Floods 'cost UK economy £4.2 billion' since 1980

Floods have cost the UK economy about £4.2 billion since 1980 - and the problem is getting worse, the European Commission warned today.

According to latest scientific research, extreme flooding across Europe is becoming increasingly common and more severe.

Figures show France, Italy and Germany are hit by the most floods, with the biggest economic losses in Germany and worst fatalities in Italy.

Major floods can be neither prevented nor controlled, said Commissioner Philippe Busquin, but more research should lead to better flood predictions and management.

He was speaking in Dresden, Germany, which was hit a few months ago by one of the worst flooding catastrophes in central Europe since the Middle Ages.

Increasingly common
The Commission is currently developing a European Flood Alert System and in the last decade the EU has spent £40 million on 50 projects researching flood risk assessment, flood forecasting, and "risk mapping".

However, more now needs to be done to match the increasing flood threat to Europe, according to Research Commissioner Mr Busquin.

"Scientific studies are providing evidence that extreme flood events are becoming increasingly common and severe, and more frequent and more intense phenomena, such as the central European floods of last year, and the droughts of this summer season, are to be expected," he said.

The Commissioner went on: "Such extreme events are bound to affect the economy and the lives of European citizens. We have to act jointly, on the European, national, regional and local levels, to prevent and mitigate future flood damages. We must learn to live with floods, and thus must think and act more preventively."

Today's figures show that between 1980-2002, the greatest number of floods in the EU occurred in France (22%), Italy (17%) and the UK (12%). The highest number of deaths from flooding were in Italy (38%) followed by Spain (20%) and France (17%).

The greatest economic losses from flooding were in Germany and Italy (both about £8 billion) followed by Spain and the UK (both around £4.2 billion).

Angie Bell