Flooding

Question 1

How many people were made homeless by the 1998 floods in Bangladesh?

Answer 1

30 million

Question 2

In 1998, ……………. of Bangladesh was underwater for ……. days.

Answer 2

Two thirds, 50

Question 3

The rivers flowing through Bangladesh drain a basin ……. times the size of Bangladesh.

Answer 3

10

Question 4

Why is aggradation an issue in Bangladesh?

Answer 4

Irrigation in China and Nepal causes silt to enter the rivers; this is then deposited in Bangladesh and reduces the capacity of rivers

Question 5

How much has Bangladesh’s population increased in recent decades?

Answer 5

Between 1960 and 2010, population grew from 58 million to 158 million

Question 6

How many people in Bangladesh live below the poverty line (and therefore cannot protect themselves from flooding)?

Answer 6

50 million

Question 7

How much does flooding in Bangladesh cost on average?

Answer 7

3-10% of GDP

Question 8

What are three sustainable development projects being run in Bangladesh?

Answer 8

Practical Action’s fishing, pumpkin farming, Christian Aid’s ducks

Question 9

Why do water-borne diseases such as cholera thrive during floods in Bangladesh?

Answer 9

Many people live very close together in slums or have to move into temporary shelters during the floods, and have very little access to healthcare

Question 10

How much of the world’s population lives in the coast?

Answer 10

10%

Question 11

What were the peak wave periods in the Atlantic in 2014?

Answer 11

Over 20 seconds

Question 12

How high were some waves in the Atlantic in 2014?

Answer 12

Over 10m

Question 13

In 2014, what was the most costly damage in the UK floods?

Answer 13

The destruction of the London-Penzance railway at Dawlish in South Devon; the regional economy lost £1-20 million a day for the two months it was closed

Question 14

Why are storm waves so destructive?

Answer 14

Longer wave periods show fast movement, energy proportional to height squared, slightly bigger wave has a lot more energy

Question 15

What evidence was there of cliff shaking in the UK 2013/2014?

Answer 15

Porthcothan arch and Pom Pom Rock stack collapsed, seismometers in Porthleven cliffs

Question 16

How long did some villages stay underwater in Somerset?

Answer 16

7 weeks

Question 17

How deep was the moorland flooding in Somerset?

Answer 17

3 feet

Question 18

How many homes were flooded in Somerset?

Answer 18

600

Question 19

Why did the water stay in Somerset for so long?

Answer 19

Flat reclaimed land, doesn’t drain

Question 20

What management was in place upstream of Bridgewater?

Answer 20

A moor was left as sacrificial land, however the flooding was worse than expected so it spilled over into neighbouring fields and homes

Question 21

The EA said it had protected 1.3 million homes. What evidence is there to suggest this?

Answer 21

In 2007, 48,000 homes were flooded in Tewkesbury; only 6,000 were flooded in 2014

Question 22

What is the Jubilee river?

Answer 22

A £110 million artificial channel protecting Maidenhead, Eton and Windsor

Question 23

How many homes does the Jubilee River protect?

Answer 23

3,000

Question 24

What is a disadvantage of the Jubilee River?

Answer 24

It rejoins the Thames at Wraysbury, increasing the likelihood of flooding

Question 25

What was the effect of the 2013/2014 winter storms on Hemsby, Norfolk?

Answer 25

30ft of the village, including some houses fell into the sea; 50 more at risk

Question 26

How much did the 2007 floods cost the Uk economy?

Answer 26

£3 billion

Question 27

In summer 2007, rainfall was …… times the normal amount.

Answer 27

300

Question 28

How many homes in Hull were severely damaged by the 2007 floods?

Answer 28

8,000

Question 29

How many businesses in Hull had to close?

Answer 29

1,300

Question 30

In 2004, how much water flooded Boscastle?

Answer 30

Equivalent of the Thames flowed through the village, funnelled by the valley

Question 31

Why were sluice gates opened at a dam near Rotherham?

Answer 31

Dam threatened to burst, flooding power lines and M1; 30 million of 120 million capacity released; residents of Catcliff downstream thought dam had already burst due to severity of flooding

Question 32

Why is Tewkesbury so vulnerable to flooding?

Answer 32

It lies on the confluence of the Severn and Avon

Question 33

What happened to the abbey in Tewkesbury?

Answer 33

First time flooding since 1770, became an island of 100-150 people

Question 34

How much rain fell over Gloucestershire in 2007?

Answer 34

135mm in 16 hours

Question 35

How much did the water level in the Severn rise by?

Answer 35

6m and the Avon was at its highest level ever recorded

Question 36

What were the secondary impacts of 2007 UK floods?

Answer 36

Thousands of houses without electricity and water supplies due to flooding at sub-station and contamination

Question 37

What were the immediate responses to the 2007 floods?

Answer 37

£87 million emergency aid for schools,transport and business; bottled water distributed

Question 38

What were the long term responses to the 2007 floods?

Answer 38

Plans to increase flood defence spending by £800 million by 2011, afforestation, better home design