The British Red Cross has warned that awareness about the risk of flooding in the UK among those who live in vulnerable areas is low and that many believe the responsibility to prepare lies with local and national governments, not individuals.
According to the charity, about 1.9 million people across the UK are living in areas at significant risk from river, coastal or surface water flooding. The number of people at risk could double by the 2050s due to climate change, it added.
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The charity said that the findings come after a report gave a warning that flash flooding in London could become 150 per cent more likely in the next 50 years because of climate change.
It said that in the worst-case scenario — if insufficient action is taken to tackle climate change — the danger of extreme rainfall will more than double by the 2070s when compared to risk levels in the 1990s.
According to Every Time it Rains, a report by the British Red Cross to learn from the people who have been, or are most likely to be, affected most severely by the problem, awareness of flooding is low.
“Flooding can have a devastating effect on people’s lives,” said the charity, which has a long history of responding to flooding in the UK”.
Among the key findings, the report said awareness of flood risk “among those living in areas that are at risk of, and highly vulnerable to, flooding is low”.
“The impacts are multiple and varied and can interact with and exacerbate one another. Impacts include physical damage to homes and properties, loss of sentimental items, effects on mental and physical health and disruption to family life and community cohesion,” said the report.
Story was adapted from thenational news.
