2007 United Kingdom floods

A Pizza Hut restaurant surrounded by flood water in Chesterfield, UK.

Two kayakers make their way through a street in Yorkshire.

Widespread flooding occurred in many parts of the United Kingdom in June 2007 and July 2007. There were several different flood events that period, with the most severe flooding across Northern Ireland on June 12 2007, North Yorkshire and The Midlands on June 15 2007 and across Yorkshire, The Midlands, Gloucestershire and Worcestershire on June 25 2007 and South Wales, The Midlands, Berkshire and London on July 20 2007.

The month of June was one of the wettest on record in Britain with average rainfall across England of 140 mm, more than double the June average, and Sheffield's wettest ever. and some areas received a month's worth of precipitation in just 24 hours.

So far six people have died in the flooding; damage to business and property is estimated to be over £1.5 billion, with 5,000 businesses and 27,000 homes affected by flood damage. The Fire Brigades Union described the rescue effort as the biggest in peacetime Britain.

Meteorological background

June 2007 had started quietly with an anticyclone to the north of the United Kingdom maintaining a largely dry, rather cool easterly flow. From June 10 the high pressure began to break down as an upper trough moved into the area, one of the first signs of this was the triggering of thunderstorms which caused flooding in Northern Ireland on June 12.

Later that week a slow moving area of low pressure which had developed to the west of Biscay moved east across the British Isles, at the same time an associated occluded front moved into Northern England becoming very active as it did so, leading to some localised flooding. The front moved north into Scotland on June 16 as a weakening feature leaving England and Wales in a very unstable airmass with frequent heavy showers, thunderstorms and often cloudy conditions, this led to localised flash flooding, and also prevented significant drying where earlier rains had fell.

On June 25 another unseasonably deep depression, with low pressure 993 mbar, moved across England, the associated front became quasi-stationary across Eastern England, dumping more than 100 mm of rain in places. The combination of the high rainfall totals combined with already high water levels following earlier rainfall in the month led to extensive flooding across many parts of England, especially South Yorkshire and The Midlands.

Climate researchers have suggested that the unusually inclement weather which has led to the flood events may be linked to the appearance of La Niña in the Pacific Ocean this year.

Impacted areas

East Yorkshire and Kingston upon Hull

A 28 year old man drowned after getting his foot trapped in a drain when trying to clear debris in the Hessle area of Kingston upon Hull. Fire crew received over 1500 calls in a 12 hour period. Pickering was flooded after Pickering Beck overflowed its banks. The new Hull police station had to be vacated because of flooding. One senior officer was seen returning to retrieve his Burnley Football Club programmes.

Nottinghamshire

On 27 June 2007, flash flooding, caused extensive damage to the villages of Lambley, Woodborough and Burton Joyce. Major towns were hit including Mansfield and Hucknall but not as severely as Lambley. Nottingham city was not affected, as it being on high ground.

Sheffield and South Yorkshire

A road near Meadowhall showing extensive flooding after the River Don overtopped its banks

Sheffield suffered extensive damage as the River Don overtopped its banks causing widespread flooding in the Don Valley area of the city. A 14-year-old boy was swept away by the swollen River Sheaf and a 68 year old man died after attempting to cross a flooded road in central Sheffield. The Meadowhall shopping centre was closed due to flooding and Sheffield Wednesday's ground Hillsborough was under two feet of water. A number of people had to be rescued by RAF helicopters from buildings in the Brightside area, whilst in Dore to the southwest of the city the River Sheaf overtopped its banks causing widespread damage and panic.

Over 700 villagers near the Ulley reservoir near Rotherham were evacuated after cracks appeared in the dam. Emergency services from across England pumped millions of gallons of water from the reservoir to ease the pressure on the damaged dam, and the nearby M1 Motorway was closed between junctions 32 and 36 as a precaution.

Shropshire and Worcestershire

A 36 year old motorist died after he was trapped in his vehicle in flood water near Pershore while attempting to cross a ford.

On June 26 2007 the New Road Ground, home to Worcestershire County Cricket Club was flooded after the River Severn overtopped its banks, causing the abandonment of the Twenty20 match against Warwickshire the following day.

On 1 July, 2007 a 67 year old woman was pulled out of the River Severn, bringing the total number of deaths to six.

Flooding timeline

12 June

Flooding occurred across Northern Ireland with Belfast being particularly affected. Connswater shopping centre had to close after water poured through ceiling vents. Numerous schools and places of work had to close, and 80 residents of an old peoples home in East Belfast had to be evacuated.

Water ingress into the Parliament buildings at Stormont, caused the buildings' fire alarm system to be activated by accident.

15 June

A slow-moving frontal system affected Northern England on 14 June and 15 June with the peak rainfall on Friday 15 June. Numerous rainfall records were broken across the region including the Met Office at RAF Leeming which recorded 69.6 mm in a 24 hour period. Flooding occurred across many towns and villages with Knaresborough, Harrogate and York being particularly affected. In Scarborough, North Yorkshire, the main A171 Scalby Road flooded outside Scarborough Hospital, and the ornamental lake at Peasholm Park overtopped its banks, pouring water down Peasholm Gap into North Bay.

A 17 year old soldier from Catterick Garrison died while on a training exercise after being swept away while crossing Risedale Beck, Hipswell Moor near Catterick, North Yorkshire.

Heavy rainfall caused the postponement of the fourth test match between the England and the West Indies at the Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street in County Durham.

19 June

Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire were affected by flooding. The Severn Valley Railway was closed after a landslip occurred on the line.

22 June

Thunderstorms in the Glasgow area caused flash flooding on the evening of June 22 with the flooding causing particular disruption to the rail network as debris was dumped on the main line between Glasgow and Edinburgh near to Queen Street station.

23 June

A slow-moving line of thunderstorms developed across the eastern side of England on the morning of June 23. The intense and slow moving nature of the storms led to flash flooding in a number of places including Darlington and Middlesbrough.

25 June

Heavy rainfall on June 24 and June 25 added to the already high river levels and caused widespread flooding across many parts of England and Wales. South, West and East Yorkshire, The Midlands, Gloucestershire and Worcestershire were the most affected areas though many other parts of England and Wales were also affected. In addition gales along the east coast caused storm damage. Fylingdales on the North Yorkshire Moors reported rainfall totals of 103mm in 24 hours, an estimated 100mm in Hull and 77mm on Emley Moor in West Yorkshire, the average monthly total for June in the UK is 72.6mm.

At least three people were killed by the flooding in the region. Thousands had to leave their homes following the flooding and the road and rail networks were severely disrupted.

Flooding in King's Park, in Retford as a result of the River Idle overtopping its banks, taken on 27 June

26 June

The day after the floods and the waters in some areas of Sheffield and the surrounding area had receded. However fears over cracks in a dam caused an evacuation downstream from Ulley reservoir, due to the immense quantity of water trying escape down the dam's spillway, eroding much of it away. The nearby M1 motorway had to be closed. Meanwhile in Worcestershire and Shropshire the waters were still rising posing a danger near the confluence of the River Teme and the River Severn. A bridge collapsed on the main road into Ludlow in Shropshire, and in severing a nearby gas main caused the evacuation of the surrounding area. In North Wales, a man was rescued by fire services after he was stranded on a small island in the River Dee in Llangollen.

27 June

Although floodwaters had receded in a number of locations, new flooding occurred at Retford after the River Idle overtopped its banks and the army were reported to be moving in to the Doncaster area after the River Don overtopped it banks threatening the Thorpe Marsh Power Station. A man was reported missing near the village of Adwick le Street near Doncaster though it later turned out to be a false alarm.

On the 27 June the Met Office released an early warning of severe weather for the approaching weekend stating anything from 20mm to 50mm of rain could fall in some areas, raising the possibility of more flooding within the already saturated flood plains.

Aftermath

Further heavy rain fell across England on 30 June and again on 4 July but river levels gradually fell across most parts, though flooding continued in parts of South Yorkshire for several more days.

Councilors in Hull claimed that the city was being forgotten and had the floods occurred in the Home Counties, help would have arrived much more quickly. One in five homes in Hull was damaged and 90 out of the city's 105 schools suffered some damage. Damage to the schools alone was estimated to cost £100 million. The Bellwin Scheme for providing aid after natural disasters was criticised as inadequate by Hull MP Diana Johnson. The perceived lack of media coverage of flooding in Kingston upon Hull led the city council leader Carl Minns to dub Hull "the forgotten city".

The floods caused widespread damage to several crops especially Broccoli, Carrots, Peas and Potatoes. In parts of Lincolnshire it was estimated that 40% of the pea crop may be damaged with several other crops suffering major losses to their yield. Prices of vegetables were expected to rise in the following months.

Following the floods, Environment Secretary, Hilary Benn announced that the government would increase the spending on risk management and flood defences by £200 million to £800 million by 2010-11.

According to British tabloid The Sun both July and August the weather would be a washout, and the only day which was going to be sunny the most would be on Sunday July 15 2007. However, this did not happen, and was reported again in the same tabloid on July 21 that the rain was actually coming from Iceland, and will definitely be a washout throughout August. They also say that there will definitely be a summer for 2008.

The rain might have been happening throughout the summer due to the warm weather we had during April.

See also

• List of natural disasters in the United Kingdom
• Great Sheffield Flood