Final Blog - United Kingdom

Many natural disasters could occur in the United Kingdom, but there are two in flooding and coastal hazards that are the most dangerous. The United Kingdom is located in the north-western part of Europe, located on the Eurasian Plate boundary.

The most concerning natural disaster the UK takes precautions for floods. The most common natural disaster in the UK is flooding due to high amounts of rain. The UK receives many floods due to many coastal areas and heavy rain yearly (primary atmospheric condition) that cause horrendous damage. The UK has been “managing it, costing the UK around £2.2 billion each year: we currently spend around £800 million per annum on flood and coastal defenses; and, even with the present flood defenses, we experience an average of £1,400 million of damages”. The citizens living in Whales and coastal areas are aware of high flood risk. 

The mitigations preventing injury or death from flooding, including moving yourself and belonging to higher ground. Inland areas are safer because there is a greater chance of being injured and your personal belongings being damaged. There are some protocols set by the Government to regulate these natural disasters in "Some of the before flood safety protocols enforced in the UK/England:"

• prepare a bag that includes medicines and insurance documents
• check flood warnings
• turn off gas, water, and electricity
• move belongings upstairs or the highest elevation possible
• move family, pets, and car to safety
• If in immediate danger call 999
• follow advice from emergency service

Another natural disaster likewise of flooding includes coastal hazards along the unstable and poorly constructed coastlines. The coastal hazards in the UK are very severe and shallow on many different coasts around the Isles.  There are many place where "Coastal erosion is occurring along 17% of the UK coastline (30% of England's coastline; 23% Wales; 20% Northern Ireland; 12% Scotland). Almost two-thirds of the intertidal profiles in England and Wales have steepened over the past 100 years

The east coast of the UK has the highest likely chance of eroding away, with the erosion rate the fastest in Yorkshire and the Humber, where 56 percent of the coastline is at risk. The coastal erosion in those eastern coastlines is hit all day long by large ocean waves and high wind speeds gusting. Another part of the UK near England is also experiencing high-risk erosion because "around a third of the coast in the south of England is being actively eroded — threatening such areas as Norfolk, Suffolk, and East/West Sussex."  Britain's coastlines have been dramatically receding as an effect of Climate Change. There is evidence of this in a 2020 article from the UK's Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership "found that 3700km of UK coastline is experiencing greater than 10cm of erosion per year." The coastlines are eroding away consistently more than in other areas, but coastal erosion is still a hazard.

Mitigations for this natural disaster include reconstruction along the eroded coastlines to prevent civilian injuries along the nearby beaches. The UK has started to develop ways to construct safer surroundings along the beaches and the coastline that can highly prevent erosion. These structures that are built are "hard structural/engineering options that use structures constructed on the beach (seawalls, groins, breakwaters/artificial headlands) or further offshore (offshore breakwaters). These options influence coastal processes to stop or reduce the rate of coastal erosion." The coastal erosion is primarily mitigated by some of the structures listed by engineers that install them in the most eastern coastal areas of the UK since it is the most affected. The UK also started repaving its roads that are close to the coastline.

If I were to build a house in the UK it would be located anywhere inland near the larger subdivisions away from the coastline to ensure my house isn't damaged by large floods or erosion near the beaches. An article I found states that are highly recommended for house construction are in "Completing the list of top ten locations for building a new home were Birmingham, Cornwall, County Durham, Wiltshire, Bradford, Bristol, Manchester, East Riding, and Liverpool." The article also researched the worst place to build homes in " Topping that list was Surrey Heath, but it also featured Hambleton, Epsom & Ewell, Ribble Valley, and Richmondshire in its top five." The best locations listed above are generally located in the inland areas. My favorite spot is Birmingham which is a large city located in the middle of England far away from floods and erosion possibilities. 

 

Sources: 

https://flood-warning-information.service.gov.uk/plan-ahead-for-flooding?utm_source=warning&utm_medium=gov.uk&utm_campaign=prepare&utm_content=national-view

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/top-10-uk-coastal-towns-17289733

https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=1f937b6c-bd2a-4cc0-acc0-a1a84e729b34#:~:text=Britain's%20coastlines%20have%20been%20dramatically,10cm%20of%20erosion%20per%20year.

https://www.insurancechoice.co.uk/blog/2019/10/where-are-the-best-locations-to-build-a-new-home-in-the-uk

http://www.mccip.org.uk/impacts-report-cards/full-report-cards/2007-2008/marine-environment/coastal-erosion/#:~:text=Coastal%20erosion%20is%20occurring%20along,over%20the%20past%20100%20years.