Warning Over Future Welsh Flooding

• News
• Published: 30 Oct 2009 in Household and Home Insurance

Environmental change could drive residents in Wales' coastal towns out of their homes unless the Assembly Government intervenes, a report has said.

The country's flood defences are struggling to cope with the affects of tidal flooding and erosion, according to official research. Around 60% of people in Wales live in coastal areas and could be affected.

Areas such as Kimnel Bay, Towyn to Llandudno in North Wales; Aberaeron, Aberystwyth, Tywyn and Borth in the west; and the Gwent Levels in the south are at the highest risk of flooding.

The study carried out by the Auditor General for Wales, Jeremy Colman, is urging government leaders to take control of the risks in order to avoid the situation.

It is estimated that flood risk is likely to increase up to 20-fold in the next century, and the cost of inland and coastal flood damage is set to rise from £70 million to £1.4 billion.

The report, Coastal Erosion and Tidal Flooding Risks in Wales, advises that severe storms will become more common as a result of climate change and sea levels are predicted to rise by around one metre over the next 100 years.

Mr Colman said: "Current flood defences can't keep pace with environmental change so we need to drastically rethink our approach to safeguarding the coastline by adopting a more risk-based approach.

"I hope the Assembly Government will take on my recommendations in their work with stakeholders and put in place a new risk-based approach which is sustainable into the next century."