At the end of last year, The Environment Agency shared that 5.2m homes and businesses across England are at risk of flooding, that’s one in every six properties. Roughly half of these are at risk of flooding from rivers or the sea, whilst the other half are at risk of surface water flooding.

Ed Yeates, project engineer at Cluttons, discusses how climate change is increasing the risk of flooding to UK property owners and why implementing flood risk management measure is crucial to protecting assets.

“In the UK coastal flooding has been regarded as the second highest risk of civil emergency after pandemic influenza, with an estimated £150bn of assets at risk. Fluvial (river) flooding is mainly caused by excessive rainfall or heavy snow melting upriver, leading to high water levels downriver overflowing the river’s edges.

“Excessive rainfall events are a direct consequence of climate change, which is warming the earth’s atmosphere and increasing its capacity to hold moisture. This increase in rainfall, combined with rising sea levels, suggests the frequency and severity of flooding in the UK will rise significantly over the coming years.”