There is a “real risk” people could drown in flash floods in London, a climate policy expert has said, as a taskforce warned more needed to be done to prepare for future flooding in the capital.
It comes as three storms battered the UK in a matter of days, with hundreds evacuated from homes near swelling river banks on Monday.
London is facing the greatest flood risk from drainage systems being overwhelmed, authorities were told earlier this month. This surface water flooding can occur from intense rainfall or blockages in the system, a taskforce told London Councils.
A taskforce put forward recommendations to London Councils, which represents local authorities in the capital, to help the city plan for future flooding events, saying these were expected to become more frequent and potentially more intense when they occur due to the climate crisis.
Bob Ward, the deputy chair of the London Climate Change Partnership, said these weather events could pose a threat to life.
“There is now a real risk of people drowning, particularly in basement flats if a major flash flood occurred in the middle of the night,” Mr Ward, who is also policy and communications director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, told The Observer.
“The problem is particularly worrying because we have no idea how many people live in basement properties in London.”
The taskforce recommended areas or properties at high-risk of basement flooding to be identified in the capital, and for this information to be used to improve flood resilience.
It also said there needed to be a plan to manage the increasing risk of surface water flooding in London, whose Victorian drainage system was “not designed to cope” with the number of people in the capital and where it was unclear residents understood if they were vunerable to flooding.
Last year, England’s Environment Agency warned the climate crisis - which leads to heavier rainfall and rising sea levels - was worsening the risk of floods across the UK.
More than 100 flood alerts were issued across the UK on Monday, including in Yorkshire, the West Midlands and London, as Storm Franklin swept through the country. It comes after Storm Dudley and Storm Eunice caused havoc in the days before.
London Councils have been approached for comment.
