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- Cost of UK flood protection doubles to £1bn a year
Cost of UK flood protection doubles to £1bn a year
Posted on 2nd Feb 2010 @ 10:46 AM
Latest data from the Environment Agency shows that more than half a million UK homes are at 'significant' risk of flooding.
More than half a million homes are at "significant" risk of flooding and the cost of protecting them will double to £1bn a year by 2035, according to the latest data from the Environment Agency (EA).
The rising costs will be incurred from the impacts of climate change that will take effect in the coming decades, meaning the risks to homes and communities will increase unless defences are improved.
The costs of dealing with floods can run into the billions - the devastating floods of summer 2007 cost a total of £3.2bn according to the EA, including more than £2bn in costs to homeowners and businesses as well as 400,000 of lost school days.
The EA estimates that 5 million people live and work in the 2.4m properties in England that are at some risk of flooding and, at present, around £570m is spent every year building and maintaining the defences required for them. Half a million of those properties are in highest risk band, which means they are at risk of flooding due to extreme weather expected once every 75 years.