Flood history – recent flooding
The Severn catchment has a long and well-documented history of flooding since 1258. Because
of the size of the catchment, different areas can be affected during different flood events: it is
uncommon to have one event affecting the entire catchment, as happened during the 1947
floods. There were six high profile flood events within the Severn catchment between 1998 and
summer 2007:
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Easter 1998: this extreme event occurred in the Avon catchment, causing extensive flooding
in a number of communities including Leamington, Stratford, Evesham and Worcester.
October 1998: this was the largest event in the Severn Uplands region for 30 years.
Communities affected included Shrewsbury, Ironbridge, Bridgnorth, Bewdley and Worcester.
Autumn 2000 was the wettest recorded in England and Wales for 270 years. Rainfall was
prolonged throughout the catchment from October to December and this compounded runoff
and flooding problems. Communities were affected from Shrewsbury to Gloucester. This was
the largest flood on record in the Severn Vale reach, estimated to be a 2% chance event at
Ironbridge and a 1.11% chance event at Upton on Severn.
February 2002: flooding affected communities along the Severn, including Shrewsbury,
Bewdley, Upton on Severn and Kemspey. The event was estimated to be a 20 – 50% chance
event at Shrewsbury.
February 2004: this was a smaller event than October/November 2000, but caused flooding
in areas of Shrewsbury and Bewdley.
June and July 2007: a series of depressions tracked over the UK, bringing very high falls of
rainfall and record totals in some areas. In the Severn catchment, record rainfall caused the
biggest floods on record in Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, affecting settlements
including Tewskesbury and Gloucester.
© Guy Erwood – High water marks from historical floods.
www.geography.org.uk