A Case Study of the Boscastle Floods

Where?Boscastle is in North Cornwall, in the S prohibitedh West of England. A small seaside town, it faces out onto the Atlantic Ocean.What?Flash gormandises hit the town on Monday 16th August 2004 in a 1 in 50 year occurrence. This caused 120mm of rain in 7 hours, twice the periodical average and causing the river to rise 8/9 feet. Understandably the river stony-broke its banks, flooding Boscastle severely.Causes?The briny cause was quite simply the fact that thither was a lot of rain. 120mm of it in fact. Seeing as it had been raining for a few weeks before, saturating the ground, the water had nowhere to go but down the 2 steep valleys surrounding the village into the river. Or rivers Boscastle is at the confluence of 3 rivers, the Valency and the Jordan. These understandably burst and the water was funnelled into the main road. Although this particular beset wasnt down the world(prenominal) warming, we are getting more heavy storms in recent years which is very likely to b e to do with global warming.Impacts?Because of the enormous volume of the water and the shape of the hills, the water went very close towards the sea, as high as 3 metres, and a speed of 40mph, leave destruction behind. These speeds lavatory move cars, 100 actually through the village, voidance and destroying the car park, washing them into the harbour and sea, or just leaving them dumped in the village. The amazing rush of water coupled with cars acting as out of control cannon balls, caused homes and businesses to be knocked down or washed away. star 16th century building was completely destroyed by a affect away camper van. Water rushed easily into homes, destroying everything inside. With the main road turned into a river, the tarmac was destroyed, likewise bridges and signs etcetera Although resembling something like a production from the Doctor Who Special Effects team, miraculously nobody was hurt or killed, probably because of the event happening in the day, unlike the Lynmouth flood in Devon 52 years to the day which took the lives of 34 people. They also leave the emergency services to thank, who rescued 120 people, galore(postnominal) of whom scrambled onto their roofs. 60 people were evacuated to a nearby village.Longer condition impacts of the floods affect both the authorities and the people. People leave behind be impersonate off holidaying in Boscastle, an area almost totally reliant on tourism, costing their economy and the jobs and livelihood of people. The authorities will also have to replace damaged roads etc. and think about flood defences for the future. Insurance companies predict the clean up bill will run into millions of pounds. For the inhabitants of Boscastle, not plainly have their businesses been destroyed. The floods have damaged houses not notwithstanding through pure destruction, but through damp as well. Possessions will have to be replaced as well as the floods having a undischarged emotional impact on people.R eduction Methods?Considering Boscastle is a small village, which has only been flooded severely once, not much money can be allowed to be played out on stopping future floods. However, small decrement methods could be made such as deepening the river so it can hold more water. The material dug out can be used to clear embankments to further deepen it. The course of the rivers could be changed, such as straightening them to make the water reach the sea faster without so many meanders to turn round. The river could be pumped underground in larger pipes, although Boscastle would lose the river, which is one of the tourist appeals of the place.The authorities have actually spent 0.8m on widening and lowering the river Valency. Theyve also put a simplicity channel underground which can take water away from the river when there is a lot of rainfall. Finally, theyve inserted a tree catcher so trees cannot create dams downstream if washed into the river.