1953 Floods

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1953 Floods

General
The East Coast of England from the Humber to the Thames has always been vulnerable to the forces of the sea. The most well-known and devastating flooding incident within East Anglia occurred on 1st February 1953, as documented in various sources including Greive, 1959. In total, 307 people died, 24,500 houses were damaged and over 30,000 people were evacuated. Outside the towns and villages, thousands of animals drowned and great tracts of farmland were made infertile by the salt water. Millions of pounds worth of damage was caused even at 1950s prices. In 1953 there was no flood warning system and flood defence was organised by a number of river boards. Exceptional weather conditions, coupled with poor communications, meant that whole communities were given insufficient warning of the advancing threat. The 1953 East Coast Floods were a defining point for coastal protection in this country. Sir Winston Churchill, who was Prime Minister, declared the floods a National Disaster. A committee, called the Waverley Committee (named after its chairman Lord Waverley, who was better known as John Anderson of Anderson War Shelters fame), was set up to investigate the causes of the disaster and to recommend ways in which the East Coast could be better protected in future.

A significant event was also experienced in January 1978, although the extent of flooding was not as significant, due to the improvements to the flood defences following the 1953 event.

Suffolk
The astronomical tide level at Harwich during the 1953 flood was predicted to be 5.50ft, whereas the actual flood levels at this location were recorded at 13.07ft due to a combination of wind set-up (literally piling water against the shoreline) and intensely low atmospheric pressure. Extensive flooding occurred throughout Suffolk and records show that 40 people died in Suffolk, with a further 30,000 people displaced from their homes in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Kent. The primary reason that the flood defences failed was due to overtopping, which resulted in 1600km of coastline being damaged and well over 1000 sq. km of flooded land.

Flood Warning
Today, the Environment Agency has overall responsibility for flood defence and flood warning in England and Wales . It is provided with 24-hour forecasts of tidal surge and wave activity by the Meteorological Office Storm. The Tide Forecasting Service (STFS) was set up as a direct result of the 1953 East Coast Floods.