The town of Shrewsbury in Shropshire, England has historically been affected by flooding of the River Severn.[1][2] The Frankwell area, has been particularly affected, but flood defence measures have largely been effective in the area.[3]
Geography
editShrewsbury is about 14 miles (23 km) west of Telford, 43 miles (69 km) west of Birmingham and the West Midlands Conurbation, and about 153 miles (246 km) north-west of the capital, London. More locally, the town is to the east of Welshpool, with Bridgnorth and Kidderminster to the south-east. The town centre is partially built on a hill whose elevation is, at its highest, 246 feet (75 m) above sea level. The longest river in the UK, the River Severn, flows through the town, forming a meander around its centre.[4] The town is subject to flooding from the river.
Defences
editMost of the ceremonial county of Shropshire is covered for purposes of local government by Shropshire Council, a unitary authority established in 2009. Telford and Wrekin is a unitary authority, with borough status, which forms part of the county for various functions such as Lord Lieutenant but is a separate local authority from Shropshire Council. However many services are shared across both authorities, such as the fire and rescue service, and the two authorities co-operate on some projects such as mapping flood risk.
- In 1954, A scale model was built by hydraulic engineer Claude Inglis to model the effects of flood defenses.[5]
- Environment Agency Plans for defences[6]
- The Frankwell flood defences were completed in 2003, along with the new offices of Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council.Frankwell Flood Alleviation scheme[3][7]
- "Slow the Flow"[8]
- The Quarry park is allowed to flood in preference to other real estate.
- Melverley is used as a controlled flood area
- Response to PMQ[9]
- 2008[10]
Notable occurrences
edit- Coton Hill flooded in 1846.[11]
- December 1848.[12]
- November 1852.[13][14]
- February 1867.[15]
- February 1941.[16]
- March 1947.[17]
- January 1948.[18][19]
- February 1950.[20]
- February 2022[21]
From the late 1990s, the town experienced severe flooding problems from the Severn and Rea Brook.[22][23] In the autumn of 2000 large swathes of the town were underwater, notably Frankwell, which flooded three times in six weeks.[24] The Frankwell flood defences were completed in 2003, along with the new offices of Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council. More recently, such as in 2005 and 2007 but not 2020, flooding has been less severe, and the defences have generally held back floodwaters from the town centre areas. However, the town car parks are often left to be flooded in the winter, which reduces trade in the town, most evidenced in the run up to Christmas in 2007.[25]
November 2019
editOn 14 November nine schools in Shropshire were closed because of floods.[26][27] The Environment Agency issued three flood warnings for the county, two on the River Severn and one on the River Teme.[28] Sections of the A49 and A488 were closed as were a number of minor roads, particularly in the south of the county.[29] On 15 November four schools remained closed.[30][31]
On 15 November 2019 rail services between Shrewsbury and Welshpool did not run due to flooding.[32]
Storm Dennis (February 2020)
editProperties were flooded in the centre of Shrewsbury as the Severn burst its banks. The Environment Agency described the flooding across parts of the West Midlands as "unprecedented", and warned that excess runoff from the upper reaches of the Severn in Wales meant that the flooding in the lower Severn valley would likely be prolonged for at least three days.[33]
Storm Henk (2024)
editStorm Henk caused major flooding in Shrewsbury.[34]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Shrewsbury residents frustrated as floods grow more frequent". The Guardian. 22 February 2022. Archived from the original on 23 February 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
- ^ Southall, Henry (January 1895). "Floods in the West Midlands". Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society. 21 (93): 28–39. Bibcode:1895QJRMS..21...28S. doi:10.1002/qj.4970219307.
- ^ a b "Frankwell Flood Alleviation Scheme - Shrewsbury" (PDF). assets.publishing.service.gov.uk. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 September 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
- ^ "Imperial Gazetteer entry for Shrewsbury". Vision of Britain. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
- ^ "A Miniature Severn with Six Bridges". Birmingham Post. 18 September 1954. p. 12. Archived from the original on 23 February 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Shrewsbury Flood Defences" (PDF). environmentdata.org. Environment Agency. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 February 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
- ^ "Maintenance Work Starts On Shrewsbury Flood Defence". States News Service. 24 April 2018. Gale A595586067 – via Gale Academic OneFile.
- ^ "Slow the flow! | Shropshire Council". Shropshire.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 23 February 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
- ^ "Flood Control: Shrewsbury". TheyWorkForYou. Archived from the original on 23 February 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
- ^ "Shrewsbury flood proves just the job for Logicrane". Contract Journal. 445 (6695): 36. 10 August 2008. ISSN 0010-7859. EBSCOhost 35239443.
- ^ "The Late Floods In Wales". The Times. 9 January 1846. p. 5. Gale CS85097001.
- ^ "Floods in the Provinces". Coventry Standard. 22 December 1848. p. 3.
- ^ "Inundations". The Times. 22 November 1852. p. 8. Gale CS136218486.
- ^ "Shrewsbury, Saturday Night". The Morning Chronicle. 15 November 1852. p. 7. Archived from the original on 23 February 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Heavy Floods -Shrewsbury Sunday, 7 30 p.m.". The Times. 11 February 1867. p. 6. Gale CS102147147.
- ^ "Shrewsbury Floods - Severn Highest for 40 Years". Gloucester Citizen. 24 February 1941. p. 2. Archived from the original on 23 February 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Floods In 30 Counties". 19 March 1947. p. 4. Gale CS68109427.
- ^ "Flood Threat To Severn Towns". The Times. 13 January 1948. p. 4. Gale CS68896301.
- ^ "Floods: Cinema Awash". Lincolnshire Echo. 15 January 1948. p. 4. Archived from the original on 23 February 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
- ^ "Wild Week-End Weather". 13 February 1950. p. 6. Gale CS103369293.
- ^ "River Severn Flooding: Homes and businesses evacuated". BBC News. 23 February 2022. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
- ^ "Flooded baby otter recovering well after Rea Brook rescue". BBC News. 5 January 2016. Archived from the original on 22 January 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
- ^ "The Mill Race, Sutton, Shrewsbury" (PDF). Archaeological Data Services. May 2008. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 February 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
- ^ "Shrewsbury flood alleviation scheme". Environment Agency. Archived from the original on 10 January 2007. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
- ^ "Flood watch continues on Severn". BBC Shropshire News. 10 December 2007. Archived from the original on 13 December 2007. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
- ^ "Hereford & Worcester News". BBC News. 14 November 2019. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
- ^ "School closures | Shropshire Council". Shropshire.gov.uk. 14 November 2019. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
- ^ "Flood warnings for Shropshire, England - GOV.UK". flood-warning-information.service.gov.uk. 14 November 2019. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
- ^ O'Brien, Lisa (14 November 2019). "Flood warnings in place, schools closed and cars stranded as Shropshire braces for more rain - in pictures". www.shropshirestar.com. Archived from the original on 14 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ "Primary schools | Shropshire Council". Shropshire.gov.uk. 15 November 2019. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ "Secondary schools | Shropshire Council". Shropshire.gov.uk. 15 November 2019. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ "Schools and roads shut as floodwaters rise". BBC News. 15 November 2019. Archived from the original on 17 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ "Woman missing in floodwater as Storm Dennis strikes". BBC News. 16 February 2020. Archived from the original on 15 April 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
- ^ "Storm Henk: Flooding forces Shrewsbury residents out of homes". 4 January 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
External links
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