British Red Cross research on flood preparedness ‘reveals a stark reality’
By the Climate Centre
A new report from the British Red Cross on people’s experience of flooding shows that the ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from flooding is not experienced equally by all communities.
The report, Water’s Edge, “reveals a stark reality: those least able to cope with the impact of flooding are often the least prepared and the least able to access support,” says BRC Chief Executive Officer Beatrice Butsana-Sita in a foreword.
“The findings are sobering. Most participants were completely unprepared for floodwaters entering their homes and unaware they were even at risk. Many lacked clear guidance and the support needed to prepare.
“Others experienced their evacuation as ‘chaos’ and found themselves with no suitable place to live – a predicament that some had to endure for months. The emotional toll, from the trauma of displacement to the loss of treasured belongings, is profound and long-lasting.”
Flooding is one of the fastest growing climate-related risks in the UK, and the report – “a call to action for policymakers and all involved in flood resilience, emergency planning and response” – cites estimates that nearly 7 million properties in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are at risk of flooding from rivers, the sea or surface water.
It includes testimony from people with personal experience both of being flooded and of socio-economic deprivation in four (unnamed) locations in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and England.
‘The emotional toll from displacement to the loss of treasured belongings is
profound and long-lasting’
Five priority actions it recommends are to: strengthen local flood messaging; make recovery grants more accessible; meet the scale of mental health needs with peer support; and target flood resilience funding to deprived areas.
The British Red Cross says it has deployed to over 400 flooding incidents across the UK since 2020, providing support to communities in rest centres, making door-to-door checks, and giving advice and support.
The National Society’s previous research in this area includes the reports Every Time it Rains and Vulnerability and Resilience.
Earlier this year, in its most recent relevant report, the UK Climate Change Committee – independent statutory advisers to the central and devolved governments – concluded that the country is not prepared for impacts, against the backdrop of “unequivocal evidence” that climate change is making extreme weather more likely and more extreme.
Among the flood impacts expected to worsen unless action is taken, according to the committee, are these: over half of England’s top quality agricultural land is already at risk and that proportion will grow; the number of properties at risk is predicted to rise to some 8 million, or one in four, by 2050; steadily rising sea-levels will increase the risk of coastal flooding and exacerbate coastal erosion; and the more than a third of current railway and road extent are currently at flood risk is predicted to rise to around half also by 2050.
A British Red Cross emergency vehicle navigates a flooded area. Land Rover UK and the British Red Cross formed an emergency response partnership to significantly improve the National Society’s ability to respond to major incidents in the UK. (File photo: Land Rover)