Cheltenham and Gloucester. A teenager which serves over half a million homes across NEWS REPORT north-east. Much of is feared dead in Tewkesbury. severe flood warnings for Gloucestershire and South Wales, may fail, leading to A father and son are Yorkshire and parts of Over 1 million litres of River Severn, River The Association of British power cuts. Temporary defences are mobilised at found dead at Tewkesbury north-east England are Millions of travellers face disruption to their travel bottled water have been Thames and River Ock. Insurers estimates damage plans by road, rail and air, as the school holidays Walham and additional pumping equipment brought in. Rugby Club. They were already saturated from distributed in from the floods at £1.5bn. begin. Up to 10,000 people are left stranded on the attempting to pump water the previous rain in June. Gloucestershire. A further M5 as drivers are forced to abandon cars. 500 people out of premises, but were 700 bowsers are also are stranded at Gloucester railway station as the overcome by fumes from placed in priority areas railway network fails. Rest centres are set up for a pump. 2,000 people unable to get home. in the county. A further 2.5 million litres of bottled water are distributed, with over Flooding in Tewkesbury 1,000 bowsers now put out town centre Mythe water treatment works Walham switching station Water distribution across Gloucestershire. JULY 1 234567 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Average daily rainfall (mm) over England, June and July 2007 25 20 15 mm 10 5 0 12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293012345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031 June July Contents Contents Foreword . 1 Executive Summary . 3 Chapter 1: The events of June and July – a summary . 9 Chapter 2: The effect of the summer 2007 floods on individuals and communities . 20 Chapter 3: Building a better understanding of the risk . 31 Chapter 4: Managing flood risk . 39 Chapter 5: The emergency response . 66 Chapter 6: Critical infrastructure: keeping our essential services going . 91 Chapter 7: Engaging the public . 111 Chapter 8: Next steps . 129 Annexes and Glossary ....................................... 141 Foreword Floods Review: Independent Chair’s opening letter Dear Secretaries of State, This is the first of two reports on the lessons to be learned from the severe flooding which took place during June and July 2007. In preparing this Report, members of the Review Team and I have examined evidence from all concerned, including over 600 written submissions from the public and a wide variety of organisations. We have also visited many parts of the country affected by the emergencies, spoken to people involved and inspected damage to homes and businesses. The scale of flood damage to property is shocking, but above all we have been moved and troubled by the first-hand accounts of people. It is difficult to fully capture in words the sense of loss and outrage associated with a home or business being flooded, and the prospect of it happening all over again at some unknown future date. We saw businesses that had been ruined and met many people who face the prospect of Christmas and Easter in a caravan or some other form of temporary accommodation. It is for this reason that we have chosen to write this Report from the viewpoint of the flood victims and why those in a position of influence should do all they can to reduce the risk and impact of flooding in the future. We also want to pay tribute to the very many people who worked tirelessly during the floods, saving lives and doing what they could to help people directly affected. There may be questions about multi-agency states of readiness, but once the level of risk became known, all of the relevant organisations acted with considerable force, compassion and effectiveness. Despite the impressive efforts of emergency responders, much work needs to be done to avoid emergencies of the scale we witnessed this summer happening again. Our emerging conclusions are wide-ranging and will require a determined effort on the part of central government and other relevant organisations to see them through. In some instances, we have 1 Learning lessons from the 2007 floods made urgent recommendations which have already been the subject of intensive study and discussion and should be progressed and implemented immediately. In others, the position is less clear-cut and in these cases, we would like readers to regard this first Report as a consultation document. Our second and final Report will be published next summer and will firm up areas of uncertainty. Finally, I would like to thank everyone who has given so generously of their time and, in particular, those members of the public who showed such fortitude at a difficult time in their lives. I am also grateful to the Review Team for their considerable efforts over the last few months.