The 1947 Thames flood was the most severe flood of the River Thames in the 20th century, affecting much of the Thames Valley as well as elsewhere in England during the middle of March 1947 after a severe winter. [1] [2] [3] The worst in over 100 years, it was exacerbated by an extremely high tide. [1] [4]
Without the military to carry out rescue work, emergency flood-control measures, and other tasks occasioned by floods, the toll of destruction to lives and property would undoubtedly have been much higher than it was. [5]
Alex J. Robertson
The source of the Thames is in Gloucestershire, and it flows east through Oxfordshire. [6] Records have been kept of its water levels since 1893.
In January 1947, the country—particularly the southeast—had been hit by blizzards, which were severe enough to freeze the upper reaches of the River Thames. Winter storms continued into February. [7] Before the flooding, 117 mm (4.6 inches) of precipitation and snow had fallen; the peak flow was 61.7 billion litres of water per day and the damage cost a total of £12 million to repair. [8] The heavy snow had been followed by a period of relatively warm weather, [5] which caused the snow to quickly melt on top of the still-frozen ground, which meant it had nowhere to drain. [1] War damage to some locks made matters worse. Maidenhead was particularly badly damaged, with over 2,000 dwellings flooded. [9]
The same weather conditions caused widespread flooding to many river basins in the country during March 1947. [10] Although there were no deaths as a consequence of the flooding, the shock value was sufficient to put flooding on the political agenda. [11]
Other significant Thames floods since 1947 have occurred in 1968, 1993, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2007 and 2014.[ citation needed ]
Following the 1947 flood, a recent commentator has suggested, the Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead—having been particularly heavily hit—"judged that the zoning regulation after 1947 would cause the area to become derelict and destroy its amenities". [6]
It is considered a 1/60 year-occurrence event. [12]
The flood of 1947 is considered as being instrumental in formulating major government policy developments regarding flood control. [13]
Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultures define different dates as the start of winter, and some use a definition based on weather.
The River Thames, known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At 215 miles (346 km), it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the River Severn.
A flood is an overflow of water that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrology and are of significant concern in agriculture, civil engineering and public health. Human changes to the environment often increase the intensity and frequency of flooding, for example land use changes such as deforestation and removal of wetlands, changes in waterway course or flood controls such as with levees, and larger environmental issues such as climate change and sea level rise. In particular climate change's increased rainfall and extreme weather events increases the severity of other causes for flooding, resulting in more intense floods and increased flood risk.
The Thames Barrier is a retractable barrier system built to protect the floodplain of most of Greater London from exceptionally high tides and storm surges moving up from the North Sea. It has been operational since 1982. When needed, it is closed (raised) during high tide; at low tide, it can be opened to restore the river's flow towards the sea. Built about 2 miles east of the Isle of Dogs, its northern bank is in Silvertown in the London Borough of Newham and its southern bank is in the New Charlton area of the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Buckinghamshire. The town is situated 27 miles (43 km) west of Charing Cross, London and 13 miles (21 km) east-northeast of the county town of Reading. The town differs from the Parliamentary constituency of Maidenhead, which includes a number of outer suburbs and villages, including villages which form part of the Borough of Wokingham such as Twyford, Charvil, Remenham, Ruscombe and Wargrave.
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is a Royal Borough of Berkshire, in South East England. While it is named after both the towns of Maidenhead and Windsor, the borough also covers the nearby towns of Ascot and Eton. It is home to Windsor Castle, Eton College, Legoland Windsor and Ascot Racecourse. It is one of four boroughs entitled to be prefixed Royal and is one of six unitary authorities in the county, which has historic and ceremonial status.
The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enhancement of the environment in England.
The Jubilee River is a hydraulic channel in southern England. It is 11.6 km (7.2 mi) long and is on average 45 metres wide. It was constructed in the late 1990s and early 2000s to take overflow from the River Thames and so alleviate flooding to areas in and around the towns of Maidenhead, Windsor, and Eton in the counties of Berkshire and Buckinghamshire. It achieves this by taking water from the left bank of the Thames upstream of Boulter's Lock near Maidenhead and returning it via the north bank downstream of Eton. Although successful in its stated aims, residents of villages downstream, such as Wraysbury, claim it has increased flooding in those locations.
Bray, occasionally Bray on Thames, is a suburban village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. It sits on the banks of the River Thames, to the southeast of Maidenhead of which it is a suburb. The village is mentioned in the comedic song "The Vicar of Bray". Bray contains two of the eight three-Michelin-starred restaurants in the United Kingdom and has several large business premises including Bray Studios at Water Oakley, where the first series of Hammer Horror films were produced.
The winter of 1962–1963, known as the Big Freeze of 1963, was one of the coldest winters on record in the United Kingdom. Temperatures plummeted and lakes and rivers began to freeze over.
The River Bourne or the Chertsey Bourne is in Berkshire and Surrey; it runs from sources in Windsor Great Park and Swinley Forest through to the River Thames.
Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) is a statutory fire and rescue service covering the area of the ceremonial county of Berkshire in England. The fire service was formerly administered by Berkshire County Council, but when that was abolished the service became the responsibility of the Royal Berkshire Fire Authority, made up of representatives from the six unitary authorities of Bracknell Forest Borough Council, Reading Borough Council, Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, Slough Borough Council, West Berkshire Council, and Wokingham Borough Council.
Severe weather is any dangerous meteorological phenomenon with the potential to cause damage, serious social disruption, or loss of human life. Types of severe weather phenomena vary, depending on the latitude, altitude, topography, and atmospheric conditions. High winds, hail, excessive precipitation, and wildfires are forms and effects of severe weather, as are thunderstorms, downbursts, tornadoes, waterspouts, tropical cyclones, and extratropical cyclones. Regional and seasonal severe weather phenomena include blizzards (snowstorms), ice storms, and duststorms.
The winter of 1946–1947 was a harsh European winter noted for its adverse effects in the United Kingdom. It caused severe hardships in economic terms and living conditions in a country still recovering from the Second World War. There were massive disruptions of energy supply for homes, offices and factories. Animal herds froze or starved to death. People suffered from the persistent cold, and many businesses shut down temporarily. When warm weather returned, the ice thawed and flooding was severe in most low-lying areas.
The Maidenhead Waterways are a system of canals in Maidenhead, England. Formerly disused, plans to restore and upgrade them were announced in 2011. The works would initially make the waterways navigable by small craft, and over time by larger craft, as limitations to navigation are gradually removed.
Clewer Mill Stream is a narrow twisting backwater of the River Thames near Windsor, Berkshire, England, which leaves the main river at Bush Ait and rejoins just above Queen Elizabeth Bridge. It is about 1.5 miles long. Clewer Mill Stream is named after the watermill that it once drove.
The Abbey River is a right-bank backwater of the River Thames in England, in Chertsey, Surrey — in the town's northern green and blue buffers. The L-shaped conduit adjoins mixed-use flood plain: water-meadows landscaped for a golf course, a motorway and a fresh water treatment works on the island it creates, Laleham Burway to its east and north in turn. Its offtake from the Thames is at the apex of Penton Hook, Staines upon Thames below its lower weir close to the Chertsey-Thorpe boundary in the Borough of Runnymede. Its outfall is the weir pool of Chertsey Lock back into the Thames, visible from Chertsey Bridge.
Black Boy Island is an uninhabited island in the River Thames in England between the villages of Medmenham, Buckinghamshire and Hurley, Berkshire. It is situated alongside the small hamlet of Frogmill, on the southern side of the stretch of river above Hurley Lock, and is within the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead unitary authority.
The 2013–2014 United Kingdom winter floods saw areas of Ireland and the United Kingdom inundated following severe storms. The south of England saw heavy rainfalls associated with these storms which caused widespread flooding, power cuts and major disruptions to transport. Economically, the worst affected areas were Somerset, Devon, Dorset and Cornwall in the south west and the Thames Valley in the south east.
The 2015 Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council election took place on 7 May 2015 to elect all members of the council of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in England. This was on the same day as other local elections and coincided with the 2015 United Kingdom general election.