1947 Thames flood

May 2017 May 2017 1947 natural disaster in England thumb|right|Maidenhead Flood Relief Channel was built after Maidenhead was flooded in 1947 and again in 1954. The 1947 Thames flood was the most severe flood of the River Thames in the 20th century, affecting much of the Thames Valley as well as elsewhere in England during the middle of March 1947 after a severe winter.Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee 2008 172"The great floods of 1947", by Martin Wainwright. The Guardian, 25 July 2007.Histories of Windsor — The Floods of 1947, by G. G. Cullingham. First published in Windlesora Magazine, 1981. Updated for the 60th anniversary of the flood, March 2007. The worst in over 100 years, it was exacerbated by an extremely high tide.Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee 2008 172Robertson 1987 124 Background #FFFFF0 Without the military to carry out rescue work, emergency flood-control measures, and other tasks occasioned by floods, the toll of destruction to lives and property would undoubtedly have been much higher than it was.Robertson 1987 125 left Alex J. Robertson 25em The source of the Thames is in Gloucestershire, and it flows east through Oxfordshire.Warner 2011 218 Records have been kept of its water levels since 1893. In January 1947, the country—particularly the southeast—had been hit by blizzards, which were severe enough to freeze the upper reaches of the River Thames. Winter storms continued into February.Robertson 1987 14 Before the flooding, 117 mm (4.6 inches) of precipitation and snow had fallen; the peak flow was 61.7 billion litres of water per day and the damage cost a total of £12 million to repair.https://web.archive.org/web/20071206031534/http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/news/1721484 http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/news/1721484 dead 6 December 2007 Environment Agency says check your flood risk using our flood maps Mitchell Chris 14 March 2007 Environment Agency The heavy snow had been followed by a period of relatively warm weather,Robertson 1987 125 which caused the snow to quickly melt on top of the still-frozen ground, which meant it had nowhere to drain.Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee 2008 172 War damage to some locks made matters worse. Maidenhead was particularly badly damaged, with over 2,000 dwellings flooded.Warner 2011 219 thumb|right|Cookham was flooded in 1947. This flood defence wall was constructed in 2002 to defend the town from the river on the left. The same weather conditions caused widespread flooding to many river basins in the country during March 1947.1947 U.K. River Floods: 60-Year Retrospective https://forms2.rms.com/rs/729-DJX-565/images/fl_1947_uk_river_floods.pdf Risk Management Solutions 2007 Although there were no deaths as a consequence of the flooding, the shock value was sufficient to put flooding on the political agenda.Warner 2011 236 Aftermath Other significant Thames floods since 1947 have occurred in 1968, 1993, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2007 and 2014.April 2019 Following the 1947 flood, a recent commentator has suggested, the Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead—having been particularly heavily hit—"judged that the zoning regulation after 1947 would cause the area to become derelict and destroy its amenities".Warner 2011 218 It is considered a 1/60 year-occurrence event.Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee 2008 37 The flood of 1947 is considered as being instrumental in formulating major government policy developments regarding flood control.Warner 2011 209 See also 1928 Thames flood Winter of 1946–1947 in the United Kingdom Great Flood of 1968 The Cut-off Channel Notes note References 20em Bibliography 30em yes Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee Flooding: Fifth Report of Session 2007-08, Vol. 2: Oral and Written Evidence 2008 H. M. S. O. London 978-0-21551-488-2 Robertson A. J. The Bleak Midwinter, 1947 1987 Manchester University Press Manchester 978-0-7190-2347-7 Warner J. Flood Planning: The Politics of Water Security 2011 I.B.Tauris New York 978-1-84511-817-4 51.5 -1.0 scale:1000000_region:GB title 1947 Thames Thames Flood Thames Flood Category:History of the River Thames Category:20th-century floods in the United Kingdom Category:1940s floods Thames Flood Thames Flood