Floods in 2007 cost Britain £3.2bn
Floods in 2007 cost Britain £3.2bn
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By Tom Powell. |  |
Monday, 18, Jan 2010 09:47
By Amy Gallivan.
The unprecedented flooding experienced in part of England in 2007 cost the country around £3.2 billion, a new report has found.
According to the Environment Agency, the cost includes around £2 billion for home owners and business and £400,000 to lost pupil days.
The study looked at the two months following the Cumbria floods in November and the substantial costs to the country as a result.
The Environment Agency discovered that households and business received the majority of the cost.
It was estimated the average damage was between £23,000 and 30,000 per flooded household and a quarter of these were not fully insured for the damage.
Around 30 per cent of these homes had no choice but to relocate and live in temporary accommodation, with one-third of these living in non-permanent residents for more than a year.
Commenting Robert Runcie, Environment Agency director of flood and coastal risk management, said: "It has now been almost two months since the devastating floods in Cumbria and although the full economic costs will not be known for some time, our report into the summer 2007 floods suggest that they are likely to be substantial."
On average the cost of each ruined business was between £75,000 and £112,000, although 95 per cent of these were insured.
Many essential services were destroyed costing around £660m in damages and water supplies and treatment plants were most affected along with schools and electricity supplies.
Mr Runcie added: "The 2007 flood cost homeowners, businesses, emergency services and others some £3.2 billion.
"The high costs of flooding underline the importance for continued investment in reducing flood risk, particularly as climate change means that we are likely to see more severe and frequent flooding in future."
The analysis of the cost of the 2007 floods indicates the importance of continued investment in managing flood risks according to the Environment Agency.
With one in six homes in England and Wales at risk of flooding, the government's environmental watchdog pointed to that fact that investment in the preparing of flood defences will need to double to £1 billion per year until 2035 to keep ahead of the effects of climate change.