Maidenhead Flood Relief Channel between Bray and Bray Wick - geograph

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 The Thames Valley is an informally-defined sub-region of South East England, centred on the River Thames west of London, with Oxford as a major centre. Its boundaries vary with context. The area is a major tourist destination and economic hub, ...

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 ...

during the middle of March 1947 after a severe winter. The worst in over 100 years, it was exacerbated by an extremely

high tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables c ...

Background

The source of the Thames is in

Gloucestershire 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 ...

, 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, primaril ...

. Records have been kept of its water levels since 1893. In January 1947, the country—particularly the

southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

—had been hit by

blizzard A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow is not falling ...

s, 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 War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

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. Cookham, Flood defence wall - geograph

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 Shock value is the potential of an image, text, action, or other form of communication, such as a public execution, to provoke a reaction of sharp disgust, shock, anger, fear, or similar negative emotions. In advertising Shock advertising or Sh ...

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 regarding

flood 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 ...

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:1947 Thames Flood 1947 Thames Thames Flood Thames Flood History of the River Thames Thames Flood Thames Flood Thames Flood

Background

Aftermath

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography