Not economical to defend all of Wales from flooding, report finds
It won’t be economical to defend all at-risk locations in Wales from flooding, according to a new report.
Natural Resources Wales found that over the next 100 years, 47% more properties in Wales will be at risk from tidal flooding.
The body responsible for the management of Wales’s natural resources also found that in a century’s time 24% more properties will be at risk from river flooding and 34% more properties at risk from surface water flooding.
That’s without any more properties being built.
The report looked into the level of investment needed to manage the country’s future risk from flooding.
With the climate changing, keeping pace with future projections will require 3.4 times the current level of investment, according to the report.
It’s not just flood defences that will have a role to play in managing the risk, the report adds.
It says the country will need a “combination of interventions in order to help communities become more resilient”.
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Clare Pillman, chief executive of Natural Resources Wales (NRW) said the climate emergency is “the biggest challenge of our era”.
“We have certainly been dealing with the very real impacts of that recently, with multiple named storms hitting Welsh shores over recent weeks and months,” she said.
Jeremy Parr is NRW’s head of flood and incident risk management.
He said things would have to be done “differently” in order to address “the bigger challenges ahead”.
“This includes using natural flood management methods wherever we can, avoiding development in high risk flood areas, taking whole catchment approaches, improving further our flood forecasting and encouraging people to sign up for free flood warnings,” he added.
A Welsh government spokesperson said it welcomed the report which “highlights the impact of the climate emergency”.
“There are difficult challenges ahead and we are working closely with communities to establish how they can remain safe in the short-term, while planning to adapt for the future,” the spokesperson added.
“No community has been written off and we continue to fund, strengthen, and maintain our flood defence infrastructure in Wales to keep communities safe.”