Building flood resilience
Our flooding experts are driving the national and international flood resilience agenda
Project summary
The Challenge
We need to respond and adapt to the increasing environmental and societal challenges of flood risk.
The Approach
Our researchers reviewed evidence from the 2007 floods and proposed new strategies for flood protection and managing future flooding events.
The Outcome
Our flood research has informed UK national flood policy and investment, improving flood protection for more than 300,000 homes nationwide.
Institutes and centres
Lead academics
Project Partners
We've guided £5.2bn flood resilience funding, protecting 300,000+ homes
Our research has shaped national flood resilience policy and practice for 15 years, uniting agencies to better protect and help people recover from devastating flood events. We continue to drive action through partnerships like Living with Water.
The Challenge
The summer 2007 floods had significant environmental and societal impacts across the UK. In Hull alone over 8600 houses and 1300 businesses flooded, with 90% of the city’s schools closed and many events cancelled.
The Approach
Our researchers led an Independent Review Body (IRB), set up by Hull City Council in 2007. The aim was to establish why the physical, institutional and regulatory structures designed to prevent flooding failed comprehensively during the 2007 floods.
The research combined the insights of physical and human geographers (Tom Coulthard, Lynne Frostick, Graham Haughton) and was designed to be policy-relevant and impact-driven, with partnership working at its core. The partnership included the local authorities, water companies, industry and representatives from the community and voluntary sectors.
Each year floods cause more than $40 billion in damage worldwide
(OECD)
This collaborative research involved 30+ interviews, panel meetings, reviews of literature and reports, and field and site visits. The interim findings (August 2007) and the final report (November 2007) were edited and led by Professor Coulthard. In addition to reviewing the physical impacts of the flooding and the response of flood infrastructure, the IRB reports also addressed the social and psychological impacts of flooding in Hull. The reports concluded that, at the regional scale, the flooding was mainly caused by problems conveying rapid surface water through the drainage networks, along with the poor performance of three key pumping stations.
The Impact
The research was highly influential because it revealed a series of weaknesses in the governance and policy systems for managing drainage and flood response regionally but also at the national and international scale.
The University of Hull research has significantly impacted governance and inter-agency partnership working, as well as leading to the adoption of a more integrated approach to flood risk management.The Environment Agency’s Director of Flood and Coastal Risk Management
Our researchers recommended that one lead agency should oversee flood events with multi-agency partnerships working together and collaborating on broader flood governance. This advice was incorporated into the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 which gave the Environment Agency (EA) overall responsibility for all flooding, including surface water flooding. Local authorities now retain responsibility for the control of regional surface water drainage, but do so under the auspices of the EA. This tranche of legislation prepares society for future flood events to a degree that was never required previously.
Our recommendations, cited in the post-2007 Floods Pitt Review included a call for more partnership working. Discussions followed, which led to the creation of the local Living with Water Partnership, including the Environment Agency, East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Hull City Council, Yorkshire Water and the University of Hull (our Vice Chancellor, Professor Dave Petley is a member of the Executive Board).
The Living with Water Partnership is internationally recognised and was instrumental in the city of Hull becoming one of the five founding cities in the City Water Resilience Approach (CWRA).
Training the next generation of flood risk managers
The Climate Crisis brings more frequent and severe flood events throughout the world. Building on our flood expertise, our innovative MSc Flood Risk Management is designed in collaboration with industry to help shape future flood resilience leaders.
