Fears of Storm Babet repeat as six million British homes branded flood risk
18 October 2024, 08:34
Six million homes in Britain could be flooded if they were hit by the extreme weather brought by Storm Babet a year ago today, LBC has learned.
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Data released by the Environment Agency reveals officials fear 5.5 million in England are at risk during similar conditions - while a further 525,000 have been identified in Scotland and Wales.
Almost £20 billion pounds worth of damage would be caused if even just 10% of those properties are impacted - according to cost estimates shared by the UK Government - and a staggering £192billion if they were all to be.
The updated figures come after one of the wettest 18-month periods on record.
That includes October 2023 when Storm Babet brought days of torrential rain and gale force winds to the UK, killing seven.
Hundreds - like Euan Clark - were evacuated from their homes in Brechin, Angus as the South Esk burst its banks.
He told LBC he's still not been able to return because a report assessing the severity of structural damage is yet to be published.
"I've been living in Montrose where I was placed for the past year now.
"I care for my mum in Brechin so I'm having to travel back and forth every day now. It's a total nightmare.
"My home there is still sitting empty. It's totally unliveable, it's rotting away. Everything's just been left and people are coming along and vandalising houses.
"A year on and nobody knows what is happening with their houses. It's a joke. We just want to know. I think the best thing to do is knock them down but either way they shouldn't be taking a year to make a decision."
The independent report will be sent to Angus Council at the start of next month.
Local councillor Gavin Nicol told LBC dozens in the town are in a similar situation to Euan. He said: "They were left with nothing. All their clothes, carpets, wedding photos, kilts, you name it, were all destroyed. They've had to start again with nothing.
"All these house have been severely flood damaged and they could be structurally damaged too. And we've also got houses up and downstream that are affected.
"We're waiting on these final reports coming in. The mapping and the auctioneer reports. In my opinion these properties may never be suitable for human habitat. They could be demolished."
Blair Anderson has reopened his car garage in the town but fears it could soon be flooded again. He said: "It was a nightmare at the time. We were heavily affected.
"And we're still recovering from it now. We only got electricity back about six months ago, money was tight for a while.
"There's always something in the back of your head worrying it could happen again.
"But there's nothing else you can do. You just have to plough on."
UK Government Floods Minister Emma Hardy said: "Flooding can be a destructive force that puts everything in life on hold. I’ve seen the impacts firsthand and am determined to ensure as much as possible others do not.
"Through the recent launch of our Floods Resilience Taskforce, this government is taking decisive action to accelerate the development of flood defences and bolster the nation’s resilience to extreme weather.
"But this Flood Action Week, we must be all be proactive in taking steps to protect ourselves by checking our flood risk and signing up for flood warnings.”
An Angus Council spokesperson previously said of the imminent report: "This a very complex process, involving detailed analysis of flood patterns, the likely impact of climate change increasing in the future and housing supply and demand across Angus, and of course, the relative costs."
