Severe weather warnings covered parts of the UK this weekend. With torrential rain and 70mph gale-force winds, storm Babet has left hundreds having to evacuate their homes.
Nine people have been confirmed dead in weather-related incidents since Storm Babet made landfall earlier this week, and officials have warned that there could be more flooding in coming days.
A new climate change report indicates the UK has become wetter over the last few decades due to global warming. Stephen Carver is a senior lecturer at the University of Leeds who is keen to tackle the climate problem, “pouring more concrete and building steel flood defenses is not going to cut it… we can’t change climate but we can change the way we manage the land.”
With 110 flood warnings still scattered across the UK, people are fearful that these widespread changes in weather patterns are likely to only get worse in coming years due to human-induced climate change.
Scott Ravenhill is a resident of Breedon on the Hill, Derbyshire, one of the affected areas. He is concerned about the future of his property, with each year seeing a rise in flood risks. “I’ve lived in this property for about 20 years and this is the fourth time that I can recall having a flood. Each time it seems to be getting worse.”
Many locals have not been able to leave their houses. Darcey Ravenhill who lives in the village could not attend work at all this weekend, “it is becoming a big problem, I am already losing money.”
To help combat the problem, “the council have been very helpful bringing sandbags to put in the doorways to soak up the water.” However, more needs to be done to ensure these ongoing weather conditions do not affect the area so severely.
