As the recent flooding incident in Weston-super-Mare showed, the flood warning system is not infallible and despite the efforts of the Environment Agency and the MET office, there was no adequate warning and the unexpected bad weather struck with severe consequences for local business owners.
Ian Paton, partner, Cluttons, project and building consultancy division, commented: “As the recent flooding incident in Weston-super-Mare shows, the UK weather increasingly is unpredictable and intense which makes it even more of a concern that the government is planning to halve spending on flood defences by 2015.
“When local flood defences are not employed or effective for any reason, it becomes imperative for measures to be deployed for individual buildings as that crucial second line of defence.
“In June next year, the ‘statement of principles’, an agreement between the Association of British Insurers and the government, will expire and the likely result is that premiums to insure properties in high-risk areas will soar.
“Given that flooding in the UK is not uncommon, flood defence experts need increase their efforts to raise awareness of this issue to ensure businesses and homeowners are adequately prepared.
“If properties are not individually assessed for their own flood defences, we will see people and businesses struggling to protect themselves against the devastating effects of flooding.”
