Rebuild flooded homes with higher plugs and harder floors to prevent further trouble

‘We can’t win a war against water by building away climate change with infinite flood defences’

HOMES near rivers and stretches of coast at high risk of flooding should fit their plug sockets higher on the walls, the head of the Environment Agency has said.

Emma Howard Boyd, the organisation’s chairwoman, said that while at least £1 billion needs to be spent on traditional flood defences, “we cannot win a war against water” and homes should have been built to withstand flooding better.

She called for improvements such as raised electrics and hard flooring, but conceded that some communities may have to move in the face of growing risks of flooding and coastal erosion.

The warning comes as the government agency publishes its long-term strategy for managing the risk of flood and coastal erosion. It is planning for the potential of up to 4C of warming, well beyond the 1.5C or 2C limits which have been agreed internationally and are seen as thresholds beyond which dangerous climate change will occur.

The Environment Agency (EA) also predicts that climate change and population growth will double the number of properties built on the flood plain over the next 50 years.

Ms Howard Boyd said urgent action was needed to tackle more frequent, intense flooding as well as sea level rises driven by rising temperatures.

“We can’t win a war against water by building away climate change with infinitely high flood defences. We need to develop consistent standards for flood and coastal resilience in England that help communities better understand their risk.”

She urged: “More should be done to encourage property owners to build back better after a flood, rather than just recreating what was there before.

“This could involve home improvements, such as raised electrics, hard flooring, and flood doors.”

But she also warned: “In some places, the scale of the threat may be so significant that recovery will not always be the best long-term solution. In these instances, we will help communities to move out of harm’s way.”

Therese Coffey, an environment minister, said: “Flooding and coastal erosion can have terrible consequences.

“That’s why we are already providing £2.6 billion over six years, delivering more than 1,500 projects to better protect 300,000 homes.”