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The 1947 Thames flood was the most severe 20th century
The same weather conditions caused widespread flooding to many river basins in the country during March 1947.
Although there were no deaths as a consequence of the flooding, the shock value was sufficient to put flooding on the political agenda.
The 1947 Thames flood was the most severe 20th century flood
A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...
of the River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
, affecting much of the Thames Valley as well as elsewhere in England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
during the middle of March 1947 after a severe winter. The worst in over 100 years, it was exacerbated by an extremely high tide.
Background
The source of the Thames is inGloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean.
The county town is the city of Gl ...
, and it flows east through Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
. 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. 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. The heavy snow had been followed by a period of relatively warm weather, which caused the snow to quickly melt on top of the still-frozen ground, which meant it had nowhere to drain.
War damage to some locks made matters worse.
Maidenhead
Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...
was particularly badly damaged, with over 2,000 dwellings flooded.
The same weather conditions caused widespread flooding to many river basins in the country during March 1947.
Although there were no deaths as a consequence of the flooding, the shock value was sufficient to put flooding on the political agenda.
Aftermath
Other significant Thames floods since 1947 have occurred in 1968, 1993, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2007 and 2014. 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". It is considered a 1/60 year-occurrence event. The flood of 1947 is considered as being instrumental in formulating major government policy developments regardingflood control
Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...
.
See also
*1928 Thames flood
The 1928 Thames flood was a disastrous flood of the River Thames that affected much of riverside London on 7 January 1928, as well as places further downriver. Fourteen people died and thousands were made homeless when floodwaters poured over ...
* Winter of 1946–1947 in the United Kingdom
* Great Flood of 1968
The Great Flood of 1968 was a flood caused by a pronounced trough of low pressure which brought exceptionally heavy rain and thunderstorms to South East England and France in mid-September 1968, with the worst on Sunday 15 September 1968, and fol ...
* The Cut-off Channel
The Cut-off Channel is a man-made waterway which runs along the eastern edge of the Fens in Norfolk and Suffolk, England. It was constructed in the 1950s and 1960s as part of flood defence measures, and carries the headwaters of the River Wissey, ...
Notes
References
Bibliography
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