vale of white horse lclip report abridged_1
TRANSCRIPT
1
Vale of White Horse District Council
LCLIP report
February 2009 Prepared by Mark Kowal
2
CONTENTS:
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3 ABBREVIATIONS 5
1. INTRODUCTION AND OUTLINE 6 1.1 REPORT PURPOSE 6 1.2 STRUCTURE OUTLINE 6
2. CONTEXT 8 2.1 HOW DO CLIMATE AND WEATHER DIFFER? 8 2.2 CLIMATE CHANGE 8 2.3 VULNERABILITY, IMPACTS, CONSEQUENCES AND ADAPTATION 10 2.4 NI188 AND THE COUNCIL’S CLIMATE CHANGE STRATEGY 12 2.5 FUTURE CLIMATE - UKCIP 2008 HEADLINES 14
3. LCLIP FINDINGS 15 3.1 LOCAL CLIMATE IMPACTS PROFILE TOOL 15 3.2 WEATHER EVENTS OBSERVED - 2003 TO 2008 15 3.3 AWARENESS OF TRENDS IN WEATHER AND CLIMATE CHANGE 15 3.4 LIST OF PROPOSED PRIORITY ACTIONS WITH SUGGESTED PRIORITY LEVELS 15
4. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 26 4.1 SIGNIFICANT OPPORTUNITIES AND VULNERABILITIES 26 4.2 CONCLUSIONS 27 4.3 RECOMMENDATIONS 29
APPENDICES 31 APPENDIX 1: OXFORDSHIRE’S CLIMATE WITHIN GLOBAL CHANGE 31
3
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Local Climate Impact Profile (LCLIP) tool was designed by the UK Climate Impacts Programme as a tool for assessing risks and opportunities to services, plans and estates under current climate. By gathering an evidence base from the last five years and identifying action priorities, the Profile contributes to VOWH’s climate change planning, and so prepare for future weather and climate. An overview of climate science contrasts the mitigation and adaptation agendas. This explains that the robust consensus within the science community about the gravity of climate threats, clearly justifies the increasing obligation of organisations to increase preparedness for altered weather. The distinction between weather and climate is made and the types of weather events listed. Data from various sources set out recent Oxfordshire climate trends and local headlines, set within Central England climate data. Recent changes in the length and intensity of all our season is an emerging issue not usually picked up by LCLIPs, which usually focus on extreme weather reports. The LCLIP data is appended with the title VOWH Weather Incidents Records Table. This is an easy-print Word database holding significant media reports of local weather events over the last 5 years. A definition is provided of the weather incidents, simply typed as Gales / Storms; Rain / Flood; Heat / Sun; Snow / Ice. Media stories covering wider responses and policy issues are also included. Local climate profile results are set out. River flooding is the highest weather risk for the Vale, while other types of extreme weather had a clearly marginal impact on VOWH services. Due to river watershed topography, VOWH as a geographical district is significantly less well-buffered against flood weather impacts than sister authority SODC. Altering seasonality may raise costs slightly for VOWH, as the summer season extends under occasionally very wet summers. Vale of White Horse is a well-buffered region with some adaptation actions already underway, both autonomously and planned under VOWH’s Climate Change Strategy. Flooding is the major high-risk type of weather currently affecting the District. Even so, UK and local trends show that, we must anticipate weather surprises as extreme events, shifting seasons and year-on-year warming. Adaptation action should follow certain principles and take advantage of partnerships with organisational allies. Overall, there are no cases of weather events overwhelming VOWH services and the direct costs of weather events are very limited. Autonomous adaptation by services is already occurring as part of good management and risk assessment. Staff have a good initial awareness of climate change issues, though this could be further built up through targeted actions. Even though coping with wilder weather is not yet raising costs or causing great difficulties, extreme events are trending upwards and will become an ever more serious concern. Even if we have yet to see large and consistent changes to the UK’s climate and weather, global temperatures will continue to rise, as will levels of atmospheric humidity and rainfall intensity. Biodiversity zones, species and habitats will move. In the medium-term, it is very likely that the impacts and consequences of more chaotic weather patterns and events will become more diverse and serious.
4
National Indicator 188 sets out a clear adaptation planning route for LAs to follow and was adopted as a priority indicator in Oxfordshire’s LAA. This profiling exercise should become the basis for an internally-managed appraisal of vulnerabilities that could be tackled within an overall Adaptation Action Plan. Once LCLIP findings are incorporated into a wider evidence base during 2009 and 2010, VOWH services would then develop and implement a comprehensive VOWH climate adaptation programme, as set out for Level 3 of NI 188. To approach Level 2 of NI188 by the end FY 2010, a small number of breakthrough projects should be implemented to help VOWH develop experience about how ‘to do adaptation’. Projects should be of two kinds, internally for VOWH services; and secondly managed with LSP partners and chosen to build local resilience and broader adaptive capacity. An option would be to focus on heatwaves as a social risk issue with LSP partners alongside the PCT. Ten action priorities are selected using best judgement as the most relevant and useful candidates for initial action in the next two years. LCLIP data should be located in the context of future climate information by examining scenario data soon available through UKCIP. This can help identify key thresholds, based on Council risk appetite. By examining likely weather impacts expected for each service under UKCIP scenarios, the thresholds for particular weather variables can then be decided. These, once overtopped, would allow specific service reactions to kick-in, such as enhanced emergency responses or longer term Council, LSP or other local actions. Establishing thresholds and exceedance probabilities can help decide which specific adaptive capacities should be built-up, how to work with partners. It is recommended that county-wide OCC, VOWH, other Districts and other LSP members should design a relevant monitoring system for weather variables and impacts. This should cover the implications of gradual seasonal changes on biodiversity and for business planning. Benefits are emphasised of VOWH taking part in the evolving communities of practice, such as cross-council work already underway on sharing best practice in building Control and development Planning. This demonstrates that VOWH is already working at a high response level. VOWH is on track to reach and exceed Level 1 in 2008/9, Level 2 in 2008/10 and Level 3 in 2010/11, as planned. Going further, the guidance supplied suggests that VOWH’s action on climate change adaptation must not become a process for process's sake. This may be a risk if Council work is narrowly driven just by efforts to reach government and LAA performance targets. As the work evolves, a clearer idea will be generated as to the positive outcomes stemming from tackling adaptation, in terms of success for VOWH as an organisation, and as the LSP gets involved, for Vale of White Horse citizens and other stakeholders. VOWH champions, teams and managers should broaden the drivers of VOWH council action by engaging in LSP and county-wide actions. In the end, to be successful on the ground, climate change adaptation needs to become a lens through which local sustainable development is viewed. In this way, the adaptation approach will progressively become integrated within decision-making across the LSP, and by wider community stakeholders.
5
ABBREVIATIONS
BACLIAT
BAP
Business Areas Climate Impacts Assessment Tool
Biodiversity Action Plan
CC
CET
CO2
CDC
CTAs
Climate Change
Central England Temperature
Carbon dioxide
Cherwell District Council
Conservation Target Areas
Defra Dept. for Rural Affairs and Agriculture
EA Environment Agency
ESCC Cherwell’s Environmental Strategy for a Changing Climate
GOSE Government Office for the South East
HPA Health Protection Authority
IdeA
IPCC
Improvement and Development Agency for Local Government
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
LAA Local Area Agreement
LAA2 Oxfordshire Local Area Agreement running 2008 - 2011
LCLIP Local Climate Impacts Profile
LSP Local Strategic Partnership
NI National Indicator
NDAP Nottingham Declaration Action Pack
OM & OT
OCC
Oxford Mail, Oxford Times
Oxfordshire County Council
PPS
ppm
PCT
Planning Policy Statement
parts per million
Primary Care Trust
SODC South Oxfordshire District Council
SEEDA
SPS
SUDS
South East Development Agency
Supplementary Planning Document
Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems
UKCIP UK Climate Impacts Programme
VOWH Vale of White Horse
6
1. INTRODUCTION AND OUTLINE
1.1 REPORT PURPOSE
This report should assist VOWH to assess the risks and opportunities arising from a changing climate across the District, to determine priority needs, and further develop adaptation action plans. The purpose is two-fold: (i) To present an evidence base and resource for building awareness, that examines how the last
five years’ of extreme weather events has affected VOWH services. This is a response to the question - how does current weather under today’s climate poses risks for VOWH?
(ii) Contribute to VOWH’s approach to climate change adaptation planning, by underscoring the steadily growing importance of integrating Council adaptation actions, alongside mitigation.
At this stage, the report only presents an initial scoping of VOWH’s risks and vulnerabilities, using UKCIP’s Local Climate Impacts Profile tool (LCLIP). The VOWH Service Development Management will use the findings to develop VOWH’s strategy, jointly with Service Heads and team leaders. The LCLIP assessment covers current impacts of recent weather events, identifies the relationships of weather to service delivery, and establishes the prevalence of damaging impacts from weather on service delivery, staff resources, finances and reputation. The profile helps the local authority identify vulnerabilities and plan how to tackle them. As it makes use of media reports, the LCIP approach offers a simple entry point into what seems like complex data. A limitation of this report is that, if we only restricted ourselves to looking backwards, it would not be possible to explore fully the implications of climate change. LCLIP data needs to be examined alongside future climate change scenarios. This involves Council teams and managers making use of UKCIP information. This study will have achieved its purpose, once its findings are incorporated into a wider evidence base. That will happen once VOWH services consider actions based on both the historical weather record and taking into account future probabilities. Implementing this study’s recommendations will move VOWH, with LSP partners, through the performance levels of National Indicator 188. As part of that wider effort, the report has some implications for VOWH’s Local Strategic Partnership through the Sustainable Community Strategy.
1.2 STRUCTURE OUTLINE
The sections of this report are: Section two that sets out the context by defining how climate and weather differ, and provides an overview of climate science impacts studies and adaptation. A more in-depth review of the physical basis of climate change is set out in Appendix 1. Section 2.3 explains how mitigation differs from adaptation and explains the terms vulnerability, impacts and consequences, and that adaptation usually is carried out in two stages.
7
Some comment is then provided on National Indicator 188 as a guide for the wider process that local authorities are expected to follow, as they scale the four performance levels. Mention is made of how VOWH’s current work fits within work with OCC and other Districts, as the Oxfordshire Strategic Partnership delivers NI 188. The UKCIP-developed Local Climate Impacts Profile Tool is presented as the scoping tool used for this report. The last part of Section 2 provides a summary of UKCIP headline messages about how the climate will likely alter in coming decades. Section 3 starts with an explanation of the LCLIP method, presents findings and analyzes these. Part 3.1 gives some information about frequencies of observed weather events. The data collected in the media trawl is set into a summary table with hyper-links to the events that happened as detailed in Appendix 2. This appendix is a Word table titled ‘VOWH Weather Incidents Table’, which holds the database of media reports - the evidence core of this study. Totals are given for the major kinds of weather events experienced over the last 5 years. Part 3.2 reports on in-depth findings from each service team interviewed. This makes up the bulk of this report. Each section concludes with some suggested action priorities. These have been carefully compared with Actions set out in VOWH’s Environmental Strategy for a Changing Climate. Further validated, these would become the subjects of risk analysis and prioritisation to check for suitability as ‘projects’ under an ‘VOWH adaptation programme’. Action priorities would be designed to plug significant vulnerabilities related to poorly-addressed weather / climate risks. Undertaking these is essential for Level 3 achievement of NI 188 titled – ‘Comprehensive action plan with prioritised action in priority areas’. Section 4 provides Conclusions and Recommendations. The chief suggestion is to use the findings from this LCLIP as the basis for a comprehensive adaptation action plan drawn up and implemented by in due course to deliver concrete benefits. The final section suggests some candidate key action priorities from the larger set supplied in Section 3, supplies some guidance and . Significant vulnerabilities are listed and further decision options for VOWH are established. Appendices supply the Interview Format used and the full table of weather incidents derived from the LCLIP media trawl. Appendix 3 sets out in a table what the typical impacts of extreme weather are for communities, businesses & environment, as well as consequences for services, plans and estates of a typical central England District Council. Appendix 1 provides a profile of Oxfordshire’s climate under UK and global change. This covers data from various sources, including the Met Office Oxford station and a detailed analysis taken from the Radcliffe Observatory. Data from these sources explains trends, which are set into the context of Central England analyses. Internet references are supplied.
8
2. CONTEXT
2.1 HOW DO CLIMATE AND WEATHER DIFFER?
Adaptation responses address the impacts of weather events under ‘the climate’. The main difference between long-term climate and everyday weather, is summarised in the phrase "....climate is what you expect, weather is what you get....." Weather is the way the atmosphere is behaving and its effects upon life and human activities, in terms of local temperature, humidity, precipitation, cloudiness, brightness, visibility, windiness and atmospheric pressure. It consists of short-term (minutes to months) changes is the day-to-day state of the lower atmosphere and upper ocean. Weather variables are values of air temperature, precipitation, sunshine, days of frost and snow cover and air/vapour pressure. Climate is the description of the long-term patterns, averages and variations of the weather in a region over a long period. It is defined as long-term statistical information about the weather, describing the variation at a given place for a specified interval. The variables that decide our local climate zone include a location’s latitude, altitude, proportion of land to water, and distance to oceans and from mountains. Formally for the UK ‘it is the weather of a locality averaged over thirty years, plus statistics of weather extremes’, chosen as a period long enough to provide a reliable average that included the usual peaks and troughs of natural variability. The overall definition covers atmospheric and physical components - ocean circulation, the Earth’s surface reflectivity, atmospheric chemistry, terrestrial/marine biospheres, ice-cover and vegetation patterns. External influences on the climate system come from the effects of the Sun, volcanic emissions, and from human additions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and alterations of land surfaces.
Oxfordshire’s climate, within Central England and global climate, is described in detail in Appendix 1.
2.2 CLIMATE CHANGE
A solid scientific consensus holds that human emissions of GHGs have disrupted the Earth’s energy balance. There are unequivocal signs of warming over land, oceans and the atmosphere. The resulting climate change is altering the values of meteorological variables, trends and cycles of variability, over time scales of years or decades. These might be changes in wind patterns, monthly temperatures and precipitation. Trends and shorter-term cycles in these variables must be set within the bigger picture of longer-term, more permanent climate changes, looking back historically, or by using forecasts of future climates.
Global average temperature has risen by about 0.8 °C over the past 100 years, with 1998 and 2005 tying as the warmest years in the climate record. The period 2001 - 2007 is 0.21°C warmer than the 1991-2000 decade. Even while 2008 felt like a ‘cool year’, it was in fact 0.1°C warmer than the decade of the 1990s as a whole, and warmer than any year of the 20th century, besides 1998.
Points about Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation were made in 2007 by the IPCC working group that released the Adaptation Report and Summary:
� Evidence from many parts of the world show that people, plants and animals are being affected by regional climate changes, particularly temperature increases.
� Warming caused by human activities is likely discernible influencing plants and animals.
9
� Impacts on water resources, ecosystems, agriculture and forestry, health and coastlines will likely be negative across most regions, with short-term positive benefits.
� It is very likely that all regions will experience rapid declines in any benefits, and great increases in costs, if global average temperatures warm much more than 2 degrees C.
� Risks of altering weather patterns can be reduced and the worst effects avoided, through a mix of adaptation (better preparing for and responding to climate change impacts) and mitigation (e.g. reducing greenhouse gas emissions).
Figure 1: Plot of global annual temperatures anomalies. This compares years in the historical record to 1961 – 1990 averages. The dominance of red bars shows that the ten warmest years on record have occurred since 1997. 2008, despite ‘cool’ conditions, was far warmer than most of the years, even compared to the very warm decade of the 1990’s. Source: Met Office.
The decade 2001 – 2009 will almost certainly be the hottest decade in at least 2000 years, consistent with the observed warming trend of 0.2 °C per decade. Under-developed countries exposed to weather hazards are not the only ones that will be affected - climate scientists tell us that a progressively-altering climate will become a key factor affecting UK economy and society, with severe effects are predicted for southern Europe. Disruptive weather will become more common for us in the UK, not just in the vulnerable developing world.
Impacts and consequences will be both direct and indirect, and may operate at local, national, regional and international scales. In the longer-term, we can expect synergies between climate change and other major stressors. Direct effects will arise from the weather events themselves. The economy, society, markets and migration may become transmitters of indirect effects. Trends and events might include a worsening financial depression, world/UK food scarcity, global insecurity, movements of environmental refugees, in combination with global commodity exhaustion, particularly energy scarcity and ‘peak oil’. Looking perhaps 10 to 20 years ahead, these effects may interact to disrupt local livelihoods, even in affluent and well-buffered regions, such as Oxfordshire.
An altering climate not only deals out more frequent and more extreme weather events, it is shown through modified seasonality. Local weather observers often notice that the ‘time of year’ is now different. What used to be a series of reliable seasons, running through the year, have changed their start and end dates, overall length and intensity. Alongside the physical changes to these averages, our social understandings are evolving as individuals already adapt psychologically to altered patterns of weather.
10
2.3 VULNERABILITY, IMPACTS, CONSEQUENCES AND ADAPTATION
The 2003 heatwave calls to mind a great season of outdoor dining and waterside frolics. For many residents though, those benefits paled beside the stress of being practically boiled alive, on roads almost melting, perhaps stuck in a traffic jam. Worse, attending the heat-related illness of an elderly friend or relative. Alongside the 2003 weather event, we maybe can recall the 2006 heatwave, the 2004 - 2006 drought and the floods of summer 2007. The statement that we must tackle climate change has become familiar. We can act in two broad areas – cutting carbon emissions through mitigation, and being prepared for increasing change to our weather and climate though adaptation. Adaptation starts from accepting that climate change is happening, so measures to help people adapt are essential. The ‘adaptation agenda’ assumes that the changing climate will lead to impacts from extreme weather events, and is based on the need to anticipate and cope with them. The less mitigation humanity does now, the more difficult it will be to continually adapt in the future. Given current negligible global control over human modification of our atmosphere, we will provoke significant climate change in almost all regions of the world within one or two decades. The ‘adaptation agenda’ argues that we should build up our resilience and coping abilities, so we respond much better to more severe and frequent extreme weather events.
As climate change alters UK weather patterns, climate scientists are confident severe weather events will become more frequent. The graphic below uses a red line to show a heating trend stretching forwards at the rate of 0.2 OC per decade, with a blue curve of annual temperature ups and downs. The yellow stars show major weather events when normal variability was exceeded, as with the heatwave of 1976 and the cold winter of 1962.
The figure shows weather anomalies taking the warming trend as their axis. This is why hot summers like 2003 or 2006 are increasingly likely to repeat in the mid-term.
2050s 2041 – 2070
2080s2071 – 2100
The 2020s2011 – 2040
CurrentClimate
Per iod 1991 – 2020
Long Term Average(1961 – 1990)
Today
+
- 1990 Baseline
Increasing magnitude
of extreme events
1962
1976
Increasing frequency of extreme events
2003
Figure 2: Slide developed from Ian Bateman’s presentation at UKCIP LCLIP seminar, London January 2008
11
The green shaded range represents current coping capacity. Without adaptation future events, if extreme and frequent, may cause impacts with consequences beyond our capabilities to respond. Over-topping our coping capacity becomes more probable if Business as Usual greenhouse emissions, lead to heating rates that take us above the current figure of 0.2 OC per decade. Therefore, while there is a lot of uncertainty about future climate changes, we do know enough to act. Some important terms, to understand what adaptation involves, are: Vulnerability depends on our locality and how we are exposed in different ways to weather hazards. It relates to local landscapes, settlements, transport links and socio-economic characteristics of exposed social groups and habitats. It is closely linked with the distribution of assets and access to all kinds of capital – financial, human, social, physical and natural. Depending on the mix of assets available across social groups, vulnerability is expressed in the varying levels of readiness of communities to respond, short-term and long-term, to weather events under an altering climate. The term ‘impacts’ describe the effects of different weather and climate events. Storm damage to trees, and failed harvests during a drought, are examples of impacts caused by weather events. Each major type of weather event may cause many kinds of specific incidents at differing locations affecting socio-economic groups according to local patterns of vulnerability. In a heatwave, typical incidents would involve evacuation of elderly care-home residents from overheated buildings and fires in rural fields. Consequences are key longer-term issues that overlap with our adaptation efforts. These occur because of an event and due to our response to it, for example flooded-out families made homeless for long periods due to poor insurance cover, official reviews of a weather event and plans made to mitigate future risk. These could also be opportunities that we try to exploit, such as developing a new tourism niche market or planting new crops. Adaptation to climate trends and to weather events involves building capacities, generating resilience and active risk management to minimise the adverse effects of climate change and take advantage of any benefits. Two key facets of adaptation are building adaptive capacity and practical adaptation actions. Building adaptive capacity covers many of the initial local adaptation responses that a local council needs to carry out first. Information on current vulnerabilities of services, communities and businesses needs to be assembled and shared, research examined on future climate, and staff capacities enhanced. Practical adaptation actions, are both tangible and non-physical actions that reduce exposure to hazards and cut the risks. These could involve:
• re-negotiated green spaces maintenance contracts to account for altering vegetation growth;
• the setting-up of local groups of residents and businesses to clear weeds out of rivers to reduce flood risk; political lobbying for physical measures like flood defence bunds, as well as installing early warning systems on local flooding;
• to cope with heatwaves, installing external shading and a green infrastructure of shade trees around offices and schools, altering building specifications to ensure buildings keep cool, as well as changing the school calendar to reduce the exposure of children.
12
2.4 NI188 AND THE COUNCIL’S CLIMATE CHANGE STRATEGY
In December 2007 the Council adopted a Climate Change Strategy, which outlined that VOWH would account for predicted changes in climate on service delivery and Council operations. The strategy stated the Council would use local authority powers to influence others to adapt to climate change. Specific actions included implementing a sustainable procurement protocol, agreeing to implement a district wide climate change plan through the Vale Partnership / Oxfordshire Partnership, and active promotion of adaptation measures by local communities.
Many local authorities have signed the Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change (see First and Second Declarations). Advice to help services adapt to climate change is available. In 2008 National Indicator 188 'Adapting to Climate Change' became part of the performance framework. The indicator was a developed through joint work between Defra and the UK Climate Impacts Programme.
NI 188 sets the stages though which authorities should progress. Government advice states: …..this indicator is designed to ensure local authority preparedness to manage risks to service delivery, the public, local communities, local infrastructure, businesses and the natural environment from a changing climate, and to make the most of new opportunities. The indicator measures progress on assessing and managing climate risks and opportunities, and incorporating appropriate action into local authority and partners’ strategic planning.
The end goal of these three instruments (NI 188, LAA, Nottingham Declaration) is to build-up awareness of the issues, supply information to decision-makers and stimulate adaptation action, ensuring risks are addressed and services respond well to weather impacts.
Defra has published NI 188 guidance, which establishes the aim ‘we are trying to ensure that assessing the risks and opportunities from climate change is embedded across all decision making, services and planning’. The stages are:
Level 1: Public commitment and prioritised risk-based assessment Level 2: Comprehensive risk-based assessment and prioritised action in some areas Level 3: Comprehensive action plans and prioritised action in all priority areas Level 4: Implementation, monitoring and continuous review. Adaptation is one of OCC’s four corporate priorities. With UKCIP support, in 2006 OCC identified weather events costs of more than £16 m over 10 years (Oxfordshire Climate Impacts Profile). NI 188 is part of Oxfordshire’s Local Area Agreement and the aim is to ensure an overall increase in Oxfordshire’s performance from baseline to Level 3 by 2010 / 2011. The county-level outcomes: � Reduced risks to services and communities by controlling weather impacts
� More robust areas of ecological habitats, able to absorb climate change
� Organisations have integrated climate change into business and risk planning
� Strategic plans for the building of resilience are developed that contribute to Sustainable Community Strategies.
13
According to the Target Proposal Form, actions agreed for implementing this indicator are:
• Service areas have considered impacts / risks and are implementing plans to address them
• Adaptation process targets: Oxfordshire Local Authorities agree to complete Levels 1 up to at least 3 (even up to Level 4) within the 2008 - 2011 period
• Ensure new developments and infrastructure incorporate high adaptation levels
• Focus on conservation target areas for biodiversity and on incorporation of high-quality, accessible and wildlife-rich green space into built development.
The main activity for a local authority to achieve Level 1, is to carry out an assessment of current vulnerability to weather events. A tool for this is the Local Climate Impacts Profile (LCLIP).
Further guidance on adaptation is set out below:
• Differently to the global argument about carbon reductions mitigating future change, adaptation should be a specific process of stakeholder decision-making, in a context of specific threats and opportunities. This makes adaptation into a local issue best carried out in partnership with organisations on the ground, for example with strategic partners and with technical support for example, from UKCIP to aid capacity-building.
• Looking backwards and at today’s vulnerabilities helps understand recent impacts. But the past record is no longer the only guide to the future. Given that the climatic goalposts are moving, we must examine the risks under future climate by analysing scenarios. Adaptation strategies and actions should be robust against a wide variety of future conditions. We cannot predict future impacts and provide certain ‘climate-proofing’ measures. Climate change involves a range of futures for which current climate scenarios are an estimate.
• Effective adaptation equips people and institutions alike to cope with a wide range of contingencies. Given that the climate will change continuously over coming decades (though perhaps gradually), learning is achieved through periodic re-assessments that account for changing conditions. Within the Council, proactive teamwork across exposed teams can decide how often these reviews should happen to ensure service continuity under changing weather conditions.
• This means that adaptation becomes a process of social and institutional learning that recognises stakeholder processes and uses information at various levels. Action to promote adaptation is best based on the so-called “3 A’s” - our awareness of the issue and what it means for us; our grasp of what we can do as active agents; and our association with others to work together on the issues.
• Appropriate communication tools to encourage consensus among stakeholders on adaptation options rely on shared information and participatory techniques focused on exploring links, conflicts and awareness-raising around potential adaptation pathways.
14
2.5 FUTURE CLIMATE - UKCIP 2008 HEADLINES
The IPCC 4th Assessment Report concluded that, depending on future emissions, by the end of the 21st century, global temperatures will increase to between 1.1 and 6.4°C above 1980 – ‘99 average. UKCIP has prepared the following headline messages describing UK’s future climate. Some changes have been assigned a confidence level, from high to low. Future changes are relative to 1961 - 1990. The UK will continue to get warmer…
• By 2040, average annual temperature for the UK will rise by between 0.5 and 1 °C, depending on region. By 2100, average annual temperature for the UK is expected to rise by between 1 and 5 °C, depending on region and emissions scenario (high confidence).
• Warming will be greater in summer/autumn than in winter/spring (medium confidence). • The thermal growing season will lengthen, but soil moisture levels in the summer and autumn are
expected to decrease (high confidence). • For coastal UK, sea level will continue to rise.
Summers will continue to get hotter and drier…
• By 2040, average summer temperature for the UK is expected to rise by between 0.5 and 2 °C, depending on region. By 2100, average summer temperature for the UK will rise by between 1 and 6 °C, depending on region and emissions scenario (high confidence).
• By 2100, there will be up to 50% less precipitation in the summer months, depending on region and emissions scenario (medium confidence).
• The number of days when buildings require cooling will increase (high confidence).
Winters will continue to get milder and wetter…
• By 2040, average winter temperature for the UK will rise by between 0.5 and 1 °C, depending on region. By 2100, average winter temperature for the UK is expected to rise by between 1 and 4 °C depending on region and emissions scenario (high confidence).
• By 2100, there is expected to be up to 30% more precipitation in the winter months, depending on region and emissions scenario (high confidence).
• Snowfall amounts will decrease across the UK (high confidence), and large parts of the country will have long runs of winters without snow (medium confidence).
• The number of days when buildings require heating will decrease (high confidence).
Some weather extremes will become more common, others less common…
• The number of very hot summer days will increase. High temperatures similar to those experienced in August 2003 or July 2006 (>3 °C above average) will become common by the end of this century, even under the Low Emissions scenario (medium confidence).
• The number of very cold winter days is expected to decrease, and low temperatures like those experienced in 1963 (>3 °C below av) will become highly uncommon by the end of this century.
• Heavier winter precipitation is expected to become more frequent (high confidence). • Winter storms and mild, wet and windy winter weather will become more frequent (low
confidence).
15
3. LCLIP FINDINGS
3.1 LOCAL CLIMATE IMPACTS PROFILE TOOL
The LCLIP approach should help local authorities to better understand the impacts that the weather has on its operations by uncovering relationships between service areas and various types of weather. For information about LCLIPs as a tool, see links – here & here. Significant events are reviewed and the variables that affect services are examined, as well as adaptation plans and responses. In July 2008 UKCIP hosted an event on recent LCLIPs. Presentations here. County Councils that have undertaken LCLIPs are Kent, Worcestershire, Derbyshire, Warwickshire, Lancashire, Dorset, Devon and Hertfordshire. Fewer UK District Councils have carried these out – an example is Aylesbury Vale DC - initial results. An LCLIP study focuses on issues facing the local authority. Wider work, perhaps through Local Strategic Partnerships, will be needed to support residential communities and businesses when building their own adaptation programme. Ecosystems and biodiversity need attention, as nature cannot adapt proactively, and this LCLIP supplies some relevant comment. The first step in an LCLIP is to look at local media reports across the area and weather records for the last 5 years. These are compiled into a database of the type, location and severity of weather events affecting the District. They include ‘extreme’ events like gales, heat-waves, droughts, and of course flooding. As well, climate trends are important, such as longer growing seasons, the altering seasons and changing ‘typical weather’ each season. The second step is to interview key Council informants asking service managers about impacts and responses. Emails were sent out just before a request to interview. Issues were explored through semi-structured interviews, investigating recent events using the format appended. This format was distinct to that used in other LCLIPs, allowing discussions to strongly focus on weather relationships, trends and variables. 20 interviews were carried out, each about one hour long. Thirdly the researcher pulls together a report covering the findings and main issues to be addressed and feeds back findings to support follow-on actions.
3.2 WEATHER EVENTS OBSERVED - 2003 TO 2008
The full data set of weather-related news is compiled in the annex as a Word table supplies summarised media stories over the 5+ year record. The most frequent type of extreme weather is gales and storms with 14 events over this period, with 2006 – early 2007 particularly active, at the height of some of the warmest months in the UK long-term record. Over this 14-month period, the UK experienced the hottest July, the hottest April, hottest autumn and the hottest spring - and by a wide margin, the hottest single 12-month period. There were a high number of storms in this period, often associated with localized flash flooding in late-summer period often linked with breaking heat waves.
16
Flooding is by far the most significant weather event in terms of damage to public and private assets, civil concern and service delivery implications, with four widespread events on record, two of these serious (2003 and 2007). Serious events of snow and ice are marginal in the 5-year record. No significant events were recorded by the media, and for Services, coping with severe winter weather has largely dropped off the agenda. Heat waves are infrequent in this short record, but if they recur on the scale of the 2003 event, would greatly impact human health, particularly for the elderly, children and other vulnerable groups. Impacts to infrastructure will include damage to buildings by tree and drought-related subsidence, roads, leisure facilities, drainage systems and business closures. Health effects will include large numbers of people suffering sunstroke, dehydration and (later) skin cancer. Two significant droughts have occurred in 2003, that then ran on into the 2004 – 2006 event. Multiple impacts resulted - and it is the case that if the 2004-2006 drought had run on into 2007 (beyond April 2007 – the hottest April since records began) then southern UK would have entered an unprecedented crisis. 1. Rain and flood Flooding has been the most frequent cause of incidents affecting council services. The OCC LCLIP reported more than 40 incidents have been reported in Oxfordshire due to flooding over past 15 years, from 14 heavy flood periods, summer and winter. There have been more than 12 incidents of summer flash flooding 1999- 2006 over the last six years. In Vale of White Horse since early 2003, significant flooding has occurred 6 times in the 5-year record. With flash flooding runoff rapidly occurs often within a couple of hours, making these unpredictable. Two major events occurred, with substantial river flooding (fluvial), in winter 2003, and very severe and widespread floods in late July1 2007. Catchments filled in the west, while rainfall intensities decreased towards the east of the District. Flooding problems were due to watercourses breaking out of their banks and excess surface flows from the land and in smaller watercourses. This mix of river and flash floods affected many towns and villages. As well, the record includes many smaller cases of flash flooding (pluvial), sometimes associated with **gales. In late-summer periods, flash floods are often linked with breaking heat waves. This was the case after both the 2006 and 2003 heat waves. While the summer 2007 floods cannot be attributed directly to climate change, it does provide an indication of the scale and nature of the extreme weather events we may experience as a result.
1 A study from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology of Britain’s wet summer in 2007 confirms that the floods were a
singular event. The report, The summer 2007 floods in England and Wales − a hydrological appraisal, brings together flood and meteorological data and breaks down the events leading to the flooding, for which no modern UK parallel exists. As the event is inconsistent with models predicting drier summers, it does not support the notion that this exceptional flooding was causally linked to climate change. Document here
17
Table 2 – Categories used for Stories. Dates of major events & totals of each kind of event
Abbre-viation
Category & shading
Definition and explanation Dates + duration Hyperlink to each story
Number events
G / S
Gale / Storm / lightning / + flash floods
Strong, sometimes localised, winds (at least 50 up to 88 kph – Beaufort scale 7 to 9) that damage trees and buildings. This severe weather may be accompanied by lightning, and by rain or other precipitation capable of causing flash flooding. In the Beaufort scale, a storm is defined as a disturbance with wind speeds greater than those of a gale (from 89 up to 117 kph), so that in fact real ‘storms’ are very rare. Common use is not so restrictive and associates ‘storms’ with gusty, heavy rain and thunder. Gales and storms are usually significant once they lead to significant travel disruption.
September 2003 March 2004 July 2004 August 2004 June 2005 July 2006 July 2006 – event two October 2006 October 2006 – event two December 2006 January 2007 January 2007 – event two November 2007 March 2008
14
R / F
Excess sustained Rainfall + river / flash Flooding
Heavy rainfall (often widespread, intense and prolonged) that covers substantial areas, capable of causing both river and flash flooding.
January 2003 November 2006 (minor event) July 2007 are profiled here with a hydrological analysis here. June 2008
4
H / S
Heatwave / Excess Sun
A period of abnormally, uncomfortably hot, and usually humid weather, during which high day and night-time temperatures develop, almost always associated with intense sunshine. Defined in the Oxfordshire PCT 2008 Heatwave Plan and Met Office in terms of threshold temperatures - 16ºC overnight and 31ºC daytime - for at least two consecutive days with one intervening night, having significant effects on health.
“2003 Heatwave” – June to July 2003 has been profiled here. “2006 Heatwave” – June to July 2006 has been profiled here.
2
I / S
Ice / Snow / Fog
Significant coverage over fog, ice and/or snow, combined or singly, sufficient to cause travel delays.
February 2007 April 2008 October 2008
2
DT
Drought
Long periods of water deficit resulting in water scarcity. These are usually a combination of meteorological droughts due to direct rainfall deficiency; hydrological droughts where accumulated shortfalls in runoff or aquifer recharge are key; and agricultural droughts where availability of soil water through the growing season is critical. Usually associated with high pressure or 'blocking highs' dominating the weather.
2003 Drought – ran from April to October 2003 and profiled here. 2004 – 2006 Drought Relevant profiles by CEH Wallingford can be found here and here (for both 2003 and 2004-06)
2
AS
Altered seasons
Issues related to alterations to the typical dates of onset of the seasons, their length and intensity. This may affect plant growing season, plant phenology, species behaviour, and the ecological condition of habitats in the longer-term, particularly of species that are human pests. These kinds of shifts are certainly ‘climatic’, as they are departures from long-term averages, can be related to increased Central England Temperature and can very likely be attributed to human influence on the climate system.
n/a
RRP
Response, recovery and policy
Items relating to resilience and broader event-related issues, not the event as it is happening. These maybe to do with pre-event prevention / preparedness; and with post-event issues, related to quality if the emergency response, longer-term recovery after an event. These stories are particularly important when they cover adaptation to these events and the state of planning for mitigating disasters, and preventing the weather from having so many negative impacts.
n/a
18
2. Sun and heatwaves Heat-waves have not occurred often over the last 5 years, but when they do the consequences are many, human and health costs arising from heat stress are high. Heat-waves in July/August 2003 and in July 2006 caused diverse impacts across the District illustrated in media accounts. These events are also firmly linked with a significant drought that occurred from 2003 and deepened in intensity over 2005 and 2006, only concluding in late spring 2007. The two heat waves were also associated with altered seasonality and changed growing seasons, over the winter of 2003/05 and as well and very significantly, in the winter of 2006/07. For that period, many records were broken. It is projected that heat waves as experienced in the summers of 2003 and 2006 could become a normal summer within 20-30 years. Impacts to infrastructure will include damage to buildings by tree and drought-related subsidence, roads, leisure facilities, drainage systems and business closures. Health effects on the community will include larger numbers of people suffering sunstroke, dehydration and skin cancer. Anti-social behaviour, burglaries and assaults are likely to increase in summer months. Bio-diversity impacts may include dried-up riverbeds, outbreaks of botulism and algae, and bird and insect losses. 3. Drought Two long dry spells affected the region between 2003 – 2005. The first began in October 2003. It is unclear if in meteorological terms this drought ‘broke’ in 2004. A spate of media mentions were made of increasing drought biting into District life in late 2004, with very significant concerns expressed in late 2005. The water restriction timeline began in April 2006 when Thames Water introduced a domestic hosepipe and sprinkler ban, the first in 15 years. In mid-April 2006, Thames Water applied to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for an order to ban non-essential water use. In June 2006 a very wet May eased pressure on water supplies. Again, in August 2006, the county received twice the normal average rainfall amount for July, staving off suggestions that an emergency drought order should be imposed. By 18th January 2007, by the time the ban was lifted, hundreds of people across the county had been issued warnings. The combination of drought with flooding on clay soils in Oxfordshire has caused incidences of subsidence, which can have serious and costly consequences. This was poorly covered by the media, except for some mention of the costs to OCC of road repairs. This issue only came to light following publication of the OCC LCLIP. Fires that were clearly related to dry weather or lightning have been rare and minor in scale. 4. Gales and storms A few storm events pepper the record, with for example heavy winds in Sept 2003, May 2005, July 2006 and January 2007. These have caused some damage and loss of life, but would rate lower on the scale of concern than flooding. 4. Ice and snow Serious events of snow and ice are highly marginal in the 5 year record. No significant events were recorded by the media.
19
3.3 AWARENESS OF TRENDS IN WEATHER AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Good local knowledge about the role of weather was evident with staff involved in team management and operational work. The Vale Climate Change Strategy shows that service managers have begun to consider the weather as a factor related to service planning. However, confounding factors often may make it hard to ‘blame the impacts’ under discussion directly to the weather. This report tries to unravel some of those links. Weather awareness is not the same as climate concern. Some Council staff stated they had noticed climate change, personally and professionally. Despite interest in the direction of climate change, the overall observation is that staff attitudes don’t yet demonstrate deep concern about climate adaptation – it is just another issue amongst many competing for busy people’s attention.
In carrying out the LCLIP research, a difficulty was the fading of informant’s memories of how a specific event unfolded, and recalling just what were the impacts and responses. Many of the known events that were picked up in the media trawl were not seen as 'extreme' by interviewees. The risk of climate change is still abstract (it might get hotter and drier, we might have more extreme events).
This is consistent with sociology research on how people react to climate risks, that concludes that people's response to risk has very little to do with the probability of something negative happening. People may be worried by unlikely events (dying in an airline crash, victim of terrorism), and demand major efforts to protect them from these, yet worry little about likely risks, such as being in a car crash. Being informed about the probability of something happening often impacts little on behaviour.
Concern about meeting performance targets and potential reputation damage helps drive local authority action for carbon mitigation. On the adaptation side, for the moment, accountability only applies to how adequate were Council responses during weather emergencies.
Public understandings await development as the climate issue evolves, and has effects on local lives in the future. Many community groups are unaware of flood and other weather related risks. As climate change impacts worsen, adaptation may become a potential concern of citizens, and Council teams may be held to account for the quality of VOWH ’s adaptation responses. If future responses are inadequate, this could damage the council’s reputation.
As well, fading of memories makes the risk seem limited and an issue in the long-term. Climate problems appear to develop slowly, like the remote effects of rising sea level. People do not process hazards associated with slow, long-term processes, or with infrequent events at all well.
Perception of risk is tied to the immediacy or vividness of events, and whether those events are personalized. On average, how likely they are to happen may not be that relevant. People's willingness to respond to potential hazards depends more on whether or not they think other people are responding, than on what the chance of the hazard affecting them is. This is why NI 188 argues for local authorities to work within enduring partnerships, between experts and practitioners, multiple stakeholders and across scales. This is essential for building adaptive capacity over the time scales required by climate change.
20
3
.4 L
IST
OF
PR
OP
OS
ED
PR
IOR
ITY
AC
TIO
NS
WIT
H S
UG
GE
ST
ED
PR
IOR
ITY
LE
VE
LS
PRIORITY
LEVEL +
NUMBERS
ACTION PRIORITY BY SERVICE
COMMENT
1.
PLANNING AND COMMUNITY STRATEGY
i.
T
he u
pda
ted
VC
S s
hou
ld f
ully
enco
ura
ge p
rivate
la
nd
ow
ners
to c
lear
ditches a
nd
dra
ins.
Re
levan
t L
SP
mem
bers
should
take a
ll fe
asib
le m
easure
s t
o c
olla
bora
te o
n
avo
idance o
f ri
ver
and f
lash
flo
odin
g.
Specific
m
easure
s to
be develo
pe
d w
ith LS
P th
rou
gh an
nua
l upda
tin
g.
ii.
P
ropose
to
the
LS
P
Bo
ard
th
at
it
takes
on
a
role
in
m
onitori
ng
the
cro
ss-
org
an
isationa
l actions t
hat
the F
loo
d G
roups m
ight
requ
ire,
to t
ackle
pro
ble
ms t
hat
cro
p u
p d
urin
g im
ple
menta
tion.
Sup
port
ed b
y V
OW
H e
ngin
eeri
ng s
taff
, th
ese p
lans a
re l
ocally
im
ple
mente
d b
y F
lood
Action G
rou
ps.
The L
SP
sho
uld
monitor
and
supp
ort
m
easure
s
undert
aken
by
Flo
od
Actio
n
Gro
ups
thro
ug
h t
he c
om
munity r
esponse p
lans,
and e
nsure
th
at
these
lo
cal gro
ups r
ece
ive a
ll sup
port
ne
ede
d f
rom
LS
P o
rga
nis
ation
s
and o
ther
bod
ies.
The E
A is a
vita
l part
ner
and t
he V
OW
H-L
SP
-E
A r
ela
tionsh
ip i
s k
ey
to e
nsure
cohere
nce b
etw
een E
A w
ork
, V
OW
H a
ppro
aches a
nd L
SP
str
ate
gie
s a
nd a
ctio
n p
lans.
iii
.
Opport
un
itie
s f
or
loca
l actio
n d
uri
ng h
ea
twa
ves s
ho
uld
be e
xp
lore
d,
under
the le
ad
of
Oxfo
rdshire P
ST
.
The LS
P V
CS
A
ction P
lan fo
r th
e A
daptin
g to
E
xtr
em
e W
eath
er
them
e,
should
pro
pose a
ctio
ns f
or
the s
pe
ctr
um
of
extr
em
e e
vents
.
Work
needs t
o b
e d
one
to
assess a
ny p
ossib
le g
aps in m
eeting
th
e s
up
port
nee
ds o
f th
e e
lderl
y d
uri
ng
he
atw
aves.
Local
com
munity p
lans sh
ould
e
nsure
th
at
vuln
era
ble
gro
ups
are
id
entifie
d befo
reha
nd and lo
oked aft
er
during a
n extr
em
e
eve
nt. C
om
munity s
upport
to t
he e
lderl
y a
nd
oth
er
vu
lnera
ble
peop
le d
uri
ng f
loo
d e
ven
ts c
an b
e a
ddre
ssed l
oca
lly,
inste
ad o
f ju
st ale
rtin
g t
he C
ou
ncil
wh
en th
ere
is a
pro
ble
m.
iv
.
Apart
fr
om
D
efr
a and U
KC
IP g
uid
ance,
the
re
com
menda
tions of
the
P
itt
Re
vie
w
should
be
taken in
to a
cco
unt
wh
en d
evelo
pin
g t
he V
CS
Action
Pla
n.
This
covers
develo
pm
ents
in f
loo
d m
anagem
ent
researc
h a
nd
sets
out pro
posa
ls f
or
impro
vin
g loca
l a
uth
ori
ty e
ffectiven
ess.
v.
T
ham
es W
ate
r and U
KA
EA
as very
la
rge la
ndo
wne
rs acro
ss th
e D
istr
ict
ma
y be
inte
reste
d i
n d
eve
lop
ing
th
eir o
wn a
dap
tation p
lans a
nd c
olla
bora
ting
with t
he V
ale
LS
P.
Lik
ew
ise
the
role
of
the
Oxfo
rdshire
Econom
ic
Pa
rtn
ers
hip
, w
hic
h
seeks
to
work
on
en
viro
nm
enta
l as
well
as
socio
-econom
ic d
evelo
pm
ent, c
ould
be f
urt
her
de
velo
ped.
vi.
S
hare
ad
apta
tio
n info
rmation w
ith V
ale
LS
P B
oard
, in
clu
din
g t
his
LC
LIP
rep
ort
.
O
nce t
he V
CS
action p
lan
nin
g h
as a
dva
nced i
n 2
009
and s
ub-
work
ing-g
roups a
round t
he
mes h
ave b
ee
n s
et
up
, th
is w
ould
be
21
the o
pport
unity t
o t
ackle
an
y i
ssues a
nd g
aps i
n t
he
VC
S t
ha
t need
more
attention.
vii.
Pro
mote
involv
em
ent
of
local b
usin
esses in a
dapta
tion
pla
nnin
g v
ia m
em
bers
of
local
Cham
bers
of
Com
merc
e k
een to
becom
e m
ore
invo
lve
d.
This
to b
e d
one a
longsid
e o
ther
Dis
tric
ts w
ith
UK
CIP
sup
port
. U
nder
the arg
um
ent
that
the
y shou
ld im
pro
ve th
eir
b
usin
ess
contin
uity p
lans to a
ccount
for
extr
em
e w
ea
ther
eve
nts
. 2. CONTRACT AND PROCUREMENT - PARKS AND OPEN SPACES
viii
.
Carr
y o
ut a s
tud
y to info
rm the n
ego
tia
tio
n o
f th
e n
ext
main
tenance c
ontr
act.
Bear
in m
ind t
hat
the o
vera
ll cost
incre
ase c
ould
tota
l a r
ou
gh
£50,0
00 p
er
year.
ix.
P
rocure
ment
of
pla
nts
an
d la
ndscape serv
ices sho
uld
ta
ke account
of
adapta
tio
n
measure
s
and
be
consis
tent
with
an
upd
ate
d
Cou
ncil’
s
Gre
en
Sp
ace
&
Sp
ort
S
trate
gy.
This
is a
lrea
dy id
entified in V
OW
H’s
CC
str
ate
gy.
x.
E
ng
agem
ent
with loca
l use
rs o
f re
cre
ationa
l a
nd o
ther
ope
n s
paces m
ight
be n
ee
ded
to
info
rm a
bout cha
nges in p
olic
y a
nd o
bta
in local in
pu
t.
Atte
ntion
mig
ht
be
ne
ede
d
if
there
w
ere
com
pla
ints
due
to
diffe
rent m
anagem
ent.
xi.
P
rom
ote
tre
e p
lanting u
sin
g a
ppro
priate
specie
s f
or
the a
rea t
hat
are
to
lera
nt
of
hot
weath
er,
flo
odin
g a
nd d
rou
ght.
Follo
w de
ve
lopm
ents
in
F
ore
str
y C
om
mis
sio
n advic
e fo
r tr
ee
specie
s a
nd p
rove
nance
se
lection.
xii.
Incre
ased t
arg
ets
for
gre
en i
nfr
astr
uctu
re a
cro
ss t
he c
ouncil’
s l
and p
ort
folio
would
le
ad to n
ew
pla
ntings o
f la
rger
num
bers
of
urb
an s
ha
de tre
es.
If th
is becam
e a priority
th
at
wou
ld h
elp
lo
cal
resid
ents
cope
w
ith f
utu
re h
eatw
aves.
xiii
.
Pro
moting gre
ate
r w
ate
rin
g eff
icie
ncy
in gard
ens an
d com
munal
gre
en space
s b
y encoura
gin
g a
n o
ptim
al ch
oic
e o
f specie
s a
s a
n e
lem
ent
in lan
dscapin
g s
chem
es.
3. BIODIVERSITY MANAGEMENT
xiv.
T
he c
ouncil
shou
ld c
arr
y o
ut
a r
evie
w o
f C
ouncil
ow
ned/c
ontr
olle
d l
oca
l sites a
nd
th
eir m
anagem
ent.
The i
nfo
rmation b
ase
sho
uld
dra
w o
n t
he s
taff
of
bio
div
ers
ity
org
an
isations
involv
ed
acro
ss
the
Dis
tric
t an
d
Co
un
ty,
and
should
in
volv
e
coord
inatio
n
with
UK
CIP
a
nd
oth
er
na
tion
al
bod
ies s
uch a
s N
atu
ral E
ng
lan
d.
xv.
C
arr
y o
ut
a w
ider
revie
w o
f clim
ate
adapta
tion s
tra
teg
ies u
sed b
y c
om
munity n
atu
re
conserv
atio
n p
roje
cts
supp
ort
ed b
y t
he C
ou
ncil.
Best
run i
n l
iais
on
with o
ther
Dis
tric
t auth
orities.
As w
ell,
much
pot
fundin
g is
jo
intly sup
plie
d to
b
iod
ivers
ity org
anis
atio
ns b
y
Dis
tric
ts a
nd O
CC
for
the
Oxfo
rdshire B
iodiv
ers
ity A
ction
Pla
n,
and
measure
s
decid
ed
upon
ma
y nee
d
to
be
wri
tte
n
into
fu
ndin
g a
gre
em
ents
.
6. WASTE MANAGEMENT
xvi.
P
ossib
le j
oin
t w
aste
co
llection t
eam
betw
ee
n S
OD
C a
nd V
OW
H w
ill r
eq
uire f
ulle
r
22
record
keepin
g o
f costs
of
serv
ice d
isru
ption f
rom
severe
wea
ther
incid
ents
and t
he
revis
ion o
f schedule
s.
xvii.
Develo
p join
tly w
ith
OC
C a
work
pro
gra
mm
e f
or
gully
/ d
rain
-cle
ari
ng.
xviii
.
Revis
e
leaf-
cle
an
ing
alo
ngsid
e
the
gra
ss
main
ten
ance
schedu
le
in
line
with
th
e
chang
ing le
ngth
of
the s
easons.
xix
.
Investig
ate
th
e
su
ita
bili
ty
for
win
dy
con
ditio
ns
of
the
conta
iners
used
to
co
llect
dom
estic w
aste
for
dis
posal
an
d r
ecyc
ling.
Lik
ew
ise
, re
vie
w t
he l
ong-t
erm
suita
bili
ty
of
hig
h-s
ided w
aste
co
llection lorr
ies.
Ad
vic
e t
o t
he p
ublic
abo
ut
to h
ow
to w
eig
h d
ow
n b
ins m
ay
be
need
ed.
xx.
R
evie
w i
f th
e f
requency o
f gre
en w
aste
co
llectio
ns i
n s
um
mer
mig
ht
need a
dju
sting
under
a h
eat
wave,
if s
o a
routin
e f
or
this
and g
uid
ance t
o h
ouseho
lds w
ould
nee
d t
o
be p
repare
d.
xxi.
E
nsure
ada
pta
tion
measure
s a
re a
ccou
nte
d f
or
in f
utu
re w
aste
co
llectio
n c
ontr
acts
.
7. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
xxii.
The L
EA
DE
R+
pro
gra
mm
e c
ould
esta
blis
h a
specific
lin
e o
f fu
ndin
g,
by e
nga
gin
g
with
expert
org
anis
atio
ns l
ike U
KC
IP,
to d
esig
n h
ow
support
fro
m t
he f
und c
an
be
based o
n re
al
assessed b
usin
ess ne
eds,
and w
hat
kin
ds of
pro
jects
w
ould
m
erit
clim
ate
ada
pta
tion
fundin
g.
This
assessm
ent could
involv
e local C
ham
bers
of
Com
merc
e.
xxiii
.
Recom
mend th
at
- alo
ngsid
e O
xfo
rdshire C
ounty
C
ouncil,
O
xfo
rdshire E
co
no
mic
P
art
ners
hip
, an
d n
eig
hb
ouri
ng
Dis
tric
t C
ouncils
, V
OW
H s
hou
ld e
ngag
e p
rivate
secto
r part
ners
and
busin
esses i
n a
join
t re
vie
w o
f th
e i
mplic
atio
ns o
f clim
ate
scenari
os f
or
futu
re b
usin
ess d
eve
lopm
ent.
This
could
le
arn
fro
m o
ther
local a
uth
ori
ties’ goo
d p
ractice,
such
as t
he h
igh le
ve
ls o
f busin
ess e
ngagem
ent
in c
limate
adapta
tion
activitie
s a
ch
ieved b
y K
ent
County
Council.
xxiv
.
Develo
p n
ew
opport
unitie
s f
or
tourism
in the D
istr
ict.
An a
ssessm
ent
of
som
e e
arlie
r scop
ing s
tudie
s s
ug
gests
tha
t th
is
mig
ht
requ
ire
som
e
specia
list
input
from
clim
ate
and
tourism
expert
s,
as
well
as
consu
ltatio
n
with
touri
sm
re
pre
senta
tives.
xxv.
A
ris
k a
ssessm
ent should
be u
ndert
aken to e
nsure
th
at
council-
ow
ned p
ropert
ies a
re
as p
rote
cte
d a
s p
ossib
le f
rom
gale
s, heat
wa
ves a
nd
flo
od r
isk.
23
xxvi.
In
th
e e
ven
t of
a f
loo
d e
merg
ency,
gu
idance a
nd r
eh
ea
rsed p
rocedure
s m
ust be
ava
ilab
le t
o th
e E
co
nom
ic D
evelo
pm
ent te
am
to e
na
ble
them
to c
om
munic
ate
pro
active
ly.
This
ensure
s t
hat
vis
itors
and b
usin
esses a
re g
ive
n a
n a
ccura
te
pic
ture
duri
ng a
n e
xtr
em
e w
eath
er
even
t.
xxvii.
When p
lan
nin
g e
vents
in
m
ark
et
tow
ns,
care
ful
tho
ug
ht
is n
ee
ded c
oncern
ing t
he
lo
cation a
nd
date
s o
f fu
ture
events
.
Durin
g r
iskie
r tim
es o
f ye
ar
for
sto
rms,
it m
ay b
e s
ensib
le t
o
avo
id b
ookin
g c
hild
ren
’s inflata
ble
s f
or
outd
oor
eve
nts
.
8. COMMUNITY SAFETY
xxviii
.
Ana
lysis
of
rela
tionship
s
betw
een
h
eat
wa
ves
and
nu
isance
beh
avio
ur
is
recom
mended.
The m
ore
fr
equent
and
inte
nse
heat
wa
ves pro
jecte
d
under
clim
ate
change
scenari
os h
ave a
pote
ntially
ne
gative
influe
nce
on
sum
mer-
rela
ted
crim
es
and
antisocia
l be
ha
vio
ur.
If
re
lationsh
ips a
nd r
isks a
re s
ignific
ant,
managem
ent
pla
ns c
an
be p
ut in
pla
ce.
xxix
.
An w
eath
er
eve
nts
and com
munity safe
ty in
cid
ents
data
base could
be cre
ate
d to
w
hic
h w
eath
er
vari
able
s c
ould
easily
be a
dd
ed.
W
hile
nuis
ance c
om
pla
ints
do s
eem
to b
e r
ela
ted t
o b
oth
th
e
seasons a
nd th
e h
eat, n
o m
onitoring s
yste
m e
xis
ts.
xxx.
C
onsid
er
inclu
sio
n
of
we
ath
er-
rela
ted
issues
with
in
the
V
ale
C
rim
e
Part
ne
rship
in
dic
ato
r set.
A
s th
ese
are
‘refr
eshed a
nnua
lly’, th
ey m
ay be
a ch
ance to
in
clu
de a
n o
vera
ll in
dic
ato
r in
futu
re.
xxxi.
E
xplo
re t
he P
art
ners
hip
’s p
ote
ntia
l ro
le i
n i
dentify
ing a
nd s
upport
ing t
hose r
esid
ents
vu
lnera
ble
to f
lood
ing a
nd h
eatw
aves.
Thro
ugh e
ng
agin
g c
om
munitie
s,
an
d h
elp
ing l
ead a
gen
cie
s l
ike
the P
ST
and E
nvironm
ent
agency t
o k
eep t
he
ir d
ata
ba
ses a
nd
lis
ts u
pdate
d.
9. COMMERCIAL SERVICES - PROPERTY AND ESTATES
xxxii.
Deplo
y
gre
ate
r p
lannin
g
resourc
es
and
socia
l scie
nce
exp
ert
ise
to
en
able
com
pre
hensiv
e F
AG
str
ate
gic
an
d a
ction p
lann
ing.
Develo
p t
he F
loo
d A
ction G
roup p
rogra
mm
e s
o t
hat
the lessons learn
t can b
e s
hare
d
with o
ther
Au
thori
ties f
acin
g s
imila
r pro
ble
ms.
The i
ssue o
f th
eir
in
tegra
tion w
ith
Parish C
ou
ncils
ma
y n
eed t
o
be c
lari
fied,
so
th
at
the
y t
he G
roups o
pera
te i
n f
ull
part
ners
hip
and w
ith
pu
blic
accounta
bili
ty.
xxxiii
.
Continu
e t
o s
upport
FA
Gs s
o t
he
y sh
are
resourc
es,
link-in t
o a
vaila
ble
fund
ing a
nd
learn
fro
m o
ther
more
adva
nced g
roups thro
ug
h a
com
munity o
f pra
ctice.
xxxiv
.
Seek a V
ale
LS
P ro
le fo
r sharing
experi
ence an
d goo
d capacity-b
uild
ing pra
ctice
under
the
Liv
ing
with E
xtr
em
e W
eath
er
them
e,
as w
ell
as d
evelo
p a
n L
SP
overs
ight
role
of
the m
ulti-ag
ency d
eliv
ery
requ
irem
ents
of
FA
G A
ctio
n P
lans.
xxxv.
C
onserv
e senio
r m
anage
ment
expert
ise to
allo
w fo
r continu
ed ste
era
ge of
flood
pre
ve
ntion w
ork
and c
om
mitm
ent to
a s
ocia
lly-c
ohere
nt
response.
Consid
era
ble
experi
ence
has
been
develo
ped
and
go
od
pra
ctice
has
be
en
gen
era
ted.
This
should
b
e
safe
gua
rde
d
durin
g th
e o
ngo
ing
re-o
rga
nis
ation o
f S
OD
C a
nd V
OW
H.
24
xxxvi.
R
evie
w t
he m
anpo
wer
sta
tus o
f la
nd d
rain
ag
e e
ng
ine
ering
an
d t
he
im
plic
ations o
f th
e
backlo
g,
and
exam
ine
if
furt
her
sta
ff
mig
ht
nee
d
to
be
ta
ken
on
and
bu
dg
ets
in
cre
ased
.
xxxvii.
Work
still
ne
eds t
o b
e d
on
e o
n t
he l
on
ger-
term
educatio
n o
f re
sid
en
ts i
n c
on
ne
ction
w
ith a
ware
ness a
nd a
llevia
tion o
f flood r
isk.
Pa
y m
ore
atte
ntion t
o i
nvo
lvin
g y
oung
pe
op
le w
ho
will
be
liv
ing
w
ith e
nha
nced f
lood r
isk t
hro
ugh t
heir l
ives.
Active
ly e
ncoura
ge
th
e p
ub
lic t
o s
ign
up f
or
cellp
ho
ne-d
eliv
ere
d F
lood
Info
rmation
A
lert
s.
xxxviii
.
Recom
mend
appro
achin
g
OC
C
and
the
Hig
hw
ays
Agency
to
esta
blis
h
a
join
t pro
gra
mm
e and exam
ine ho
w to
poo
l an
d fo
cus re
sourc
es,
to im
pro
ve dra
inage
main
tenance c
apacitie
s.
xxxix
.
Pro
pose t
hat
VO
WH
can i
ndic
ate
anti-f
lood m
easure
s a
nd c
om
panie
s s
elli
ng t
hese
(witho
ut e
ndors
ing)
pro
ducts
on a
ded
icate
d p
age o
n V
OW
H’s
site.
Peo
ple
w
hose
houses
are
at
flo
od
ing
risk
should
ta
ke
responsib
ility
fo
r anti-f
lood
m
easure
s and not
mere
ly re
ly o
n
sandba
gs p
rovid
ed b
y t
he
council
xl.
E
xplo
re o
pport
unitie
s f
or
work
ing w
ith b
od
ies s
uch a
s t
he N
ation
al F
arm
ers
’ U
nio
n t
o
pro
mote
conserv
atio
n
tilla
ge
an
d
oth
er
measure
s
tha
t w
ould
in
cre
ase
wate
r absorp
tion.
Where
action s
eem
s d
esira
ble
, V
OW
H c
ould
off
er
to c
olla
bora
te
on t
hese m
easure
s w
ith
ag
encie
s s
uch
as t
he
Natio
na
l F
arm
ers
’ U
nio
n a
nd t
he C
oun
try L
an
d a
nd B
usin
ess A
ssocia
tion
.
10. BUILDING CONTROL
xli.
Move b
eyo
nd c
urr
ent
build
ing p
ractice a
nd c
od
es w
ithin
VO
WH
pla
nnin
g a
nd b
uild
ing
contr
ol to
actively
id
entify
and h
elp
incorp
ora
te inn
ovative h
om
e e
ngin
eeri
ng
solu
tions
by ind
ivid
ua
ls a
nd d
eve
lop
ers
seekin
g a
ppro
val of
pro
posed p
roje
cts
.
In lin
e w
ith
L
SP
C
om
munity S
trate
gy sta
tem
ent
- V
OW
H w
ill
‘enco
ura
ge c
hang
es i
n h
ousin
g d
esig
n t
o c
op
e w
ith
ch
angin
g
weath
er
patt
ern
s,
inclu
din
g
passiv
e
coo
ling
in
their
desig
n;
adeq
uate
gutt
erin
g t
o c
op
e w
ith heavy d
ow
np
ours
and
gra
ve
l drivew
ays a
nd o
ther
poro
us s
urf
aces t
o r
educe
surf
ace w
ate
r ru
n-o
ff’ .
xlii
.
Guid
ance n
eeds t
o b
e a
va
ilable
for
impro
vin
g v
entila
tio
n s
yste
ms in n
ew
an
d e
xis
ting
housin
g
sto
ck,
to
pre
-em
pt
use
of
unsusta
inab
le
ene
rgy-h
ungry
air
co
nditio
nin
g
sys
tem
s.
Som
e re
searc
h in
to flood-p
roofing te
ch
no
log
ies th
at
could
be
re
trofitted t
o b
uild
ings a
t risk o
f river
flood
ing c
ou
ld b
e u
sefu
l.
11.
PLANNING POLICY AND DEVELOPMENT
xlii
i.
C
ontinu
e t
o e
nsure
that
futu
re n
ew
-bu
ild d
evelo
pm
en
t is
not
locate
d o
n f
lood
pla
ins,
and t
ha
t pla
nn
ing c
ontin
ue
s t
o t
ake a
ccount
of
floo
din
g t
rends in t
hose a
reas t
hat
are
at a h
igh r
isk o
f flood
ing.
xliv
.
Requ
ire t
hat
sta
ff a
nd m
em
bers
get
specia
list
tra
inin
g o
n a
da
pta
tio
n m
easure
s,
so
the
y ca
n o
ut
into
pra
ctice a
ny n
ew
req
uirem
ents
laid
out
in n
ew
Pla
nn
ing A
dvic
e N
ote
(g
enera
ted t
hro
ugh t
he u
pd
ate
d P
olic
y o
n S
usta
inab
le C
onstr
uction).
Care
shou
ld
be
giv
en
to
ensure
th
at
all
ne
w
de
velo
pm
ents
w
ould
be
able
to
cop
e
with
futu
re
pre
dic
ted
sum
mer
tem
pera
ture
s.
Passiv
e c
oo
ling a
nd g
ree
n i
nfr
astr
uctu
re s
hould
be a
ctively
purs
ued in n
ew
develo
pm
ents
where
ver
po
ssib
le.
25
xlv
.
Ensure
perio
dic
assessm
ent
of
ho
w p
lan
nin
g a
pplic
ations a
re m
onitori
ng w
ith r
egard
to
clim
ate
thre
ats
& o
pport
unitie
s to h
ab
ita
t pro
tectio
n.
xlv
i.
R
equ
ire c
loser
work
ing b
etw
een b
uild
ing c
ontr
ol a
nd
pla
nnin
g.
This
will
allo
w s
ignific
an
t p
lan
nin
g a
pp
licatio
ns t
o b
e a
ssessed
fo
r com
plia
nce w
ith u
pdate
d P
lan
nin
g A
dvic
e.
12. EMERGENCY PLANNING
xlv
ii.
E
nsure
th
at
furt
her
upda
ted em
erg
ency p
lans and
all
pro
ce
dure
s co
ver
not
only
floodin
g,
but
dea
l in
depth
with r
isks a
risin
g f
rom
heatw
aves,
dro
ug
hts
an
d s
torm
ha
zard
s.
13.
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH, PROTECTION AND FOOD SAFETY
xlv
iii.
W
e r
ecom
mend t
hat
specia
list
org
an
isations s
uch a
s t
he N
ation
al
Pest
Technic
ians’
Associa
tion
shou
ld b
e c
on
sulted
in o
rder
to a
ssess n
ationa
l pe
st
trends a
s c
limate
change
pro
gre
sses.
Local
da
ta
on
tr
en
ds
in
the
typ
es
and
se
veri
ty
of
pests
in
re
lation t
o w
eath
er
varia
ble
s is h
ard
to o
bta
in.
xlix
.
The i
ntr
od
uction o
f ne
w h
um
an d
iseases a
nd p
ath
og
en
s d
ue
to
clim
ate
cha
ng
e i
s a
huge
are
a o
f concern
and r
equ
ires r
outine m
onitorin
g.
l.
V
OW
H should
consid
er
takin
g on a fu
ller
role
a
long
sid
e O
xfo
rdshire P
CT
and
its
part
ners
in a
llevia
tin
g th
e h
eat str
ess s
uff
ere
d b
y v
uln
era
ble
users
of
socia
l care
.
This
w
ou
ld
requ
ire
VO
WH
appro
ach
ing
the
PC
T
to
asse
ss
wheth
er
a s
upp
ort
role
ca
n b
e c
reate
d t
ha
t m
atc
hes V
OW
H’s
com
pete
ncie
s.
13.
ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT -HUMAN RESOURCES
li.
S
tocks o
f w
ell-
made p
ow
erf
ul
fans s
hould
be a
vaila
ble
in V
OW
H’s
facili
ties t
o a
vo
id
the nee
d fo
r m
akin
g em
erg
ency purc
hases w
hen a
heat
wa
ve str
ikes and w
hen
dem
and f
or
these ite
ms in s
tore
s is o
verw
he
lmin
g.
Due to
ele
ctr
icity consum
ptio
n,
costs
an
d carb
on
em
issio
ns,
investing in
off
ice a
ir c
ond
itio
nin
g is lik
ely
to b
e in
eff
icie
nt
and
is
not re
com
mended.
lii.
F
or
sig
nific
ant
indiv
idua
l h
ot
spots
w
here
fa
ns are
u
nlik
ely
to
b
e suff
icie
nt, a fe
w
tem
pora
ry port
ab
le air con
ditio
nin
g u
nits could
ne
vert
hele
ss be m
ade ava
ilable
to
alle
via
te th
e h
eat
whe
n th
e s
ituation
wou
ld o
therw
ise b
e in
tole
rab
le.
liii.
, pro
ced
ure
s s
hou
ld b
e d
evelo
ped
tha
t e
nsure
incre
ased a
ware
ness o
f th
e d
an
ge
rs o
f U
V e
xp
osure
.
Consid
erin
g th
e gre
ate
r ri
sk of
skin
cancer
for
sta
ff w
ork
ing
outd
oors
, th
e
inclu
sio
n
of
weath
er
events
a
s
a
sta
ff
managem
ent varia
ble
ma
y need
to b
e c
onsid
ere
d.
26
4. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
This LCLIP report should now provide enough evidence to approach senior management to decide on adaptation activities.
4.1 SIGNIFICANT OPPORTUNITIES AND VULNERABILITIES
The following are the ten highest priority issues, selected using the consultant’s best judgement:
i) Propose to the LSP Board that it takes on a role in monitoring the cross-organisational actions that the Flood Groups might require, to tackle problems that crop up during implementation.
ii) Share adaptation information with Vale LSP Board, including this LCLIP report.
iii) VOWH should engage private sector partners and businesses in a joint review of the
implications of climate scenarios for future business development. This will promote involvement of local businesses in adaptation planning via those members of local Chambers of Commerce that are keen to become more involved.
iv) Increased targets for green infrastructure across the council’s land portfolio could lead to new
plantings of larger numbers of urban shade trees using appropriate species and provenances. v) Carry out a wider review of climate adaptation strategies used by community nature
conservation projects supported by the Council, as well as Council owned/controlled local sites and their management. Information should be collected about preparedness of biodiversity partner organisations for oncoming weather / climate impacts on biodiversity.
vi) Analysis of relationships between weather, seasonality and nuisance behaviour is
recommended. If relationships and risks are significant, management plans should be put in place.
vii) Opportunities for local action during heatwaves should be explored, under the lead of
Oxfordshire PST. This would require VOWH approaching the PCT to assess whether a support role can be created that matches VOWH ’s competencies.
viii) Deploy greater planning resources and social science expertise to enable comprehensive FAG
strategic and action planning. Develop the Flood Action Group programme so that the lessons learnt can be shared with other Authorities facing similar problems.
ix) Move beyond current building practice and codes within VOWH planning and building control
to actively identify and help incorporate innovative home engineering solutions by individuals and developers seeking approval of proposed projects.
x) Involve VOWH and LSP partners in wider climate change actions through Oxfordshire Climate
Change Partnership and the Climate South East Partnership. Collaborate county-wide constructing a monitoring system to record events, log impacts and hold data on the weather that caused them.
27
4.2 CONCLUSIONS
1 Service coping. This LCLIP has not found evidence of weather events overwhelming VOWH services. Except for the 2007 summer floods, highly damaging emergency events have not occurred in the 5-year record. There were almost no cases were Council responses were overwhelmed, VOWH reputation damaged or a great deal of extra man-power was needed. Few gaps and un-addressed vulnerabilities were found during the LCLIP research. Vale of White Horse is a well-buffered district, where we have been lucky that the kinds of weather events we have seen in recent times have not been catastrophic, and were responded to within management abilities and current resources. Much adaptation by services has already occurred, as part of good management and risk assessment. Despite the robust coping systems in place, the risk of ‘extreme weather’ causing overwhelming impacts to VOWH is apparent. 1 Costs. This study has not been able to demonstrate large costs to the Council from extreme weather events. Reporting mechanisms do not cover weather as a costed variable, so some impacts may stay hidden. It is likely that direct costs reported of weather events are limited – as shown for example by minimal insurance claims for subsidence. Identified costs are not significant in comparison with the overall VOWH budgets. It is appropriate that the costs of the impacts of weather on services continue to be treated within operating budgets. 2 Reputation. It is often noted that concern about potential Council reputation damage is now a driver of local authority action for carbon mitigation. On the adaptation side, for the moment, accountability only applies to the adequacy of Council responses to weather emergencies. Public understandings will mature as weather impacts are felt and climate change evolve, and affects local livelihoods in the future. Some sectors of the community are not aware of flood and other weather related risks. As climate change impacts worsen, adaptation may become a potential concern of citizens, and Council teams may be held to account for the quality of VOWH’s adaptation responses. Any lack of guidance and advice to the public and District businesses, which contribute to future inadequate responses, could damage the council’s reputation. 3 Staff understandings. Good local weather knowledge was evident with staff involved in operational work, however most service managers have not usually considered the weather as a factor that relates to service planning and delivery. Confounding factors often may make it hard to ‘blame the impacts’ under discussion directly to the weather. In carrying out the LCLIP research, a real difficulty was the fading of informant’s memories of how a specific event unfolded, and recalling just what were the impacts and responses.
Many of the known events that were picked up in the media trawl were not seen as 'extreme' by interviewees. Some Council staff stated they had personally and professionally ‘noticed’ climate change. Despite some interest in the effects and direction of climate change, the overall observation is that staff attitudes do not yet demonstrate of deep concern about climate issues. Almost all interviewees are just witnessing changed weather patterns, rather than understanding causes and anticipating climate change impacts. 4 Flooding issue. The 2007 flood led to a comprehensive assessment of VOWH DC’s responses within those of the team of agencies that had to attend to the emergency. Given the scale of the event, responses were very good, according to the internal review and this assessment. VOWH’s Flood Management Strategy is well-developed, for example clearly laying out the sliding scale of actions that should be enforced when dealing with recalcitrant riparian landowners who won’t maintain their watercourses.
28
5 Flood Action Groups. The public is aware that resources are limited for VOWH to solve all drainage problems. This is a good reason for VOWH to invest resources to develop a robust network of Flood Action Groups across the District. Considerable effort has been ongoing by VOWH to build local resilience to flooding through exemplary work to foster and support Flood Action Groups. Flood Action Groups have a role when no large structured engineering options are available to reduce flood risk, and local flood risk can improve through channel maintenance and small-scale measures.
This correctly makes groups at Parish-level responsible for key tasks like detecting poorly maintained waterways, developing plans, seeking funding and assistance from other agencies and engaging communities. This work appears to be generating examples of good practice, making VOWH compare very well with other District Councils in Oxfordshire in its advanced engagement with the issue. 6 Engineering Services Capacity. The scale of the work needed to manage the Vale’s secondary drainage is beyond VOWH’s resources. Under Commercial Services, VOWH’s drainage inspection and engineering team has an excessive work load, given staff and resources, to meet its responsibilities, for example mapping the trouble spots that have been identified in successive flood incidents across the District. Under current resource limitations, this is unlikely to be rectified. 7 Risk management. The risk of repeated extreme weather events is gradually growing. Return periods for extreme events are shortening as the CET heating trend implies that average conditions are changing. Likelihood and magnitudes of future events have been projected by UKCIP and others. A robust statement is that events of all kinds, except cold-related ones, are likely to become progressively much more serious than today. We must anticipate growing impacts on the community and other stakeholders, regardless of the limited financial implications of extreme weather to date for VOWH.
8 Attention to flooding. Compared with other weather events, flooding takes up the lion’s share of Council attention and resources. While the summer 2007 floods cannot be attributed directly to climate change, it does indicate the scale and nature of the extreme weather events we may experience. While this focus on flooding is not misapplied, it may require some review. Other types of events could require effort on a similar scale, particularly heat waves and droughts. 9 Two droughts in the record were associated with altered seasonality (very pronounced over the winters of 2003/04 and 2006/07) and heatwaves (2003 + 2006). Drought is something of a forgotten issue – in spite of recent events and the consistency with which droughts appear in models of southern England’s future climate. However, compared with flooding, local authorities have few statutory obligations for coping with these effects. 10 Grass-cutting service operation is becoming over-stretched. Altering seasonality is causing a direct impact on the Council, with Landscape Services in late 2008 emerging from what was ‘an impossible workload’, due to copious grass growth, that could not be cut during the very wet summer of 2008. This had knock-on effects for the Council’s contractor, unable to carry out other landscape maintenance obligations.
The active grass-growing season is now at least 6 weeks longer than it was 20 years ago. This is due to the extending season of grass growth due to recent wetter summer months, and milder temperatures during the winter period associated with climate change. The wetter summer periods over 2007 and 2008 have impacted on the grass cutting timetables of the Council.
29
11 The tree stock suffers routine levels of damage from storms, while subsidence due to floods or droughts is uncommon and not considered to be an issue resulting in claims. For example the 2-3 storms per year that have little affected the District, beyond causing travel disruption, so they carry few implications for VOWH DC. Even when Storm Kyrill struck the area in January 2007, almost no impacts were reported in the media. 12 Except for flood warnings, almost no monitoring of weather variables occurs. Little in the way of quantitative data is available to deepen understandings of the degree of the impacts. Weather-related staff time and financial costs are not separately identified and monitored. No logging mechanism is planned nor in place that would enable the monitoring of event variables. 13 The effects of weather events and of climate trends on the Council’s strategic goals have begun to be assessed. On a time scale of one to two decades, Council services are vulnerable to more and larger-scale weather events. Business continuity plans do not yet cover weather risks, may be incomplete. While VOWH service areas exposed to weather impacts have started to adapt, given the unknown future evolution of weather impacts, we argue for a proactive approach to strategically manage the impacts of future weather.
4.3 RECOMMENDATIONS
1 There is a growing risk of repeated extreme weather events. Return periods for extreme events and average conditions are changing. Likelihood and magnitudes of future events can only be projected, but further into the future, are likely to be much more serious than today. We must anticipate growing impacts on the community and other stakeholders, regardless of the limited financial implications of extreme weather to date. 2 Recommend that follow-up sessions be carried out with operational managers, using this report to confirm findings and extend understandings of weather impacts, using risk management as a suitable vehicle. Risk management sessions should develop action plans for LCLIP-style reporting, that monitors weather and considers the changing climate.
3 Climate change adaptation in VOWH should go beyond a managerial approach, and encompass climate change education of the staff base. With some staff awareness-raising, attitudes could build-up to become a driver for delivering adaptation. Extreme weather should be included as a corporate risk. Service-level adjustments to the authority’s risk register should explain how services are currently affected - and will be affected in the future - and identify adaptation options that plug particular vulnerabilities. 4 Oxfordshire Climate Change Partnership and the Climate South East Partnership can play a useful role in building capacity. As VOWH’s climate strategy suggests, VOWH should participate itself, and as well encourage LSP partners to become involved, by themselves participating in meetings and actions. Joint acting on significant issues would encourage more distributed involvement. This will aid VOWH sustain a diversity of partner interests in countywide community actions that integrate mitigation and adaptation. 5 Collaborate county-wide constructing a monitoring system to record events, log impacts and hold data on the weather that caused them. This would help in decision-making in two ways: •••• As thresholds of a given variable are crossed at the onset of extreme weather, responses would come into play to mitigate impacts through early warning, as for river flooding; •••• More widely, monitoring the impacts of weather as a factor in service delivery causing extra costs and increased demands.
30
However, beyond flooding, exactly how the system would work, what variables and impacts should be tracked, by whom and why, needs joint research. 6 The approaches used by VOWH with other agencies to stimulate local efforts by Flood Action Groups should be shared with neighbouring authorities, where similar efforts are at earlier stages (such as SODC). However, first of all the need is to identify the lessons of the work underway – what exactly are the best practices that support partnership working, increase awareness and enable working together? This requires some social science research. 7 Taking the opportunity to share good practice will also boost horizontal contacts between Groups in various stages of development and promote their regional integration, providing benefits for the groups in the Vale. Taking on leadership in this area could also provide reputation gains for VOWH. 8 Assess the budgetary requirements of increased manpower across long wet grass growing period (from early April through to November under current climate change). There is a need to revise leaf-clearing and grass maintenance schedules and resources in line with the changing length of the seasons. A bid to increase the Landscape Services budget by approx. £ 40 - 60,000 per year may be required. 9 The new LEADER programme based at SODC could provide opportunities to work on joint adaptation projects with local stakeholders, members of the LSP or of Chambers of Commerce. 10 Further police analysis of the relationships that exist between heat waves and nuisance behaviour is recommended. 14 Opportunities for collaborating with Oxfordshire PCT’s heat wave Plan could be explored as a breakthrough project for joint work with the LSP. With partners, VOWH could approach the PCT to assess whether a support role can be created that matches LSP partners and VOWH ’s competencies, to jointly cope in the aftermath of a heatwave. 15 Learn from other local authorities’ good practice, such as the high levels of business engagement in climate adaptation activities achieved by Kent County Council. Alongside Oxfordshire County Council and neighbouring District Councils, VOWH could engage private sector partners and businesses in a joint review of the implications of climate scenarios for future business development.
31
APPENDICES
APPENDIX 1: OXFORDSHIRE’S CLIMATE WITHIN GLOBAL CHANGE
This section draws on a variety of sources for findings and figures about Oxfordshire’s climate, setting climate information in the UK spatial context, then within the global setting
1.1 GLOBAL CHANGE
Despite some outlier contrarian opinion, the consensus (see here / here) around climate change science is robust, expressed as “unequivocal” in the 2007 assessment report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC2). The Working Group examining the Physical Science in the Summary for Policy Makers stated:
• Changes in abundance of greenhouse gases3 (GHGs), aerosols, solar radiation and land properties, have significantly altered the climate system’s energy balance.
• GHG concentrations far exceed pre-industrial values, with current concentrations of CO2 much higher than the natural range over the last 650,000 years, and probably higher than at any time in the last 20 million years. Carbon emissions (3% per year) and atmospheric concentrations (2.2 ppm / year) are growing faster than ever recorded.
• Global land and ocean temperatures have already increased by 0.8 OC causing sea levels to rise and worldwide ice melting - warming is "unequivocal.
• It is at least 90% certain that human emissions of greenhouse gases, rather than natural variations, are responsible for global warming over the past 50 years.
• Improved computer modelling has increased confidence in climate projections that temperature rises, sea level increases and ice melting will continue.
There is no significant dispute within the expert community as to the reality or causes of manmade global warming. Oreskes stated ‘scientists publishing in the peer-reviewed literature agree with IPCC…. and public statements of their professional societies. Politicians, economists, journalists, and others may have the impression of confusion, disagreement, or discord among climate scientists, but that impression is incorrect’. We have reached the end of the wide science debate when it had been uncertain that significant climate change is occurring, is largely caused by humanity and that natural variations are complementary, not primary, causes. The human enterprise is clearly performing a massive shift in the distribution of carbon that has been stored over hundreds of millions of years in the crust of the earth, moving part of that material - in just a century or so - back into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide and methane.
The ‘mitigation agenda’ addresses the causes of climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. A target has been set by the EU to limit global warming to 2˚ Celsius, a level that is believed does not lead to dangerous climate change, and was thought to correspond to a CO2 level of 450 ppmv (parts per million by volume).
2 180 governments, that make up the IPCC, approved IPCC Fourth Assessment Report. The IPCC is formally a group of
governments (not one of scientists) which commissions assessments every 6 years. These are prepared through the efforts of hundreds of scientists, actively involved in state-of-the-art research, to provide a comprehensive view of the current understanding of climate science and change. 3 Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is at its highest concentration probably in the last twenty million years, at 387 parts per
million (ppm). Rising at an increasing rate over 2 ppm/yr, compared to 1970-2000 at 1.5 ppm. CO2 levels have increased by 30 ppm in the last 20 years. Over the last million years, an increase of 30 ppm has never taken less than 1000 years. Human activity is pushing the climate system at rates unprecedented in history.
32
However, carbon emissions growth rate has increased to 3% per year over 2000 - 2007, due to trends involving both accelerating and more carbon-intensive global economic growth; and the weakening of some of the Earth’s carbon sinks. CO2 emissions are above the worst-case IPCC scenarios. A peer-reviewed Royal Society paper from the Tyndall Centre states:
It is increasingly unlikely that an early and explicit global climate change agreement, or collective ad hoc national mitigation policies, will deliver the urgent and dramatic reversal in emission trends necessary for stabilization at 450 ppmv CO2-e. Similarly, the mainstream...agenda is far removed from the rates of mitigation necessary to stabilize at 550 ppmv CO2-e. Given the reluctance, at virtually all levels, to openly engage with the unprecedented scale of both current emissions and their associated growth rates, even an optimistic interpretation of the current framing of climate change implies that stabilization much below 650 ppmv CO2-e is improbable.
...the latest scientific understanding of climate change, allied with current emission trends and a commitment to ‘limiting average global temperature increases to below 4C above pre-industrial levels, demands a radical reframing of both the climate change agenda, and the economic characterization of contemporary society. Only massive emission reductions, if carried out globally to an unprecedented extent, will stave off future irreversible, chaotic and harmful climate change.
The Tyndall Centre estimates that global emissions need to peak by 2015, then fall by 6 - 8% a year between 2020 and 2040, leading to full decarbonisation soon after 2050. This is hugely ambitious. Effective mitigation will continue to be very difficult. As well, there is a considerable time lag in the Earth’s response to CO2 already added into the atmosphere, meaning we are committed to much more warming than that has occurred so far. Current GHG concentrations commit the Earth to a further 0.6 degrees warming, that will certainly take place whatever humanity does. The lag in warming response means it would take at least 30 years before concerted global mitigation action, if successful, could result in a more stable global climate. Even if deep cuts in emissions were achieved through strenuous mitigation, Earth systems will progressively overcome inertia in their response, particularly as oceans warm further, and feedbacks generate further warming or more GHG emissions. This means that generations of humanity will be under the ongoing obligation to adapt to progressively changing climates. However, this is not the full picture. Observers now note that the IPCC consensus may underestimate the problem. Various updates (see WWF) of climate impacts studies have found accelerating negative trends in global carbon balances, carbon sinks, ecosystem integrity and ice cover4. Of particular alarm are recent trends in summer Arctic Ocean sea ice that were greatly underestimated in IPCC projections. An increasingly accepted view is that the Earth’s systems are more sensitive to current and future climate forcing from greenhouse agents than was assumed, even as late as 2007. The 2007 IPCC consensus did not take into account ‘tipping elements’ in Earth systems involving complex feedbacks, especially carbon-cycle forcing through GHG releases from Siberian thawing, northern forest dieback due to fire and pests and Amazon drying.
4 Climate Code Red Report - The case for a sustainability emergency (Spratt, Sutton, FoE) responds to the pressure to soft-
pedal on climate change, takes proper stock of the science and gives "the politics of the possible" its due. They argue that consensus science under-estimates our situation’s seriousness and a 'planetary emergency' declared. Download.
33
A particular worry is that rapid dynamic changes of Greenland ice sheets are not yet understood, creating great uncertainty in estimates of likely sea level rises. The effects of smoke and aerosols released by humans, creating ‘global dimming’, causes uncertainty. The implication of policies to reduce air pollution is that these may cause unmasking of aerosol cooling effects, and this could release significant committed warming. These updated insights highlight the risks involved in accepting even 2°C of global warming, as many of the impacts are happening earlier, and at lower temperature increases, than predicted. A serious shortcoming in the IPCC’s work is the absence of a risk management approach that addresses these low-probability events with catastrophic consequences. Impacts and feedbacks that accelerate climate change are likely to be triggered within the 2 degree range. This is confirmed by studies of past climate showing safe carbon limits would require humanity to bring down CO2 concentrations to below 350 ppm, particularly to restore Arctic ice cover. The Government’s Committee on Climate Change only partly considered these issues when setting the target to reduce UK carbon emissions by 80% by 2050.
1.2 OXFORDSHIRE’S CLIMATE
The following table sets out selected Met Office/UKCIP climate variables and indices used to assess climate trends, mostly derived from the daily or monthly temperature/precipitation data.
Climate variable
Definition
Heating Degree Days ∑(15.5 – daily mean temperature) with T mean < 15.5 °C. Cooling Degree Days
∑(daily mean temperature - 22) for Tmean > 22 °C.
Extreme temperature range
Annual maximum temperature minus annual minimum temperature
Growing season length
Period bounded by daily mean temperature > 5 °C for > 5 consecutive days - and - daily mean temperature < 5 °C for > 5 consecutive days (after 1 July)
Summer 'heatwave' duration
Sum of days with daily max. T > 3 °C above 1961-90 daily for ≥5 consecutive days
Consecutive dry days Longest spell of consecutive days with precipitation <= 0.2 mm during the year
Greatest 5-day precipitation
Greatest total precipitation amount (mm) for 5 consecutive days during the year
Rainfall Intensity Total precipitation on days with ≥1 mm divided by count of days with ≥1mm
According to the UK Meteorological Office’s climatology reporting system, Vale of White Horse falls within the England South-East and Central South standard area. Oxfordshire has a Maritime Temperate climate ("Cfb" in the Köppen classification). Precipitation, mostly from Atlantic weather systems is fairly uniform through the year. The lowest temperature recorded in Oxford was -16.6 °C in January 1982; the highest recorded in Oxford was 35.6 °C during the 2003 European heat wave.
34
Met Office data for Oxford is presented in the following table:
Max temp Min temp Days of air frost
Sunshine Rainfall Rainfall days > = 1mm
Month °C °C days hours mm days
Jan 7.2 1.9 8.8 58.0 57.5 11.5
Feb 7.6 1.7 8.5 72.0 42.6 9.2
Mar 10.3 3.4 4.0 107.9 50.0 10.5
Apr 12.8 4.7 2.1 150.0 46.2 8.7
May 16.5 7.5 0.2 191.9 53.9 9.1
Jun 19.5 10.5 0.0 187.8 54.5 8.7
Jul 22.3 12.8 0.0 205.5 38.2 6.7
Aug 21.9 12.6 0.0 193.8 54.4 7.8
Sep 18.6 10.5 0.0 138.6 58.9 9.1
Oct 14.4 7.4 0.7 108.2 61.8 10.6
Nov 10.1 4.3 4.5 72.0 59.4 10.1
Dec 8.0 2.8 7.3 51.8 64.7 10.9
1971 - 2000 mean 14.1 6.7 36.1 1537.4 642.0 112.9
1961- 1990 mean 13.8 6.4 40.7 1508.6 632.1 112.8
Figure 1: Climate variables at the Oxford meteorological station 1971-2000. Means for 1961-1990 also shown.
Oxford’s weather is reported by the Radcliffe Weather Station, which supplies meteorological data for twelve-month periods with yearly totals and means. Radcliffe analysis of the recent climate of England SE and Central South region (inc. Oxfordshire) contains these average:
Month
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C
6.8 7.4 10.1 13.0 16.7 19.8 21.7 21.2 18.5 14.2 9.8 7.4 13.9
Average low °C
1.4 1.4 2.5 4.3 7.2 10.2 12.2 11.9 9.8 6.8 3.8 2.1 6.1
Precipitation mm
52.6 41.0 41.1 43.9 50.6 53.3 59.5 58.3 60.3 65.3 61.8 55.8 643.5
Figure 2: Mean Oxford weather for 1881 - 2004. Source: Radcliffe Meteorological Station 2008
Available Radcliffe Station reports:
Weather at Oxford - Annual Report 2006; Weather at Oxford - Annual Report 2005
Weather at Oxford - Annual Report 2004; Weather at Oxford - Annual Report 2003.
35
Headlines from the Radcliffe temperature time series are:
• 20th-century temperatures were generally higher than those of the 19th, partly because of ‘heat island’ effect due to urban development over open spaces.
• The Radcliffe temperature time series confirms the post-1996 decade as the warmest on record by a considerable margin.
• Increased temperatures lead to concerns that greater evaporation may affect water availability.
Figure 3: Mean annual air
temperature - 1815 to 2006 at Radcliffe Meteorological Station
Setting Oxfordshire within the Central England Temperature record
A key UK climate reference is Central England Temperature (CET). Running from 1772 this is the world’s longest temperature record and is perhaps the most representative measure of the surface climate of the UK. It is well correlated with land temperatures over the entire Northern Hemisphere. Recorded monthly temperatures, adjusted for urban warming, represent a triangular area enclosed by Lancashire, London and Bristol. Figure 4 shows annual anomalies relative to the 1961-1990 average The red line is equivalent to a 10-year running mean. After some 20th century warming between the 1920 - 40s, and a cooling during the 1970 - 80s, CET has been exceptionally warm in the period from 1990. To date CET has increased by about one degree Celsius.
Figure 4: Mean Central England Temperature anomalies, 1772-2008. Source: Hadley Centre
36
Trends in temperatures since the mid-17th century show that temperatures were lower than the long-term average during the period roughly 1650-1700 and then rose sharply in the early 1700s. During the 18th/19th centuries, a cool period coincided with snowy winters and generally cool summers. From 1910, temperatures increased slightly until about 1950, when they flattened before a sharp rising trend began in 1975. Figure 5 shows the warmest years in the UK, calculated from CET (from UKCIP). This dataset gives the 12 warmest years since 1659, up to 2007, as:
Rank Years Difference (ºC) in mean temp. 1961 to 1990
1st 2006 +1.30
2nd / 3rd 1990 / 1999 +1.16
4th 1949 +1.15
5th 2002 +1.13
6th 1997 +1.06
7th 1995 / +1.05
8 / 9th 2003 / 1989 +1.03
10 / 11 / 12th 1959 / 2004 / 2007 +1.01
9 of the 12 warmest CET years since 1659 have occurred since 1990, and the 1990s were exceptionally warm in central England historically, 0.6°C warmer than 1961 – ’90. 2006 was a year that broke many records. The annual mean CET of 10.8 °C in 2006 was 1.35°C above the 1961-90 average, the warmest temperature for 348 years. 12-month rolling averages show that very warm individual months made April 2006 through April 2007 the warmest 12-month period on record. May to September 2006 was warmer than any equivalent period. July 2006 was the warmest month ever with a temperature of 19.7 °C. Appraisal of this trend show it to be statistically significant, concluding that the warming in annual-mean CET of 1.0°C since 1950 cannot be explained by natural climate variations, and is consistent with forcing due to increasing GHGs and aerosols.
How warm was 2008?
It is important to mention that climate is under the influence of natural variability as well as the greenhouse effect. Policy makers should understand that even a short-term cooling over a few years or seasons does not mean the consensus about human-driven warming is flawed (see). The weather will be warmer or cooler than average in particular places and times without affecting the over-all warming trend. In January 2008 the Met Office predicted that 2008 would be a little cooler than earlier years in the 21st C, but would still be one of the 10 warmest years. This prediction proved correct. 2008 would have been considered warm as recently as the 1970s, and ‘a scorcher’ for our Victorian ancestors. Today we have come to consider warmer weather usual, so while January 2008 did seem particularly cold, that was compared to January 2007, the warmest January on record (due to the warming from El Niño). Data shows that, though 2008 UK weather was influenced by La Niña (the cold phase of the El Niño oscillation), 2008 was still an exceptional year, which would be 50 times less likely to be as warm without human influence. 2008 shows how weather varies year-to-year under ongoing climate change.
37
Setting Oxfordshire within recent UK temperature trends
Analysis by the Met Office examined spatial trends in UK climate since 1914 (Met Office). This noted increases in mean monthly temperature over the whole of the UK. This occurred in two main periods of warming (1914-1950 and 1970 onwards), with the most rapid warming occurring since 1985. Mean temperatures increased, both in summer and winter, when the 1991-2004 average is compared with the 1961-1990 average (UKCIP02 baseline) .
Figure 6. Mean temperature change °C from the 1961-1990 average compared to the summer and winter 1991-2004 averages
Daily maximum temperatures increased by more in the winter, while daily minimum temperatures have increased by more in the summer and annually. The strongest increases in mean monthly temperature have been in SE England, Midlands and East Anglia.
Oxfordshire within recent UK precipitation trends
The Radcliffe weather record identifies these local precipitation headlines:
• Recent Oxford rainfall patterns show large deviations from long-term averages. Dry spells were registered in the summer of 1995, 1996-97 2003 and 2004 to 2006. Droughts of the 1780s and early 1800s were more extreme than those of today. From 1980 to 1995 the winter rainfall totals were 20% above the summer rainfall.
• Rainfall deficits and exceptional temperatures have created periods of high evaporative demand. Over the past decade, potential evaporation losses have been persistently above average representing water losses from drainage basins.
Figure 7: mean annual precipitation (mm) from 1767 to date - Radcliffe Meteorological Station
38
Met Office analysis shows that UK’s winters are getting wetter, with more precipitation concentrated in days of heavy rainfall. Despite a high degree of variability, there has been a decrease in summer precipitation across the UK by between 10 and 40% since 1961. There has been a marked increase in winter precipitation in all regions.
Figure 8. Mean precipitation change (%) from the 1961-1990 average to the 1991-2004 average for Summer (JJA) and Winter (DJF).
Figure 9 shows the trend of increasing contribution of heavy rainfall events in winter. Maraun et al noted that rainfall days with more than 10mm of rain (“heavy rain days”) increased greatly in winters.
39
Other UK and Oxfordshire climate trends
This information came various sources, including the UKCIP report The Climate of the UK and Recent Trends and from the Met Office English climate page. Important trends include:
A strong downward trend since 1961 in southern England in the number of days with snow cover, where there are currently about 75% fewer days with snow cover compared to 1961. In the 1980s total days with snow in Oxfordshire would have been on average 20 - 25 per year. A strong downward trend means that snow now falls on few autumn or spring days.
A strong decreasing trend in days of air frost since 1961 of 35% for all regions, from about 55 per year in 1880 to 35 per year in 1980. 30 years ago, 12 –15 frosts per month during March and April were usual. Durations of winter cold waves have decreased, rapidly declining since mid-80s. Significant spells of cold weather are rare. Autumnal frost days also decreased, with very few October night frosts, these now only begin in November.
A steady increase in vapour pressure for the UK, especially since the 1980s.
Altering numbers of hot and cold days each year. A hot day is defined as when the daily mean temperature is above 20°C; a cold day when below 0°C. Since the 18th century, the frequency of hot days has increased, with at least eight additional hot days per year over the 1990s, about twice the long-term average. In contrast, the number of cold days has fallen from 15 - 20 days per year, to approximately 10 days per year. The average duration of summer heatwaves has increased in all regions of the UK by between 4 and 16 days since 1961. The average duration of winter cold snaps has decreased in all regions of the UK by between 6 and 12 days since 1961 making significant spells of cold weather rare. Figure 10: Annual number of ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ days (extracted from CET series 1772 – 1997).
The smoothed line emphasises variations on a 30-year time scale. Source: Gardening in the Greenhouse 2004
40
Length of growing season. This highly sensitive indicator is important not only for farmers planning sowing and harvesting operations, but to gardeners, biodiversity managers, foresters and land-use planners. The thermal growing season length is defined as beginning when the temperature on five consecutive days exceeds 5°C, and ends when the temperature on five consecutive days is below that threshold.
Figure 11 shows thermal growing season data for the period 1772 – 2006 with a smoothed curve describing the trend (Defra)
Up to 2002, researchers found there was an increase in growing season length over the twentieth century of at least 30 days, due both to earlier onset of spring, and a later onset of autumn.
The summer season has extended by roughly 15 days, and summers as well are hotter and more intense as growing periods. Spring and autumn periods have likewise shifted, eating into what used to be winter. Winters may are effectively at least 15 days shorter and considerably less intense.
Long-term studies in plant phenology (timing of developmental changes) also demonstrate plant responses to climate change that confirm these data. An example in 2007/2008 was daffodils flowering in mid-January. While early varieties can hasten this impression, the mid-winter months of 2007/2008 were very warm against the record, and this promoted early flowering nation-wide, and not just of daffodils.
41
Setting the CET record within the global temperature record
Figure 12 (Defra: Global and Central England record) compares the rise in CET with changes over the past century in global average land-surface temperatures, which over the same period have risen by 0.8 °C.
Figure 13 shows the Hadley Centre’s data on average global temperature for reference.
The red bars show global average near-surface temperature anomalies from 1850 to 2007. Error bars in grey show the 95% uncertainty range on the annual averages. The thick blue line shows the annual values after smoothing, and the thin blue lines show 95% uncertainty.
Globally, the warmest year of the entire global series was 1998, with a temperature of 0.546°C above the 1961 - 90 mean. The coldest was probably 1601. Twelve of the thirteen warmest years in the series occurred in the past thirteen years (1995 - 2007). The only year in the last thirteen not among the warmest twelve is 1996.
42
2008 was reported as the 10th warmest year on record, with global sea/land-surface temperature at 0.31°C/0.56°F above the 1961-1990 annual average of 14.00°C.
It is important to be aware that over the last ten years, temperatures have warmed more slowly than the long-term trend. This does not mean that global warming has slowed down. It is consistent with natural fluctuations of the climate within a trend of long-term warming. Global average temperature trends, calculated over ten year periods, have varied from a modest cooling to a warming rate of more than 0.3 °C per decade.
Figure 14 (from Met Office) shows global anomalies from 1975 to 2007, relative to 1961-1990 averages. The black line shows the annual figure; red line shows the trend over the full 33 years; blue lines show varying rates of trends over 10-year periods. It is also useful to set the recent global and CET trends within the longer-term historical record. Mann et al, in a peer-reviewed paper, have reconstructed in Figure 18 Northern Hemisphere temperatures over the past two thousand years.
Globally Mann et al analysed over 400 proxy climate series (from trees, corals, ice cores and historical records) and temperature data from NASA, to show that the 20th century is by far the warmest century. The medieval warm period in the northern hemisphere saw a rise of about 0.4 degrees C, less than half that recently experienced. The authors concluded that recent Northern Hemisphere surface temperature increases are likely anomalous in a long-term context for at least the past 1300 – 1700 years. Other comments confirm this.
43
APP 2: TYPICAL IMPACTS OF EXTREME WEATHER ON THE DISTRICT &
COUNCIL
Weather event
First order impacts
Incidents / Specific Impacts
Consequences and Responses
Communities Businesses / infrastructure
Biodiversity and env.
Communities and businesses
Council services
HEAVY RAINFALL
Flash and river flooding Drainage capacity exceeded Direct damage to buildings Transport networks affected
Power failures Damage to property caused by flood water (dampness & condensation) Travel delays Personal possessions destroyed Health and sanitation problems Insurance implications
Crop / harvest losses / difficult grain drying Disease / pests and water logging Power failures Damage caused by flood water / scouring problems Profits losses and business closures Damage to road surfaces and other transport stuctures Transfer of silt and debris into drainage systems Some buildings, sites & activities become uninsurable
Landslips Fauna mortality on flood plains Groundwater level Increases Wetlands under prolonged floodwaters
Positive action to avoid repeated damage from floods Local level / Parish - creation of Flood Action Groups Local work to improve drainage – freeing streams and drains of plants Installation of flood defence barriers Support families with uninhabitable homes. Protect critical infrastructure, such as power stations Ensure emergency services, local authorities and Environment Agency respond effectively Overhaul of drainage systems - the most urgent measure to reduce the risk of future flooding
Plan and promote measures to build resilience and adaptive capacity Provide support to residents/ businesses who face practical, financial and health problems Emergency responses in coordination with other bodies - support to families made homeless / temp. accommodation Emergency provision of sandbags Cover insurance premiums of vulnerable structures Raised profile and workload of civil protection services. Adhere to PPS relating to flood risk / water run-off on flood plains Revision of indicative flood maps Led by Environment Agency - flood alleviation schemes Passing on Env Agency warnings to vulnerable / relevant groups Altered building design guidance - drainage systems and increasing capacities of sewers Stricter application of riparian landowner obligations Prioritise non-flood areas for new development.
44
Weather event
First order impacts
Incidents / Specific Impacts
Consequences and Responses
Communities Businesses / infrastructure
Biodiversity and env.
Communities and businesses
Council services
HEAT WAVE
High day and night external temperatures Extreme or unusual temperatures inside buildings (schools, care homes) High exposure to sun High ozone, NOX and dust levels
Heat related illness / stress / increased mortality Power failures Crime esp. burglaries up Increase in skin cancers, sunburn, allergies Food poisoning Altered leisure activities and hazardous pastimes Death of unattended pets School closures - loss of teaching and working hours for parents Pressure on childcare services
Reduced farm yields Power failures Deformed 'fatting up' of road surface Damage to infrastructure (buildings, roads, rails) Melting roads, buckled rails lead to travel delays
Increased fire risk for grassed areas and fields Flora, fauna under heat stress > mortality Poor surface water condition
Application of fire prevention information by owners of thatched cottages Ensure children and the elderly are kept hydrated Parents / carers application of sun cream to children Emergency attention to heat-related conditions like heatstroke; collapse; respiratory system failure Increased cooling / air conditioning costs Increased opportunity for solar energy generation
Identification of individuals most at risk for advice and support. School education and public health awareness programme School closures and other adaptations Vigilance and assistance to the elderly within the PCT Heatwave Plan Advice provision by media / public / health / social care professionals and help provided to those at risk. Meeting insurance claims for subsidence and damage Increased usage of cooling systems Cuts in amounts of green waste Meet pollution targets via establishment of "air quality management areas" Roads gritting to stop them melting
45
Weather event
First order impacts
Incidents / Specific Impacts
Consequences and Responses
Communities Businesses / infrastructure
Biodiversity and env.
Communities and businesses
Council services
DROUGHT
Reduced underground water resource levels; reduced levels in reservoirs Lower water supply / quality Internal or external fires Air quality changes and dust Lower crop productivity
Water shortages Damage to infrastructure foundations > subsidence Illnesses exacerbated air or water quality - allergies and breathing difficulties Restrictions on / closure of open air swimming pools
Crop losses Soil shrinkage and subsidence Increased expenses on animal feed. Need to irrigate crops – but difficult to do so Demand for home water storage equipment Damaged crops / harvesting early
Increased plant and animal mortality esp. in wetland habitats Reduced fecundity and offspring mortality due to reduced / mistimed food supplies Breeding patterns affected by low water flows Low water flow levels causing death to aquatic life, algal growth and other imbalances Fly and wasp plagues
Water companies to introduce hosepipe bans, fix leaks and work with industries to cut water usage Application of hosepipe and sprinkler bans / people reporting on neighbours More investment in water supply and sewage treatment – new reservoirs Inc. water bills to pay for improving infrastructure / compulsory meters Introduction of standpipes and water tankers Drought order imposition on sports grounds, parks, and businesses
Damage to buildings caused by wind or lightning. Reductions is amounts of household waste Adhere to codes requiring homes of highest standards of water efficiency Retrofitting homes with water saving systems Ensure farmers adhere to guidelines for ploughing in manure quickly and for storage and spreading of waste Assess the vulnerability of the Council’s tree stock to causing subsidence of properties, incurring insurance and direct costs to the Authority. Tree planting schemes / include drought tolerant species
Weather event
First order impacts
Incidents leading to Specific Impacts
Consequences and Responses
Communities Businesses / infrastructure
Biodiversity and env.
Communities and businesses
Council services
HIGH WIND / TORNADO STORM / LIGHTENING
Damage to infrastructure and human injuries Flash floods
Power failures and fires caused by wind damage and lightning strikes Damage to buildings Injuries or death of animals or people Vehicle accidents and travel delays
Damage to infrastructure and road furniture Travel disruption caused by roads blocked by fallen trees or flash floodwater Hazardous driving conditions
Damage to vegetation Damage to Trees
Lightning protection systems to prevent strikes and minimise damage
Coordination with Fire and Rescue Services Issue of tree safety in areas of public access from winter storm damage
46
Weather event
First order impacts
Incidents leading to Specific Impacts
Consequences and Responses
Communities Businesses / infrastructure
Biodiversity and env.
Communities and businesses
Council services
ALTERED SEASONS - DATES & INTENSITY
Increased likelihood of vector borne diseases Enhanced disease risk Invasive species Reduced frost days
Altered balance between use of indoor / outdoor facilities Longer growing seasons – altered options for gardens Increased maintenance i.e. grass cutting Increased disease spread by insects Increase in skin cancers. Winter deaths of elderly decline due to warmer weather
Changed crops and gardens - grow water-wise plants that prosper in hot, dry conditions. Possible double cropping for farmers Increased growth of vegetation , leads to visibility reductions Increased leisure opportunities, more tourists
Pest population rises / altered behaviour Changes in ecosystems changing Plant phenolgy and migration Increased productivity, longer growing periods, ability to grow new crops / diversify Plants and animals will move north Water logged areas decline / dry out due to high evaporation and lower groundwater and / or prolonged winter flooding
Changes in lifestyle such as frequency and type of outdoor activity improved food hygiene Increased demand for irrigation Increased costs for local businesses and communities from damage from storms, flooding, subsidence. Increased insurance premiums Opportunities for renewable energy businesses.
Increased requirement for grass cutting / hedge trimming / tree lopping. Investigate new planting and maintenance schemes Avoid planting beech trees or hedges Change schedules / contracts for landscape maintenance and for waste collection Greater demand for pest control services Raise public awareness about safety in the sun Green wildlife corridors - to redistribute less dispersive species and avoid ecological voids. Increased pressures on health services (diseases, housing damp problems, weather- related mortality, cataracts, skin cancers, sunburn) Design guidance for new development must address cooling, renewable energy technology; energy and water efficiency; sustainable drainage
LOW TEMPS / FROST / ICE / SNOW
Travel disruption
Demand for Heating Hazardous driving - reduced skid resistance
Freeze / thaw action damages surfaces and assets
Need to grit roads
FOG / MIST / LOW-CLOUD
Reduced visibility
Hazardous driving conditions
visibility reductions
47
APPENDIX 3 – VOWH WEATHER INCIDENTS RECORDS TABLE
Approach: This table holds data produced within the Local Climate Impacts Profile (LCLIP) process. The purpose of the table is to set out the last 5+ years of Oxfordshire’s weather, as reported in the media, for Vale of White Horse District. It serves as an information repository for key information culled from media reports as an ongoing record. It was developed for SODC’s LCLIP and has been updated with data relevant to VOWH. Deciding categories for the news stories The categories used for the stories about the weather that has occurred in the District and county, are set out below. A simple and practical classification is used with four kinds of extreme weather. These are the types of weather that operate on a short time scale: (i) Gales and Storms – at times with lightning and often producing flash floods; (ii) Heavy rainfall - often leading to both river and flash floods; (iii) Heatwaves and high temperatures; and (iv) Ice, snow, cold-spell, low-cloud and fog - occurring largely over the winter; There are three other categories: (v) A fifth category is for the longer-term anomaly of Droughts; (vi) Stories about Altered Seasonality; (vii) Wider reactions to events (Local Authority reviews, public / communities, national bodies,
scientists) titled Response, recovery and policy. Table 1 gives the titles of the media sources and the addresses of the newspaper archive and search domain. Table 2 lists the categories used for the stories, the shading chosen for each category, sets out the most significant weather events and provides a total for the events that occurred over the 5+ year period. Table 3 contains more than 130 stories from the media. The column headings are self-explanatory. Each row is one story, with the central column carrying text summarised from the media report. Structure of the weather incidents records table The successive rows used here may record different phases of the event as it develops. The story line evolves, typically from initial warnings, then to report the direct impacts of the event as it strikes. A single event is often covered by several media sources on various dates, giving a number of stories for that one event. Given that the impacts of one weather event affect different groups and localities in various ways, the stories then cover a diversity of incidents happening on the ground. In turn, these incidents have consequences. Therefore, later stories cover wider issues to do with cleanup, recovery, policy reviews, lesson learnt and mitigation of future events. These broader stories might develop from one particular event, as happened after the July 2007 floods, but expand beyond the District, regionally and nationally. The table may be scrolled though on screen, as well as printed. As the font is small, it may be easier to read on a monitor set with zoom. The column-header row at the top of the table, is repeated as a page separator. An internet reference is supplied for each story, though it’s worth mentioning that many online archives were only built from circa 2004 onwards.
48
Media sources used Sources are mainly those in the Newsquest Group (Oxford Mail, Oxford Times; Herald series including Abingdon Herald, Bicester Advertiser and the Banbury Cake), Johnston Press papers like the Banbury Guardian, plus national media - BBC Oxfordshire News, the Independent and Telegraph newspapers. Independent local free papers without online archives usually rely a lot on advertising revenues and cover the weather poorly. The Oxford Times has compiled an online flood archive (Oxford Times Archive) built after the 2007 floods, which contains news articles from 2007 to date, as well as policy and science information. Web search method Internet domains were searched using Google tools, particularly Advanced Search and Google News Advanced Search. These tools allow for more efficient searching than what is offered by the search functions of the archive page of a newspaper. This is useful when searching using combinations of terms. Most archives are stored on web servers according to year. Stories about a specific type of event in a particular year can be found by including the year at the end of the archive’s web address, along with the search term – for example a Google search of < flood site:http://www.oxfordmail.net/2008/6 > would find all Newsquest stories about floods published in June 2008. By using relevant search terms (heatwave, flood etc) and restricting archive searches to a single year, stories can be systematically identified and tracked. Table 1: Sources checked
Abbrev- iation
Title Archive Link
AH Herald Group Wantage Herald Abingdon Herald
http://archive.heraldseries.co.uk/YEAR/DAY http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/news/hswantagenews http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/news/hsabingdonnews
BBC British Broadcasting Corporation http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/oxfordshire
GU The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/
OM OT
Oxford Mail Oxford Times
http://archive.oxfordmail.net/YEAR http://www.oxfordmail.net/search http://www.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk
TI The Independent http://www.independent.co.uk/search/index.jsp
49
Table 2 – Categories used for Stories. Dates of major events & totals of each kind of event
Abbre-viation
Category & shading
Definition and explanation Dates + duration Hyperlink to each story
Number events
G / S
Gale / Storm / lightning / + flash floods
Strong, sometimes localised, winds (at least 50 up to 88 kph – Beaufort scale 7 to 9) that damage trees and buildings. This severe weather may be accompanied by lightning, and by rain or other precipitation capable of causing flash flooding. In the Beaufort scale, a storm is defined as a disturbance with wind speeds greater than those of a gale (from 89 up to 117 kph), so that in fact real ‘storms’ are very rare. Common use is not so restrictive and associates ‘storms’ with gusty, heavy rain and thunder. Gales and storms are usually significant once they lead to significant travel disruption.
September 2003 March 2004 July 2004 August 2004 June 2005 July 2006 July 2006 – event two October 2006 October 2006 – event two December 2006 January 2007 January 2007 – event two November 2007 March 2008
14
R / F
Excess sustained Rainfall + river / flash Flooding
Heavy rainfall (often widespread, intense and prolonged) that covers substantial areas, capable of causing both river and flash flooding.
January 2003 November 2006 (minor event) July 2007 are profiled here with a hydrological analysis here. June 2008
4
H / S
Heatwave / Excess Sun
A period of abnormally, uncomfortably hot, and usually humid weather, during which high day and night-time temperatures develop, almost always associated with intense sunshine. Defined in the Oxfordshire PCT 2008 Heatwave Plan and Met Office in terms of threshold temperatures - 16ºC overnight and 31ºC daytime - for at least two consecutive days with one intervening night, having significant effects on health.
“2003 Heatwave” – June to July 2003 has been profiled here. “2006 Heatwave” – June to July 2006 has been profiled here.
2
I / S
Ice / Snow / Fog
Significant coverage over fog, ice and/or snow, combined or singly, sufficient to cause travel delays.
February 2007 April 2008 October 2008
2
DT
Drought
Long periods of water deficit resulting in water scarcity. These are usually a combination of meteorological droughts due to direct rainfall deficiency; hydrological droughts where accumulated shortfalls in runoff or aquifer recharge are key; and agricultural droughts where availability of soil water through the growing season is critical. Usually associated with high pressure or 'blocking highs' dominating the weather.
2003 Drought – ran from April to October 2003 and profiled here. 2004 – 2006 Drought Relevant profiles by CEH Wallingford can be found here and here (for both 2003 and 2004-06)
2
AS
Altered seasons
Issues related to alterations to the typical dates of onset of the seasons, their length and intensity. This may affect plant growing season, plant phenology, species behaviour, and the ecological condition of habitats in the longer-term, particularly of species that are human pests. These kinds of shifts are certainly ‘climatic’, as they are departures from long-term averages, can be related to increased Central England Temperature and can very likely be attributed to human influence on the climate system.
n/a
RRP
Response, recovery and policy
Items relating to resilience and broader event-related issues, not the event as it is happening. These maybe to do with pre-event prevention / preparedness; and with post-event issues, related to quality if the emergency response, longer-term recovery after an event. These stories are particularly important when they cover adaptation to these events and the state of planning for mitigating disasters, and preventing the weather from having so many negative impacts.
n/a
Table 3 – WEATHER INCIDENTS RECORDS TABLE
No
Event
type
and
Date
story
Media
Media
headline
Oxfordshire
locations o
r Area
reported
Incidents and Impacts on District - details from media reports
Are
as a
nd
gro
ups /
Eve
nt
evo
lutio
n /
Incid
en
ts o
ccu
rre
d /
Im
pa
cts
/
Co
nse
qu
ences
Meteorological
data & info about
causes of event
Internet
reference
Other orgs
involved
1
R /
F
3.1
.03.
OT
County Braces
As Sandbags
Pile Up
Oxo
n
He
avy r
ain
flo
od
ed
hom
es a
nd r
oa
ds in
sou
th /
we
st
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
. W
arn
ing
s
thro
ugh
ou
t O
xfo
rdsh
ire
, alo
ng
Th
am
es f
rom
Oxfo
rd t
o B
en
son
. T
racks
aff
ecte
d b
etw
ee
n D
idco
t P
ark
wa
y s
tatio
n t
o S
win
do
n,
Bristo
l a
nd
S. W
ale
s.
Inte
nse
rain
fe
ll N
ov /
De
c a
nd
sa
tura
ted
la
nd
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
3/1
/3/2
819
3.h
tml
Fir
e &
R
escue
2
R /
F
6.0
1.0
3
OM
Fresh Floods
Lead To Traffic
Chaos
Oxo
n
Tra
ffic
ch
aos h
it O
xfo
rd.
Oxfo
rd t
o P
ad
din
gto
n r
ail
line
un
de
r w
ate
r, s
erv
ices
be
twe
en
Oxfo
rd a
nd
Did
co
t can
ce
lled
. T
he
Th
am
es w
as h
ighe
r th
an d
urin
g
the
flo
ods o
f 2
000
. D
efe
nce
s b
uilt
sin
ce
ha
d r
esulted
in
fe
we
r h
om
es
aff
ecte
d. F
ire
Se
rvic
e w
as h
elp
ing
th
e e
lde
rly a
nd
th
ose
wh
o liv
ed
alo
ne
to
sta
ck u
p f
urn
itu
re a
nd
mo
ve
it u
psta
irs.
Scho
ols
wo
uld
re
op
en
as p
lan
ne
d.
En
v.
Ag
en
cy:
R
ive
r T
ha
me
s a
t O
xfo
rd w
as a
t its
hig
hest le
ve
l sin
ce
th
e f
loo
ds o
f 1
947
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
3/1
/6/2
810
2.h
tml
En
vir
on
men
t A
ge
ncy
3
R /
F
7.0
1.0
3
BB
C
Flooding
Across The
County
All
Th
am
es
Va
lley
Riv
er
Th
am
es r
ea
ch
ed
its
hig
he
st
leve
l sin
ce
19
47
. M
ain
ten
an
ce
wo
rk b
y t
he
E
nv.
Ag
en
cy h
elp
ed
avo
id la
rge
sca
le f
loo
din
g lik
e in
20
00.
30
to
ns o
f san
d
an
d 2
0,0
00
sa
nd
ba
gs d
istr
ibu
ted
to
ho
me
s. T
esco
in
Abin
gdo
n w
as f
loo
de
d.
67
mm
fell
fro
m
12
/21
to
12
/31
eq
ua
l to
av.
for
De
ce
mb
er.
http
://w
ww
.bb
c.c
o.u
k/o
xfo
rd/n
ew
s/2
003/0
1/f
loo
d.s
htm
l
4
R /
F
12.
2.0
3
OT
Drivers Face
Hole Load Of
Trouble
Clif
ton
Ha
mp
den
D
rive
r h
ad
a lucky e
scap
e a
void
ing
po
tho
le o
n r
oa
d.
Po
thole
ca
use
d b
y
su
bsid
en
ce
fo
llow
ing
Ja
nua
ry f
loo
din
g.
Hu
nd
red
s o
f d
rive
rs h
ad
to
avo
id
se
riou
s a
ccid
en
t. H
igh
wa
ys s
taff
pu
t o
ut w
arn
ing
co
nes.
No
ne
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
3/2
/12/2
59
84.h
tml
5
R /
F
18.0
1.0
3
OM
Answers
Needed
Oxo
n
As f
loo
ds r
ece
de
, it’s
little
co
mfo
rt t
ha
t so
me f
loo
d-p
reve
ntion m
easu
res
wo
rke
d.
Flo
od
ing
wa
s r
are
, p
ossib
ly e
ve
ry 3
0 y
ea
rs. W
ith
clim
ate
ch
an
ge
, th
ey’v
e b
eco
me
a g
rea
ter
thre
at
du
rin
g w
inte
r th
an s
no
w a
nd
ice
. G
ovt.
, co
uncils
, w
ate
r co
mp
anie
s &
ag
en
cie
s m
ust sp
en
d m
on
ey to
fin
d s
olu
tion
s.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
3/1
/18/2
71
98.h
tml
6
R /
F
21.0
1.0
3
OM
Chairman
Thanks Council
Workers
Va
le
Co
un
cil
sta
ff h
elp
in A
bin
gd
on
an
d K
en
nin
gto
n a
rea
s th
anke
d b
y c
hair
man
. V
OW
H s
taff
pro
vid
ed
1,3
00
san
db
ags a
nd
to
ok h
und
reds o
f ca
lls.
Despite
th
e w
ors
t flo
odin
g in
ma
ny y
ears
, o
nly
28
pro
pe
rtie
s in t
he
Vale
flo
od
ed
. C
ou
ncil'
s w
ork
ove
r tw
o y
ea
rs s
ignific
an
tly r
ed
uce
d t
he
im
pact
of flo
od
ing
.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
3/1
/21/2
70
88.h
tml
7
DT
16.5
.03
OM
Drought Hits
Badgers
Oxo
n
Ba
dg
er
ce
nsus s
ho
ws t
hre
ats
fro
m d
ry w
ea
the
r. W
arn
ings n
um
be
rs c
ou
ld b
e
sig
nific
an
tly c
ut, if th
e d
ry s
pring
s c
on
tin
ue,
as t
hese
me
an
the
ba
dg
ers
' sta
ple
die
t e
art
hw
orm
s w
ere
difficult to
fin
d.
Cu
bs m
ay s
tarv
e t
o d
ea
th if
mo
the
rs u
na
ble
to
pro
du
ce
eno
ug
h m
ilk.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
3/5
/16/2
17
32.h
tml
8
RR
PS
30.5
.03
BB
C
Warning texts
flood alerts
messages
All
Oxo
n
Re
sid
en
ts o
ffe
red
em
erg
ency m
essa
gin
g s
erv
ice
, C
ity A
lert
Te
xtin
g S
yste
m.
Mo
bile
ph
one
use
rs liv
ing
in a
rea
s a
t risk fro
m h
igh
wa
ters
can
re
ce
ive
w
arn
ing
s f
rom
th
e e
me
rge
ncy s
erv
ices a
bo
ut ri
ve
rs th
at a
re lik
ely
to
flo
od
.
n/a
http
://n
ew
s.b
bc.c
o.u
k/1
/hi/e
ngla
nd/o
xfo
rdshir
e/2
9436
38.s
tm
En
v
Ag
en
cy,
Po
lice
, R
ad
clif
fe
Ho
sp
ita
l
No
Event
type
and
Date
story
Media
Media
headline
Oxfordshire
locations o
r Area
reported
Incidents and Impacts on District - details from media reports
Are
as a
nd
gro
ups /
Eve
nt
evo
lutio
n /
Incid
en
ts o
ccu
rre
d /
Im
pa
cts
/
Co
nse
qu
ences
Meteorological
data & info about
causes of event
Internet
reference
Other orgs
involved
9
S /
H
06.0
8.0
3
OM
County
Swelters in
Record Heat
Oxo
n
Te
mp
era
ture
s s
et to
hit 9
5f.
Ra
il de
lays d
ue
to
th
e p
ossib
ility
of
bucklin
g
tra
cks.
Ice
cre
am
, su
n c
rea
m, sto
ma
ch
bug
me
dic
ine
, B
BQ
's, a
nd
drink s
ale
s
hig
h. R
esta
ura
nt
and
local o
pen
air
sw
imm
ing
po
ols
busy. W
ine
gro
we
rs
en
joy g
oo
d c
ond
itio
ns.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
3/8
/6/1
949
4.h
tml
10
S/H
8.8
.03
TI
Heat Causes
Worst Air
Quality in a
Decade
All
So
uth
-E
ast
Hig
h o
zo
ne
le
ve
ls in
So
uth
-East
incre
ase
ris
k o
f a
sth
ma
tic a
tta
cks o
r re
sp
ira
tory
pro
ble
ms (
vu
lne
rable
are
th
ose
with
bre
ath
ing
pro
ble
ms,
the
e
lde
rly).
DE
FR
A issu
ed
wa
rnin
g a
bou
t o
zo
ne
ha
za
rds -
avoid
ou
tdoo
rs
aft
ern
oo
n e
xe
rcis
e.
Vu
lne
rab
le g
rou
ps t
old
- b
ew
are
sym
pto
ms w
ors
enin
g.
Ozo
ne
in
So
uth
-E
ast
(80
-110
pp
b)
H
igh
est
level w
as
in ‘76
@ 2
50
ppb
http
://w
ww
.ind
ep
end
ent.
co.u
k/e
nvironm
ent/
he
alth
-ale
rt-a
s-h
eat-
causes-w
ors
t-air-q
ualit
y-i
n-a
-decade
-589
35
2.h
tml
DE
FR
A
11
S/H
9.8
.03
DT
Yes we've a
heatwave . . .
and crimewave
So
uth
-East
UK
H
ot
sum
me
r w
ea
the
r b
rou
ght a
co
rre
spo
ndin
g c
rim
e w
ave
, w
ith
ho
use
bu
rgla
ries u
p o
ve
r h
alf a
rou
nd th
e c
ou
ntr
y.
Te
leg
raph
’s s
urv
ey o
f p
olic
e
forc
es s
ho
ws a
ju
mp in
th
efts fro
m h
om
es.
Bu
rgla
rie
s r
ose
by
>
50
% a
bo
ve
u
su
al n
um
be
r
http
://w
ww
.tele
gr
aph
.co.u
k/n
ew
s/
ukne
ws/1
43
84
26
/Yes-w
e%
27
ve
-a-h
eatw
ave-.
-.-.
-and
-a-
crim
ew
ave.h
tml
12
G /
S
22.9
.03
OM
Torrential rain
batters county
Oxo
n
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
cha
os f
rom
to
rren
tia
l sh
ow
ers
an
d g
ale
-fo
rce w
ind
s.
Fa
llen
tr
ee
s, flash
flo
od
s a
nd
ro
ad
accid
en
ts,
due
to
ro
ads b
ein
g b
locked
. T
his
re
su
lte
d in
se
ve
re d
ela
ys fo
r dri
ve
rs.
2,5
00
lost
po
we
r d
urin
g s
torm
s in
B
iceste
r. F
lash
flo
ods c
lose
d A
40
95
be
twe
en
Witn
ey a
nd
Fa
rin
gdo
n.
http
://n
ew
s.b
bc.c
o.u
k/1
/hi/e
ngla
nd/o
xfo
rdshir
e/3
1301
12.s
tm
13
DT
18.1
0.0
3
OM
Drought
prompts
concern
Oxo
n
Fa
rme
rs a
re a
ffe
cte
d b
y w
ors
t d
rou
ght
in 1
00 y
ea
rs.
Gra
ss is n
ot
gro
win
g
an
d f
arm
ers
mu
st b
uy m
ore
anim
al fo
od
. T
he
pro
ble
m is w
ors
e in
Oxfo
rd a
s
the
ma
in s
up
ply
is t
he
R.
Th
am
es. T
he
re a
re lim
its h
ow
mu
ch
can
be
ta
ke
n
fro
m F
arm
oo
r R
ese
rvo
ir.
Pe
ople
urg
ed
to
gre
ate
r w
ate
r-use
eff
icie
ncy.
15
mm
Se
pt
rain
fall
- >
25 %
o
f th
e a
ve
rag
e
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
3/1
0/1
8/1
762
8.h
tm
l
14
DT
29.1
0.0
3
O
M
Roads crack as
drought bites
So
uth
Oxo
n
Ho
uses a
nd
ro
ad
s a
cro
ss O
xfo
rdshir
e c
rackin
g d
ue
to
sub
sid
en
ce
. F
arm
ers
str
ugg
ling
to w
ate
r cro
ps.
Cla
y s
hrin
kag
e u
nd
erm
ine
s fo
und
atio
ns.
OC
C
inve
stig
atin
g r
oa
ds f
or
da
ma
ge
. H
om
e insu
ran
ce c
laim
s fo
r str
uctu
re c
racks
incre
ased
fou
rfo
ld in
rece
nt m
on
ths.
Dri
est a
utu
mn
sin
ce
18
73
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
3/1
0/2
9/1
736
9.h
tm
l
http
://n
ew
s.b
bc.c
o.u
k/1
/hi/e
ngla
nd/o
xfo
rdshir
e/4
0682
07.s
tm
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
C
ou
nty
C
ou
ncil
15
RR
PS
8.1
.04
OM
Dry weather
cuts rubbish
amounts
All
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
D
ry w
ea
the
r cu
t th
e a
mo
unt
of ru
bb
ish
pro
duced
ove
r la
st 1
2 m
on
ths.
Re
cyclin
g m
an
ag
ers
stu
die
d th
e a
mo
unt
of
wa
ste
pro
du
ced
in
re
lation
to
tem
pe
ratu
re a
nd
ra
infa
ll. D
ry w
ea
the
r in
20
03
le
d to
le
ss r
ubb
ish p
rodu
ctio
n
as p
eo
ple
mo
we
d le
ss a
nd
th
rew
ou
t le
ss g
ard
en w
aste
.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
4/1
/8/1
559
7.h
tml
Dis
tric
t C
ou
ncils
No
Event
type
and
Date
story
Media
Media
headline
Oxfordshire
locations o
r Area
reported
Incidents and Impacts on District - details from media reports
Are
as a
nd
gro
ups /
Eve
nt
evo
lutio
n /
Incid
en
ts o
ccu
rre
d /
Im
pa
cts
/
Co
nse
qu
ences
Meteorological
data & info about
causes of event
Internet
reference
Other orgs
involved
16
RR
PS
31.0
1.0
4
OM
Flood Plan 'Is
Working'
Oxo
n
Th
am
es W
ate
r is
wo
rkin
g a
cro
ss th
e c
ou
nty
to
re
du
ce f
loo
d r
isk,
follo
win
g
the
200
3 flo
od
s, ca
used
by b
urs
ting
riv
ers
an
d s
ew
er
ove
rflo
ws.
Pa
rts o
f th
e
se
we
r syste
m ide
ntifie
d a
s t
oo s
mall
to c
op
e. M
on
ito
rin
g e
quip
me
nt
use
d to
ch
ang
es p
ipe
co
nne
ctio
ns a
nd a
£4
00
,000
sch
em
e p
lan
ned
fo
r A
bin
gd
on.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
4/1
/31/1
48
58.h
tml
En
v A
ge
ncy
17
G /
S
22.3
.04
BC
Driver dies as
gale tips
grocery lorry
onto car
Oxo
n
A m
oto
rist w
as k
ille
d a
fte
r h
igh w
ind
s b
lew
ove
r a
Te
sco
lo
rry.
Fir
efig
hte
rs
att
en
de
d 4
0 in
cid
en
ts, m
ostly w
ind
-re
late
d.
In th
e m
ost
se
riou
s,
a 4
5-t
on
ne
lorr
y b
lew
ove
r a
t A
bin
gd
on
Ro
ad
rou
nd
ab
ou
t in
Oxfo
rd,
cru
sh
ing
a F
ord
F
iesta
. 6,0
00 h
om
es w
ere
aff
ecte
d b
y p
ow
er
cu
ts a
s c
ab
les, tr
ee
s, ro
ad
sig
ns a
nd
te
levis
ion a
eria
ls w
ere
blo
wn
do
wn
.
Gu
sts
of
betw
ee
n
50
and
70m
ph
bu
ffe
ted
O
xfo
rdsh
ire
.
http
://a
rchiv
e.b
anbu
rycake.n
et/
2004
/3/2
2/1
351
9.
htm
l
18
G /
S
8.7
.04
OM
Battered by the
weather
Oxo
n
City p
ark
s,
ce
mete
rie
s a
nd
Oxfo
rd's
on
ly o
utd
oo
r p
ool h
ad
to b
e c
lose
d a
s
ga
le-f
orc
e w
ind
s a
nd
he
avy r
ain
ba
tte
red
th
e c
oun
ty.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
4/7
/8/1
049
2.h
tml
19
H /
S
2.8
.04
BB
C
Heatwave
burglars walk
into homes
Oxo
n
Bu
rgla
rs f
ind
ea
sy a
ccess w
he
n d
oo
rs a
nd
win
do
ws a
re le
ft o
pe
n in
hot
we
ath
er.
Mo
bile
s, cash
an
d k
eys a
re a
mo
ng
ite
ms s
tole
n.
Th
am
es V
alle
y
Po
lice
wa
rn t
o lo
ck u
p w
he
n t
he
y g
o o
ut o
r sit in
the
ga
rde
n.
http
://n
ew
s.b
bc.c
o.u
k/1
/hi/e
ngla
nd/b
erk
shir
e/3
52
8688
.stm
20
G /
S
4.8
.04
OM
Storm
leaves
homes without
electricity
Th
am
es
Va
lley
A t
hu
nde
rsto
rm le
ft 3
0,0
00
hom
es in
th
e T
ha
me
s V
alle
y w
ith
ou
t ele
ctr
icity a
s
ligh
tnin
g s
trik
es c
ut p
ow
er.
First
Gre
at W
este
rn t
rain
se
rvic
es o
n th
e
Co
tsw
old
Lin
e c
ance
lled
.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
4/8
/4/9
823
.htm
l
21
AS
6.8
.04
OM
Mild winter
weather has
sting in the tail
Oxfo
rdshire
Sw
arm
s o
f w
asp
s p
lag
uin
g h
ou
se
ho
lde
rs.
Co
ntr
ol a
ge
ncie
s s
tru
gg
ling
with
h
igh
est n
um
be
rs f
or
ye
ars
follo
win
g d
ram
atic incre
ases in
ne
sts
. In
cre
ase
in
w
ork
er
wa
sp
s r
esu
lt fro
m q
ueen
s s
urv
ivin
g m
ild w
inte
rs. D
istr
ict
Cou
ncil
pe
st
co
ntr
olle
rs h
ave
re
ce
ive
d e
xtr
a c
alls
ab
out
wa
sp
nests
and
ha
ve
ta
ken
on
ne
w c
on
tracto
rs a
nd
sta
ff, m
ea
nin
g c
alle
rs w
ith
ra
t p
roble
ms w
ait lo
ng
er.
Re
nto
kil:
gre
ate
st
nu
mbe
rs o
f w
asp
s
sin
ce
19
97
. C
alls
to
destr
oy n
ests
u
p 2
0%
on 2
003
.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
4/8
/6/9
770
.htm
l
Mu
se
um
o
f N
atu
ral
His
tory
Pe
st
co
ntr
ol
firm
s
22
RR
PS
13.8
.04
OT
Families 'could
face life with
little water'
Oxfo
rdshire
OC
C L
ea
de
r M
itch
ell:
Wate
r sh
ort
age
s w
ith
ho
mes d
ep
rive
d o
f ‘b
asic
ne
eds’
is a
re
al p
ossib
ility
. W
ith
ou
t in
ve
stm
en
t in
wa
ter
su
pply
& s
ew
ag
e t
rea
tme
nt,
mill
ions liv
ing
in
th
e S
E r
isk h
ose
pip
e b
an
s &
se
ve
re w
ate
r sh
ort
age
s.
Th
e
situa
tion
will
go c
ritica
l in
5 y
ea
rs.
Th
am
es W
ate
r: "
Pop
ula
tion
gro
wth
is a
co
nce
rn. W
e a
re im
pro
vin
g c
on
se
rva
tio
n a
nd
up
da
tin
g p
ipe
s. E
ffic
ien
t h
om
es
are
im
po
rta
nt…
ne
w h
ou
sin
g m
ust a
ch
ieve
30
% w
ate
r sa
vin
gs.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
4/8
/13/9
59
4.h
tml
Th
am
es
Wate
r S
ou
th E
ast
of
En
gla
nd
Re
gio
na
l A
ssem
bly
23
RR
PS
12.1
1.0
4
BB
C
Heatwave-hit
road set to
reopen
Oxon
A r
oa
d b
ad
ly d
am
ag
ed
du
rin
g la
st su
mm
er's r
eco
rd h
ea
t w
ave
will
re
ope
n.
Th
e A
32
9 in
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
ha
s b
ee
n c
lose
d fo
r m
on
ths fo
r re
pair
s a
fte
r tr
ee
s
su
cke
d m
ois
ture
fro
m th
e b
ase
of
the
roa
d, ca
usin
g it to
sin
k.
http
://n
ew
s.b
bc.c
o.u
k/1
/hi/e
ngla
nd/o
xfo
rdshir
e/4
0063
07.s
tm
OC
C
No
Event
type
and
Date
story
Media
Media
headline
Oxfordshire
locations o
r Area
reported
Incidents and Impacts on District - details from media reports
Are
as a
nd
gro
ups /
Eve
nt
evo
lutio
n /
Incid
en
ts o
ccu
rre
d /
Im
pa
cts
/
Co
nse
qu
ences
Meteorological
data & info about
causes of event
Internet
reference
Other orgs
involved
24
RR
PS
3.2
.05
OM
Revamp may
affect town
centre trade
Vale
T
esco
ann
oun
ced
pla
ns t
o e
xp
an
d its
Abin
gd
on
sto
re,
despite
fe
ars
abo
ut
tra
ffic
and
flo
od
ing
. A
fte
r pa
yin
g V
ale
of W
hite H
ors
e D
istr
ict C
ou
ncil
£1
2m
fo
r th
e f
reeh
old
off
Ma
rch
am
Ro
ad
, T
esco
lo
dge
d e
xp
an
sio
n p
lans.
Co
un
cill
ors
ha
d r
ese
rva
tio
ns a
bo
ut
flo
od
ing,
as t
he c
ar
pa
rk flo
ods in b
ad
we
ath
er.
Mo
re b
uild
ings m
ea
ns w
ate
r w
ill r
un
-off,
on
an
are
a o
f flo
od
pla
in.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
5/2
/3/5
545
.htm
l
25
DT
25.3
.05
OM
Thousands
face hosepipe
ban
Oxon
Th
ou
sa
nds o
f p
eo
ple
in
Oxo
n f
ace
sum
me
r h
ose
pip
e b
ans f
or
the
fir
st tim
e
in 1
5 y
ea
rs a
fte
r o
ne
of
the
drie
st
win
ters
on
re
co
rd.
Dry
spe
lls h
alv
ed
u
nd
erg
rou
nd
wa
ter
reso
urc
es a
nd
riv
er
flo
ws a
re m
uch
lo
we
r th
an
no
rma
l.
Fro
m N
ov.
20
04
re
gio
n g
ot 4
9%
of
usu
al ra
infa
ll.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
5/3
/25/4
27
8.h
tml
Th
am
es
Wate
r E
nv A
ge
ncy
26
DT
7.5
.05
OM
Hosepipe ban
threat hangs
over county
Tham
es V
alle
y
Ho
se
pip
e b
an
fo
r O
xfo
rdsh
ire
re
sid
en
ts.
Resid
en
ts w
ere
wa
rne
d t
o c
on
se
rve
w
ate
r to
avo
id th
e fir
st h
ose
pip
e b
an
in
15
ye
ars
. S
ix m
on
ths fro
m la
st
No
ve
mb
er
to t
he
end
of
Ap
ril w
ere
th
e f
ou
rth
drie
st w
inte
r on
re
co
rd.
Th
e
sta
rt o
f sp
ring
me
ans t
ha
t m
uch
of
the
rain
we
ge
t no
w w
ill e
ith
er
eva
po
rate
d
uri
ng t
he w
arm
er
we
ath
er
or
be
take
n u
p b
y t
ree
s a
nd p
lan
ts.
Fiv
e m
on
ths o
f w
ell
be
low
a
ve
rag
e r
ain
fall.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
5/5
/7/3
244
.htm
l
27
H /
S
23.6
.05
OM
Sunshine
prompts pool
plea
Vale
T
em
pe
ratu
res a
ttra
cte
d h
und
red
s o
f p
eo
ple
to
riv
ers
ide
at
Ab
be
y M
ea
do
w in
A
bin
gdo
n.
Sw
imm
ing p
ool w
as c
lose
d,
so c
hild
ren
an
d y
ou
ths s
wa
m in
th
e
Th
am
es. M
em
be
rs o
f S
top S
ave
Th
e O
utd
oo
r P
oo
l, w
ho
must
co
me u
p w
ith
a
n a
ccep
table
bu
sin
ess p
lan, h
ighlig
hte
d r
isks a
ttach
ed
to
riv
er
sw
imm
ing
.
1 p
ers
on
dro
wn
s
in R
.Th
am
es
eve
ry y
ea
r e
ve
ry 5
m
iles o
f th
e r
ive
r
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
5/6
/23/2
05
8.h
tml
28
R /
F
29.6
.05
OM
Ambulance in
flood drama
Oxfo
rdshire
Ho
uses s
tru
ck b
y lig
htn
ing
, b
uild
ing
s flo
od
ed
, ve
hic
les s
tra
nde
d d
ue
to
se
ve
re e
lectr
ica
l sto
rm.
Sou
the
rn E
lectr
ic:
a lig
htn
ing
str
ike
hit h
igh
-vo
ltag
e
eq
uip
men
t kn
ockin
g o
ut
su
pplie
s t
o A
bin
gd
on
/ D
rayto
n.
Fire
se
rvic
e d
ealt
with
10
0 c
alls
in
a c
ou
ple
of
hou
rs a
s h
ou
se
ho
lde
rs r
epo
rte
d flo
odin
g.
Ha
rwe
ll: 2
6m
m/h
r
Me
t O
ffic
e:
14m
m
co
mp
are
d w
ith
av
Ju
ne 5
3m
m.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
5/6
/29/1
97
1.h
tml
So
uth
ern
E
lectr
ic
Fir
e &
R
Se
rvic
e
29
R /
F
29.6
.05
BB
C
Freak storm
leaves county
flooded
Oxfo
rdshire
Fre
ak w
ea
the
r sto
rms le
d t
o f
lash
-flo
odin
g in
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
with
mo
torists
tr
ap
ped
. P
eop
le t
hro
ug
hou
t th
e c
ou
nty
affe
cte
d b
y f
loo
din
g, lig
htn
ing
str
ikes
an
d fir
e a
larm
s.
Ma
ny p
rop
ert
ies w
ere
att
en
ded
eith
er
by o
ffic
ers
, o
r in
mo
re
urg
en
t cases,
fire
app
lian
ce
s w
ith
pu
mp
ing
an
d s
alv
agin
g e
qu
ipm
en
t.
Fir
e c
rew
s t
ook
60
ca
lls d
urin
g t
he
p
ea
k o
f th
e s
torm
s
ove
r 2
hou
rs.
http
://n
ew
s.b
bc.c
o.u
k/1
/hi/e
ngla
nd/o
xfo
rdshir
e/4
6360
29.s
tm
Fir
e
and
Re
scue
30
DT
5.7
.05
OM
Hosepipe ban
likely despite
storm
s
Oxfo
rdshire
A v
ery
we
t su
mm
er
no
w n
ee
de
d t
o r
esto
re fa
llin
g w
ate
r le
ve
ls a
nd
sta
ve
off
th
e f
irst h
ose
pip
e b
an
in
15
yea
rs.
To
re
ple
nis
h w
ate
r le
ve
ls, 3
30
mm
of
rain
w
ou
ld n
ee
d to
fa
ll d
urin
g J
uly
-Se
pte
mb
er.
Th
e w
ate
r co
mp
an
y is w
arn
ing
th
at
do
uble
the
no
rmal am
ou
nt o
f ra
in m
ust fa
ll to
re
fill
rive
rs a
nd
bo
reh
ole
s.
Fir
st d
roug
ht
in 8
ye
ars
. D
riest
win
ter
sin
ce
19
76
. 2
85
mm
in
8 m
ths,
59
% o
f n
orm
al.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
5/7
/5/1
808
.htm
l
Th
am
es
Va
lley
Wate
r
No
Event
type
and
Date
story
Media
Media
headline
Oxfordshire
locations o
r Area
reported
Incidents and Impacts on District - details from media reports
Are
as a
nd
gro
ups /
Eve
nt
evo
lutio
n /
Incid
en
ts o
ccu
rre
d /
Im
pa
cts
/
Co
nse
qu
ences
Meteorological
data & info about
causes of event
Internet
reference
Other orgs
involved
31
DT
19.0
7.0
5
TI
Drought alert:
the 2005 water
crisis
UK
C
ou
ntr
yw
ide
re
po
rt o
n s
tate
of th
e U
K u
nd
er
dro
ug
ht.
Fiv
e o
f th
e e
igh
t w
ate
r co
mp
an
ies in
so
uth
ern
En
gla
nd
im
po
se
d r
estr
ictio
ns u
nd
er
se
ve
re d
roug
ht
tha
t is
als
o a
ffe
ctin
g F
rance
and
Sp
ain
. W
adin
g b
ird
s h
ad
a c
ata
str
op
hic
b
ree
din
g s
easo
n.
Dro
ugh
t pe
rmit a
pp
lication
s e
xp
ecte
d t
hro
ug
h t
he
autu
mn
. E
xp
ect
wid
esp
rea
d e
nvir
onm
en
tal p
rob
lem
s,
with
fis
h k
ills, a
lga
l blo
om
s a
nd
ve
ry lo
w f
low
s in
so
me
riv
ers
. In
th
e e
igh
t m
on
ths f
rom
No
vem
be
r 0
5 u
ntil
Ju
ne 0
6 s
ou
the
rn c
ou
ntie
s h
ad
on
ly 5
8 p
er
cen
t o
f th
eir
ave
rag
e r
ain
fall.
Dri
est
win
ter
an
d
sp
ring
in s
ou
th-
ea
st
En
gla
nd
in
n
ea
rly 3
0 y
ea
rs
Th
ird
dri
est
win
ter
in 1
00
ye
ars
http
://w
ww
.ind
ep
end
ent.
co.u
k/e
nvironm
ent/
dro
ug
ht-
ale
rt-t
he
-200
5-w
ate
r-crisis
-499
35
9.h
tml
32
RR
PS
3.1
1.0
5
GU
How clean is
your air?
UK
S
ho
uld
pe
op
le w
ho
are
vu
lne
rab
le to
resp
ira
tory
pro
ble
ms just
get
ou
t o
f to
wn
? I
n t
he 1
993
hea
twa
ve
, th
e w
ors
t a
rea
s fo
r o
zo
ne w
ere
ru
ral S
om
ers
et
an
d O
xfo
rdsh
ire a
nd t
he
Sco
ttis
h H
igh
lan
ds.
Pro
ba
ble
th
at
pe
op
le a
re
bre
ath
ing
un
acce
pta
ble
le
ve
ls o
f p
ollu
tan
ts a
ll o
ve
r th
e U
K.
http
://w
ww
.gu
ard
ian.c
o.u
k/e
nvir
on
ment/2
00
4/o
ct/0
5/h
ealth.life
an
dh
ealth
See
als
o
ww
w.a
irqu
alit
y.
co.u
k
33
DT
25.2
.06
OM
Water firm
stays
tightlipped
over drought
Oxon
Co
un
ty's
wa
ter
sup
plie
r h
as w
arn
ed
ab
out
hose
pip
e b
ans -
with
ou
t sig
nific
an
t ra
infa
ll, r
estr
ictio
ns a
re lik
ely
. A
re
po
rt s
aid
it
wa
s im
pe
rative
fo
r w
ate
r co
mpa
nie
s to
intr
od
uce
ho
sep
ipe
ban
s, fix le
aks a
nd w
ork
with
in
dustr
ies to
cu
t w
ate
r u
sa
ge
. S
itu
atio
n is u
np
rece
de
nte
d a
s s
ince
No
ve
mb
er
20
04
, th
e r
eg
ion
ha
s h
ad
on
ly 6
6 p
er
cen
t o
f e
xp
ecte
d r
ain
fall”
. O
xfo
rdsh
ire
cro
p/v
ege
table
fa
rme
rs w
ou
ld b
e h
it if
wa
ter
restr
ictio
ns a
re p
ut
in p
lace
.
Mo
st
se
rio
us
dro
ug
ht
in 1
00 y
rs.
Th
am
es r
eg
ion
-
1/3
of e
xp
ecte
d
rain
in
Ja
n.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
6/2
/25/9
13
99.h
tml
Th
am
es
Wate
r E
nv A
ge
ncy
34
DT
13.3
.06
OM
Hosepipe ban
to start in April
Oxon
Co
un
ty's
wa
ter
sho
rta
ge
re
ache
d c
risis
le
ve
ls. H
ose
pip
e a
nd
sp
rinkle
r b
an
w
ill h
it e
igh
t m
illio
n c
usto
me
rs in
the
Th
am
es V
alle
y f
rom
Ap
ril 3
. C
usto
me
rs
co
uld
face
em
erg
ency d
roug
ht ta
nke
rs a
nd
su
pp
ly inte
rru
ption
s.
Dro
ug
ht
acro
ss th
e S
E h
as n
ow
go
ne
on
fo
r so
lo
ng
, m
ust
intr
od
uce
me
asu
res t
o
ma
ke
best
use
of
limite
d s
upp
lies.
TW
: sp
en
din
g m
ore
th
an
£5
00
,00
0 p
er
da
y o
n t
he
task, fixin
g a
n a
ve
rag
e o
f 2
00 lea
ks a
da
y.
Dro
ug
ht b
eg
an
N
ov 2
00
4. 2
dry
w
inte
rs 1
5 m
onth
s
of
belo
w-a
v.
rain
. 2
00
5 w
as 3
rd
dri
est
sin
ce
189
7
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
6/3
/13/9
16
83.h
tml
35
DT
16.3
.06
OM
Water shortage
could mean
standpipes and
tankers
Oxon
Th
am
es W
ate
r p
lan
s to
sw
itch o
ff w
ate
r sup
plie
s t
o O
xfo
rdshir
e h
ou
seh
old
s
for
set
pe
rio
ds if d
ry w
ea
the
r pe
rsis
ts. S
ho
uld
th
e d
ry s
pe
ll pers
ist
and
wa
ter
su
pplie
s d
win
dle
, E
me
rgen
cy D
rou
gh
t O
rde
rs fo
rm p
art
of
its c
on
tin
ge
ncy
pla
n, a
lon
g w
ith
the
intr
od
uction
of sta
nd
pip
es a
nd
wa
ter
tan
ke
rs.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
6/3
/16/9
17
51.h
tml
36
DT
22.4
.06
OM
Drought Blaze
Risks Warning
Acro
ss
Oxfo
rdshire
Fe
ars
th
at g
rassla
nd
co
uld
beco
me
a tin
de
rbo
x if
dro
ug
ht con
tin
ue
s.
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
F &
R:
a h
ot sum
me
r m
ea
ns a
hig
he
r risk o
f g
rass c
atc
hin
g f
ire
a
nd
sp
read
ing
acro
ss f
ield
s.
Ow
ne
rs o
f th
atc
he
d c
ott
ag
es -
ta
ke
pre
ca
utio
ns.
Ho
se
pip
e b
an
an
nou
nce
d b
y T
ha
mes W
ate
r
Ra
infa
ll o
ve
r 8
m
on
ths h
as b
een
th
e d
rie
st p
erio
d
sin
ce
19
76
.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
6/4
/22/9
39
94.h
tml
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
F
ire
a
nd
Re
scue
's
37
DT
15.5
.06
BC
37 Break
Hosepipe Ban
Oxon
37
peo
ple
ha
ve
rep
ort
ed
the
ir n
eig
hb
ou
rs f
or
bre
akin
g h
osepip
e b
an
s in
O
xfo
rdsh
ire
at
a t
ime
wh
en
rain
fall
is b
elo
w a
ve
rag
e f
or
this
tim
e o
f ye
ar.
On
-g
oin
g d
rou
gh
t h
as c
au
sed
sa
les o
f w
ate
r bu
tts b
y T
ha
mes W
ate
r to
soa
r
2 p
er
ce
nt d
rop in
w
ate
r d
em
and
in
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
6/5
/15/9
54
71.h
tml
No
Event
type
and
Date
story
Media
Media
headline
Oxfordshire
locations o
r Area
reported
Incidents and Impacts on District - details from media reports
Are
as a
nd
gro
ups /
Eve
nt
evo
lutio
n /
Incid
en
ts o
ccu
rre
d /
Im
pa
cts
/
Co
nse
qu
ences
Meteorological
data & info about
causes of event
Internet
reference
Other orgs
involved
38
DT
18.4
.06
OM
Water ban
prompts 'panic
buying'
Oxon
Ho
se
pip
e b
an
le
ft s
helv
es e
mp
ty a
t g
ard
en
ce
ntr
es a
cro
ss O
xfo
rdsh
ire
as
ho
use
hold
ers
‘go
cra
zy’ fo
r w
ate
r b
utts.
Su
rve
y f
ou
nd t
he
dem
an
d w
as s
o
gre
at
tha
t w
ate
r bu
tt s
up
plie
s h
ad
drie
d u
p.
En
v A
ge
ncy p
ub
lish
ed
"lo
w w
ate
r g
ard
enin
g"
guid
e w
ith
tip
s o
n p
lan
t va
rie
ties to
bu
y.
Ove
r 1
8 m
onth
s
rain
fall
low
er
tha
n
in 1
97
4-6
dro
ug
ht
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
6/4
/18/9
35
67.h
tml
39
DT
16.5
.06
OM
Agency: start
drought law
Oxon
Em
erg
en
cy d
rou
gh
t o
rde
r shou
ld b
e intr
od
uced
in
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
no
w b
ecau
se
wa
ter
su
pp
lies a
re a
lrea
dy a
t se
rio
us r
isk, a
cco
rdin
g to
th
e E
nvir
on
me
nt
Ag
en
cy.
Dro
ug
ht o
rde
r cou
ld s
pe
ll re
al p
roble
ms fo
r sp
ort
s g
rou
nds,
pa
rks
an
d b
usin
esses,
on
ce b
ann
ed
fro
m n
on
-esse
ntia
l w
ate
r use
.
70
% o
f w
ate
r su
pply
in
th
e S
E
fro
m g
rou
nd
wa
ter
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
6/5
/16/9
55
57.h
tml
40
DT
19.5
.06
WG
Drought order
'not necessary'
Tham
es V
alle
y
Th
am
es W
ate
r d
ecid
ed
no
t to
ap
ply
fo
r a
dro
ug
ht
ord
er
aga
inst
ad
vic
e g
ive
n
the
En
vir
on
men
t A
ge
ncy.
Due
to
fa
lls in
de
ma
nd
, in
cre
ase
in
re
se
rvo
ir
leve
ls, a
nd m
ain
tain
ed
riv
er
flow
s,
a d
rou
gh
t o
rde
r w
as n
ot ne
cessa
ry y
et.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
6/5
/19/9
60
74.h
tml
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
6/6
/1/9
676
2.h
tml
Th
am
es
Wate
r
41
DT
8.6
.06
BC
Deluge eases
drought
Tham
es V
alle
y
Do
wn
po
urs
and
sh
ow
ers
made
it
less lik
ely
th
at th
ere
will
be t
ou
ghe
r cu
rbs
on
th
e u
se
of
wa
ter.
Th
am
es W
ate
r ad
mitte
d M
ay's
re
co
rd 9
6m
m r
ain
fall
co
uld
sta
ve
off a
ny im
med
iate
actio
n.
No
t b
een
as w
et
sin
ce
’8
3, d
ou
ble
M
ay a
ve
rag
e
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
6/6
/8/9
717
9.h
tml
42
DT
6.7
.06
OM
Water supplies
holding steady
Tham
es V
alle
y
Wate
r su
pplie
s in
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
are
hold
ing
the
ir o
wn
de
spite
th
e c
ou
nty
re
ce
ivin
g o
nly
15
pe
r ce
nt o
f ave
rag
e r
ain
fall
in J
un
e.
Ove
r th
e p
ast
two
m
on
ths w
e h
ave
ha
d h
igh
er
rain
fall
tha
t w
e w
ou
ld e
xp
ect.
Dem
an
d h
as f
alle
n
by 3
% a
s a
re
sult o
f h
ose
pip
e b
ans a
nd
th
e W
ate
rwis
e c
am
pa
ign.
Ju
ne -
8m
m o
f ra
in, a
fte
r a
we
t M
ay.
Ra
infa
ll 1
75
% o
f m
on
thly
ave
r.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
6/7
/6/9
903
9.h
tml
43
H /
S
4.7
.06
OM
Suncream
perm
ission
blocked
Oxfo
rdshire
Te
ach
ers
ye
t to
be
giv
en
the
go
-ah
ead
to a
pply
su
nb
lock to
ch
ildre
n.
Child
p
rote
ction
issue
s d
icta
ted
tha
t O
xfo
rdsh
ire
Co
un
ty C
oun
cil'
s p
olic
y o
n th
e
ap
plic
atio
n o
f su
ncre
am
is t
ha
t p
are
nts
or
ca
rers
sh
ou
ld a
pply
it
in a
dva
nce
. G
uid
ance
to
sch
oo
ls is t
ha
t h
ea
d t
eache
rs w
ill e
xe
rcis
e c
om
mo
n s
ense
it.
n/a
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
6/7
/4/9
894
9.h
tml
44
H /
S
5.7
.06
OM
It's boiling
enough to fry
an egg
UK
O
xfo
rdsh
ire
‘fr
yin
g’. T
em
pe
ratu
res p
eake
d a
t 30
C in
Oxfo
rd. H
igh
te
mpe
ratu
res s
pa
rke
d s
torm
s a
nd
to
rre
ntia
l d
ow
np
ou
rs.
Re
gio
n w
ill c
on
tin
ue
to
exp
eri
en
ce
hig
h te
mpe
ratu
res.
Lo
okin
g a
t N
ort
h A
tla
ntic a
nd
Eu
rop
ea
n
lan
d te
mp
era
ture
s,
the
Me
t O
ffic
e p
red
icte
d a
ho
tte
r-th
an
-avera
ge
he
atw
ave
.
Te
mp
in
Bra
zil,
C
op
acab
ana
wa
s
23
C b
y
co
mp
ariso
n.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
6/7
/5/9
897
5.h
tml
45
G /
S
6.7
.06
BB
C
Power restored
to 3,500
houses
Oxo
n
Ele
ctr
icity w
as r
esto
red
to h
om
es a
fte
r a
sto
rm b
rou
gh
t d
ow
n p
ow
er
ca
ble
s.
3,5
00
hom
es in
Whe
atle
y,
Tid
din
gto
n, W
oo
tto
n,
San
dfo
rd,
Fa
rin
gdo
n a
nd
A
bin
gdo
n w
ere
with
ou
t e
lectr
icity.
Ho
mes in
Mo
llin
gto
n a
nd
Ba
nb
ury
we
re
str
uck b
y lig
htn
ing
. P
rop
ert
ies in
Bic
este
r a
nd
Ga
rsin
gto
n f
lood
ed
.
http
://n
ew
s.b
bc.c
o.u
k/1
/hi/e
ngla
nd/o
xfo
rdshir
e/5
1565
32.s
tm
So
uth
ern
E
lectr
ic
46
H /
S
13.7
.06
OM
Floods and
trees block 70
roads
Oxon
Fir
efig
hte
rs r
esp
on
ded
to
30
ca
lls d
ue t
o lig
htn
ing
str
ike
s, floo
de
d h
om
es
an
d fir
e a
larm
s s
et
off
. 70
ro
ads a
cro
ss O
xo
n w
ere
blo
cke
d b
y f
alle
n t
rees o
r flo
od
wa
ter.
Lig
htn
ing
str
ike
s b
rou
gh
t d
ow
n c
able
s.
Sig
na
ls b
etw
ee
n D
idco
t a
nd
Sw
ind
on
we
re o
ut
of a
ction
. T
ailb
acks r
ep
ort
ed
on
M4
0.
En
tire
mo
nth
's
wo
rth
of
rain
fe
ll in
ju
st tw
o h
ou
rs
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
6/7
/13/9
95
35.h
tml
No
Event
type
and
Date
story
Media
Media
headline
Oxfordshire
locations o
r Area
reported
Incidents and Impacts on District - details from media reports
Are
as a
nd
gro
ups /
Eve
nt
evo
lutio
n /
Incid
en
ts o
ccu
rre
d /
Im
pa
cts
/
Co
nse
qu
ences
Meteorological
data & info about
causes of event
Internet
reference
Other orgs
involved
47
H /
S
19.7
.06
OM
It's too hot to
go to class
Oxfo
rd
Ab
ou
t 25
0 s
cho
olc
hild
ren
we
re s
top
ped
fro
m g
oin
g to
Oxfo
rd's
Pe
ers
T
ech
no
log
y C
olle
ge
be
ca
use
of
soa
ring
tem
pe
ratu
res.
Sch
oo
ls p
ut
ou
t ra
dio
w
arn
ing
s, sa
yin
g y
ou
ng
er
pu
pils
sh
ould
no
t tu
rn u
p.
Old
er
pup
ils w
ere
to
ld to
a
tte
nd s
ch
ool as n
orm
al, a
s t
he
y o
ccu
py a
co
ole
r p
art
of
the
bu
ildin
gs.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
6/7
/19/9
98
25.h
tml
48
H /
S
20.0
7.0
6
OM
Grit shown in
heatwave
UK
C
ou
nty
bake
d in
sco
rchin
g tem
pe
ratu
res.
Sch
oolc
hild
ren
we
re s
en
t ho
me
, ro
ad
s w
ere
gri
tted
to
sto
p t
hem
meltin
g.
35
C o
n t
he
ho
tte
st d
ay o
f th
e y
ea
r.
He
at
me
lted
ro
ad
su
rface
s, g
ritt
ers
sp
raye
d g
ranite
du
st
and
sa
nd.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
6/7
/20/9
98
95.h
tml
49
H /
S
20.7
.06
BB
C
Hottest July
day ever in
England
UK
W
edn
esd
ay -
ho
ttest Ju
ly d
ay in
En
gla
nd
eve
r, w
ith
a t
em
pe
ratu
re o
f 3
6.5
C
in S
urr
ey.
Th
e te
mpe
ratu
re b
ea
t th
e p
revio
us r
eco
rd f
rom
Ju
ly 1
91
1,
wh
en
te
mps r
ea
che
d 3
6C
in
Su
rre
y. N
HS
Dir
ect:
de
alin
g w
ith
2,5
00 e
xtr
a c
alls
pd
, p
eo
ple
wa
ntin
g h
eatw
ave
ad
vic
e.
Sch
ools
fo
rce
d to
clo
se
. R
SP
CA
: h
un
dre
ds o
f ca
lls r
ep
ort
ing
dog
s le
ft h
ot
pla
ce
s. W
est
Co
ast L
ine
re
str
icte
d
to 9
0m
ph
. H
ot m
oto
rists
ab
and
on
ed c
ars
to f
ind
sh
ade
.
Ho
tte
st te
mp
s:
He
ath
row
35
C,
H
igh
est
rec.
in
En
gla
nd
wa
s
38
.5C
Fa
ve
rsh
am
, K
en
t 1
0 A
ug
. ‘0
3.
http
://n
ew
s.b
bc.c
o.u
k/1
/hi/e
ngla
nd/5
193
97
0.s
tm
NH
S
RS
PC
A
50
H /
S
20.7
.06
OM
The deadly
threat under
the surface
Tham
es V
alle
y
Th
rill-
see
ke
rs ju
mpin
g o
ff b
ridg
es th
is s
um
me
r co
uld
end
up w
ith
se
rio
us
inju
rie
s o
r de
ad
, a
s th
ey s
mash
in
to h
idd
en d
ang
ers
. R
AF
man
W. Lo
ve
lock,
27
, die
d w
he
n h
it h
is h
ea
d a
fter
jum
pin
g in
Oct.
20
03
. T
he
wa
ter
un
de
r th
e
bri
dg
e w
he
re t
he
div
ers
we
re s
ea
rchin
g w
as ju
st tw
o m
etr
es d
ee
p -
an
yo
ne
jum
pin
g in
to it
wo
uld
alm
ost
cert
ain
ly h
it t
he
bott
om
.
En
v A
ge
ncy
estim
ate
s 3
- 6
p
eo
ple
dro
wn
py
on
Th
am
es
thro
ugh
Oxo
n.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
6/7
/20/1
00
01
9.h
tm
l
En
vir
on
men
t A
ge
ncy
Th
am
es
Va
lley
Po
lice
51
H /
S
21.7
.06
OT
County
endures week
of baking heat
UK
S
ch
oolc
hild
ren
se
nt h
om
e,
road
s g
ritt
ed t
o s
top t
hem
me
ltin
g a
nd
an
ima
ls a
t a
wild
life p
ark
hose
d d
ow
n.
Cla
ssro
om
tem
pe
ratu
res h
it 1
00F
. O
CC
g
uid
elin
e:
"He
ad
tea
ch
ers
will
ta
ke
acco
unt
of a
ll fa
cto
rs a
t th
eir
sch
oo
l, a
bo
ut
wh
eth
er
sch
ool sho
uld
clo
se
ea
rly.
Pa
ren
ts to
lis
ten
to
no
tices issue
d v
ia
local ra
dio
sta
tio
ns."
Sticky c
on
ditio
ns r
epo
rte
d o
n 3
0 r
oad
s, re
late
d t
o h
igh
vo
lum
es o
f H
GV
s.
So
uth
ern
Oxo
n
mo
re a
ffe
cte
d &
roa
ds r
un
nin
g e
ast-
we
st.
34
.2 d
eg
C w
as
the
ave
rag
e
ma
xim
um
Ju
ly
tem
pe
ratu
re f
rom
1
96
1-1
99
0.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
6/7
/21/1
00
12
2.h
tm
l
OC
C
52
RR
PS
23.7
.06
TG
100º - get used
to it
UK
U
KC
IP:
by 2
05
0 v
ery
hot
and
dry
su
mm
ers
co
uld
occu
r e
ve
ry 3
ye
ars
, w
hile
m
ax t
em
ps to
p 4
0C
. Ir
reve
rsib
le c
limate
ch
ang
e ta
kin
g h
old
. P
ark
lan
ds a
re
ble
ach
ed
lan
dsca
pe
s, re
se
rvo
irs c
racke
d d
ese
rts. S
cho
ols
are
clo
sed
, ra
ilwa
ys b
uckle
d,
roa
d s
urf
aces m
elted
. D
roug
ht
da
ma
ge
d c
rop
s a
nd
fo
rced
fa
rme
rs t
o s
tart
ha
rvestin
g e
arly.
UK
po
pu
lation
nee
ds t
o g
et u
se
d t
o 3
0 t
o
40
da
ys a
ye
ar
with
tem
ps a
bove
25
C.
Re
pro
du
ctive
patt
ern
s o
f p
ests
will
ch
ang
e, m
ean
ing
more
flie
s,
rats
an
d m
osq
uito
s.
Fifth
bo
ut o
f in
tense
sum
me
r h
ea
t to
str
ike
th
e
co
untr
y in
10
ye
ars
.
http
://w
ww
.gu
ard
ian.c
o.u
k/e
nvir
on
ment/2
00
6/jul/23
/weath
er.
the
obs
erv
er
Eu
rop
ean
C
om
mis
sio
n's
Jo
int
Re
se
arc
h
Ce
ntr
e
53
G /
S
24.7
.06
OM
We must adapt
to weather
Oxfo
rd B
otley
and K
idlin
gto
n
Mo
nso
on
-lik
e d
ow
np
ou
r fe
ll o
ve
r O
xfo
rd. W
ide
sp
rea
d f
lash
flo
od
ing
ca
use
d
da
mag
e a
nd
mis
ery
to
fam
ilies a
nd
bu
sin
esses.
Infr
astr
uctu
re is g
oin
g to
h
ave
to
be
ove
rha
ule
d s
o p
eop
le d
on
't g
et
flo
od
ed
out
eve
ry s
um
me
r.
Co
un
cils
, T
ha
mes W
ate
r an
d a
ge
ncie
s m
ust figu
re o
ut
wh
y c
ert
ain
are
as
we
re h
it s
o h
ard
an
d a
ct to
ensu
re th
at it d
oe
s n
ot h
app
en
ag
ain
.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
6/7
/24/1
00
20
0.h
tm
l
No
Event
type
and
Date
story
Media
Media
headline
Oxfordshire
locations o
r Area
reported
Incidents and Impacts on District - details from media reports
Are
as a
nd
gro
ups /
Eve
nt
evo
lutio
n /
Incid
en
ts o
ccu
rre
d /
Im
pa
cts
/
Co
nse
qu
ences
Meteorological
data & info about
causes of event
Internet
reference
Other orgs
involved
54
G /
S
27.7
.06
OM
Storm
strikes
county after
heatwave – 1
Oxfo
rdshire
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
hit b
y a
to
rre
ntia
l ra
insto
rm.
Ho
me
s a
nd
sh
op
s w
ere
flo
od
ed
, su
mm
er
eve
nts
wa
she
d o
ut
and
ro
ads s
ubm
erg
ed
. F
ire
fig
hte
rs t
ook 1
60
ca
lls in
th
ree
ho
urs
. T
ree
s b
rou
gh
t do
wn
an
d r
oa
ds c
losed
. T
raff
ic b
acke
dup
a
nd
sh
opp
ers
fo
rce
d to
run
fo
r co
ve
r. M
et
Off
ice
: O
xfo
rdsh
ire s
uffe
red
th
e
wo
rst
sto
rm in
th
e U
K g
ett
ing
a m
on
th's
ra
infa
ll in
a c
ou
ple
of
ho
urs
.
On
e m
onth
’s
rain
4
0.8
mm
- fe
ll in
tw
o h
ou
rs,
with
fla
sh
flo
od
ing
an
d
ligh
tnin
g s
trik
es
http
://a
rchiv
e.t
he
oxfo
rdtim
es.n
et/
200
6/7
/27/1
00
46
4.h
tml
55
H /
S
27.7
.06
AH
Storm
strikes
county after
heatwave –2
Oxfo
rdshire
Pe
op
le o
f O
xfo
rdsh
ire
sw
elte
red
th
rou
gh o
ne o
f th
e c
razie
st w
ea
the
r p
erio
ds
in t
he
cou
nty
's h
isto
ry.
Pa
ren
ts a
nd
ch
ildre
n s
pla
sh
ed in
sw
imm
ing p
ools
an
d
pa
dd
ling p
ools
. S
izzlin
g h
ea
t th
rea
ten
ed
to
me
lt r
oa
ds,
gritt
ers
sp
raye
d
gra
nite
dust
& s
and
to
ho
ld t
he s
urf
aces t
og
eth
er.
Sticky c
ond
itio
ns re
po
rte
d
on
30
ro
ads,
inclu
din
g o
nes n
ea
r B
lew
bu
ry a
nd
th
e A
32
9 n
ear
Th
am
e.
Te
mp
era
ture
: 3
4.2
C (
94
F)
on
th
e h
ott
est
da
y o
f th
e y
ea
r.
http
://a
rchiv
e.t
he
oxfo
rdtim
es.n
et/
200
6/7
/27/1
00
46
4.h
tml
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
F
ire
a
nd
Re
scue
S
erv
ice
56
RR
PS
28.7
.06
OM
Get used to
this kind of
heat
Oxfo
rdshire
Ch
ris W
est, U
KC
IP:
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
sho
uld
bra
ce
its
elf fo
r sum
me
rs w
ith
eve
n
mo
re o
f th
e v
iole
nt
thu
nde
rsto
rms.
Su
mm
ers
ho
tte
r still
will
be
com
e t
he
norm
in
ye
ars
to
co
me
, w
ith
ch
an
ges t
o c
rops g
row
n a
nd
fre
qu
en
t e
xtr
em
e
we
ath
er
- such
as h
ot,
dry
sum
me
rs -
as te
mpe
ratu
res r
ise
. V
ari
abili
ty o
f th
e
we
ath
er
will
in
cre
ase
, w
ith
wa
rme
r w
inte
rs,
mo
re h
ea
vy r
ain
sto
rms a
nd
fla
sh
flo
odin
g. In
10
0 y
ea
rs o
ur
clim
ate
will
be s
imila
r to
th
e m
idd
le o
f F
ran
ce
.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
6/7
/28/1
00
51
0.h
tm
l
57
DT
10.8
.06
OM
Drought takes
toll of wildlife
Buckin
gham
sh
ire /
Oxfo
rdshire
Fis
h d
ied
due
to
lo
w o
xyg
en
leve
ls.
Bre
ed
ing
patt
ern
s o
f fr
ogs a
nd
insects
a
ffe
cte
d b
y lo
w f
low
s a
nd
se
a w
ate
r flo
win
g f
urt
he
r u
pstr
ea
m t
ha
n n
orm
al.
Bo
tulis
m d
ete
cte
d in
wild
fow
l in
Bu
ckin
gh
am
shir
e.
21
mo
nth
s o
f b
elo
w-a
ve
rag
e
rain
.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
6/8
/17/1
02
24
8.h
tm
l
58
DT
11.8
.06
OM
Drought kills
fish
Oxfo
rdshire
Dro
ug
ht
take
s a
to
ll o
f O
xfo
rdsh
ire
wild
life
, w
ith
fis
h d
yin
g a
nd
fro
g/in
se
ct
bre
ed
ing
pa
tte
rns b
ein
g a
ffe
cte
d.
Lo
w o
xyg
en
du
e t
o lo
w f
low
s o
f w
ate
r in
th
e R
ive
r C
he
rwe
ll a
t B
an
bu
ry c
ou
ld s
pe
ll tr
ou
ble
fo
r w
ildlif
e. L
ow
wa
ter
flo
w
leve
ls c
ause
fis
h t
o g
asp
, po
nd
s t
urn
gre
en
, a
nd
wa
ter
inse
cts
left
str
an
de
d.
21
mo
nth
s o
f b
elo
w-a
ve
rag
e
rain
.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
6/8
/11/1
01
78
4.h
tm
l
En
vir
on
men
t A
ge
ncy'
59
DT
11.8
.06
OM
County unites
to save water
Oxfo
rdshire
Th
am
es W
ate
r sa
id t
ha
t w
ate
r u
se
dro
ppe
d b
y 1
0.5
pe
r ce
nt d
uri
ng J
uly
. 7
3
mill
ion litre
s o
f w
ate
r sa
ve
d w
ou
ld h
ave
fill
ed
alm
ost
a m
illio
n b
ath
tub
s e
ve
ry
da
y,
sh
ow
ing
if
eve
ryo
ne m
ake
s s
mall
ch
ang
es t
o th
eir d
aily
ro
utin
es, it c
an
he
lp m
ake
a b
ig d
iffe
rence
."
Dro
ug
ht 2
1 m
ths
old
. S
ince
No
v
20
04
ha
ve
only
2
mo
nth
s o
f a
bo
ve
-a
ve
rag
e r
ain
fall
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
6/8
/11/1
01
76
0.h
tm
l
60
RR
PS
8.9
.06
OT
Horse
chestnuts
under attack
UK
D
ise
ase
, p
ests
an
d d
rou
gh
t end
an
ge
r U
K's
ho
rse
ch
estn
ut
tre
es, a
s a
n
estim
ate
d 4
0,0
00
-50
,00
0 -
ab
ou
t te
n p
er
ce
nt o
f th
e to
tal in
Bri
tain
– w
ere
a
ffe
cte
d b
y b
leed
ing
ca
nke
r, w
hic
h a
ttacks th
e b
ark
. L
ea
f m
ine
r m
oth
s a
re
als
o d
estr
oyin
g lea
ve
s,
turn
ing t
he
m b
row
n a
nd
sh
rive
lled
, w
hile
a s
eri
es o
f su
mm
er
dro
ugh
ts h
ave
we
aken
ed
the
tre
es th
em
selv
es.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
6/9
/8/1
045
57.h
tml
No
Event
type
and
Date
story
Media
Media
headline
Oxfordshire
locations o
r Area
reported
Incidents and Impacts on District - details from media reports
Are
as a
nd
gro
ups /
Eve
nt
evo
lutio
n /
Incid
en
ts o
ccu
rre
d /
Im
pa
cts
/
Co
nse
qu
ences
Meteorological
data & info about
causes of event
Internet
reference
Other orgs
involved
61
RR
PS
11.9
.06
OM
£4m repair bill
for roads
Oxon
He
atw
ave
le
ft O
CC
's h
igh
wa
ys m
an
age
rs w
ith
a £
4m
re
pa
ir b
ill fo
r da
mag
ed
ro
ad
su
rfaces.
Hig
h t
em
pe
ratu
res m
elte
d r
oa
ds a
nd le
ft s
om
e p
erm
an
en
tly
da
mag
ed
. A
ffecte
d r
ou
tes in
clu
de
the
A3
29
betw
ee
n T
ha
me a
nd
M4
0,
A4
13
0 / G
an
gsd
ow
n H
ill, A
40
95
/ K
irtlin
gto
n a
nd
B4
022
/ C
harl
bu
ry.
Ve
ry
ho
t w
ea
the
r at
the
end
of Ju
ly a
ffe
cte
d r
oa
d s
urf
aces w
hic
h s
oft
en
ed
, le
adin
g
to a
bu
ild-u
p o
f bitum
en
on
the s
urf
ace
an
d a
loss o
f te
xtu
re.
http
://a
rchiv
e.t
he
oxfo
rdtim
es.n
et/
200
6/9
/11/1
04
63
1.h
tml
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
C
ou
nty
C
ou
ncil'
s
62
G /
S
12.1
0.0
6
OM
Welcome to a
Water World
Oxon
Th
ou
sa
nds o
f h
om
es a
cro
ss O
xfo
rdsh
ire
affe
cte
d b
y p
ow
er
cu
ts a
s e
lectr
ica
l sto
rms h
it.
So
uth
ern
Ele
ctr
ic e
stim
ate
d a
rou
nd
4,0
00
pro
pe
rtie
s w
ere
a
ffe
cte
d d
esp
ite in
ve
sting
heavily
in
lig
htn
ing
pro
tectio
n s
yste
ms to
min
imis
e
da
mag
e, b
ut
un
able
to
pro
tect e
qu
ipm
en
t fr
om
a d
irect str
ike
.
http
://w
ww
.oxfo
rdm
ail.
net/dis
pla
y.v
ar.
96
45
50.0
.welc
om
e_to
_w
ate
r_w
orld.p
hp
Fir
e a
nd
R
escue
/
So
uth
ern
E
lectr
ic
63
AS
24.1
0.0
6
OM
County still
blooming
Oxon
Pla
nts
and
flo
we
rs t
ricke
d in
to a
seco
nd
blo
om
as s
um
me
r e
xte
nd
ed
into
a
utu
mn
. T
ree
s s
pro
ute
d s
pri
ng b
lossom
an
d flo
we
red
. O
xfo
rd U
rba
n W
ildlif
e:
…o
dd
thin
gs in
the
wild
and
ga
rde
ns.
Th
ere
ha
ve
bee
n v
iole
ts o
ut
rece
ntly
an
d t
his
is th
e m
idd
le o
f O
cto
be
r."
Me
t O
ffic
e: "
..co
ntinu
ed
tre
nd
fro
m th
e
su
mm
er.
.unsu
rprisin
g t
o s
ee
flo
we
rs &
tre
es in
a s
econ
d b
loo
m."
Lo
ng
est sum
me
r sin
ce
16
89
. T
he
ho
t su
mm
er
plu
s a
utu
mn r
ain
=
go
od
ga
rden
co
nditio
ns
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
6/1
0/2
4/1
105
77.h
tm
l
64
RR
PS
24.1
0.0
6
NH
S
Oxfordshire
PCT
Emergency
Heatwave Plan
Oxon
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
PC
T’s
Em
erg
ency H
ea
twa
ve
Pla
nt:
B
y t
he
208
0s,
it is p
redic
ted
th
at
eve
nts
sim
ilar
to th
e 2
00
3 h
ea
twa
ve
will
ha
ppe
n e
ve
ry y
ea
r re
su
ltin
g in
m
an
y d
ea
ths,
the
ma
jority
old
er
pe
ople
. T
he
PC
T P
lan
pro
vid
es r
esp
on
ses
to p
rote
ct h
ealth
. P
lan
fo
llow
s g
uid
an
ce
fro
m D
ep
t o
f H
ea
lth a
nd
op
era
tes
fro
m 1
Jun
e to
15
Se
pte
mbe
r. C
ore
ele
men
ts: A
'He
at-
He
alth w
atc
h' s
yste
m,
wh
ere
by M
et.
Off
ice
fo
reca
sts
tri
gg
er
va
ryin
g le
ve
ls o
f re
sp
onse
. A
dvic
e
pro
vid
ed
dir
ect
to p
ub
lic a
nd
he
altH
/ S
ocia
l ca
re p
rofe
ssio
na
ls.
Ide
ntifica
tio
n o
f in
div
idua
ls a
t risk e
nsu
res th
ey r
ece
ive
tim
ely
ad
vic
e a
nd
su
ppo
rt.
Use
s th
e m
edia
to
sup
ply
ad
vic
e b
oth
be
fore
an
d d
uri
ng
he
atw
ave
.
http
://w
ww
.oxfo
rdshir
ep
ct.n
hs.u
k/
abo
ut-
us/h
ow
-th
e-p
ct-
work
s/tru
st-
boa
rd/b
oard
-pap
ers
/20
08
/july
/docum
ents
/He
at
waveP
lanJune
2008
.pd
f
65
G /
S
25.1
0.0
6
OM
County Awash
After
Rainstorm
s
Oxon,
Abin
gdon
Tw
o w
ee
ks' w
ort
h o
f ra
in fe
ll in
on
e n
ight,
flo
odin
g h
om
es a
nd
ro
ads, ca
usin
g
accid
ents
an
d fo
rcin
g s
ew
ag
e u
p f
rom
dra
ins a
rou
nd
th
e c
oun
ty.
Ab
ingd
on
w
as w
ors
t h
it,
with
hom
es,
ga
rde
ns a
nd r
oa
ds a
wa
sh
. H
om
es w
ere
sw
am
pe
d in
Ap
ple
ford
Dri
ve
an
d C
hilt
on
Clo
se
, A
bin
gdo
n T
ow
n's
fo
otb
all
gro
un
d u
nde
r six
in
ch
es o
f flo
od
ing
.
On
e-a
nd
-a-h
alf
inche
s -
ha
lf o
f O
cto
be
r's a
ve
rag
e
rain
fall
- fe
ll in
sid
e
eig
ht h
ou
rs
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
6/1
0/2
5/1
107
72.h
tm
l
No
Event
type
and
Date
story
Media
Media
headline
Oxfordshire
locations o
r Area
reported
Incidents and Impacts on District - details from media reports
Are
as a
nd
gro
ups /
Eve
nt
evo
lutio
n /
Incid
en
ts o
ccu
rre
d /
Im
pa
cts
/
Co
nse
qu
ences
Meteorological
data & info about
causes of event
Internet
reference
Other orgs
involved
66
RR
PS
10.1
1.0
6
OM
Climate change
sends £16.4m
bill
Oxon
Clim
ate
ch
ang
e c
ost O
CC
£1
6.4
m a
s m
ore
th
an 2
60 c
ostly w
ea
the
r-re
late
d
incid
en
ts w
ere
reco
rded
ove
r 1
0 y
ea
rs. If
co
sts
to
busin
esses /
ho
use
hold
ers
w
as in
clu
de
d,
it w
ou
ld c
om
e to h
un
dre
ds o
f m
illio
ns. £
16
.4m
fig
ure
is ju
st
the
tip
of th
e ice
be
rg,
base
d o
n in
su
ran
ce
cla
ims a
nd
ro
ad r
ep
air
bill
s.
Lis
t o
f in
cid
en
ts in
clu
des: d
rou
gh
t o
f 2
00
3/4
, w
ith
more
tha
n 5
0 r
oad
s h
it b
y t
wo
e
xtr
em
ely
dry
win
ters
an
d s
um
me
rs, re
co
nstr
uction
£3
.6m
. F
loo
ds in
Ja
nua
ry 2
00
3 a
ffe
cte
d h
om
es, b
usin
esses, a
nd
tw
o s
ch
oo
ls flo
od
ed
. T
esco
in
Ab
ing
do
n lo
sse
s p
ut a
t £5
00
,00
0. 2
006
hea
twa
ve
clo
se
d s
cho
ols
, lo
ss o
f te
ach
ing h
ou
rs, lo
ss in
wo
rkin
g h
ou
rs,
pre
ssu
re o
n c
hild
ca
re s
erv
ice
s.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
6/1
1/1
0/1
135
89.h
tm
l
67
R /
F
27.1
1.0
6
OT
County Put On
Flood Watch
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
H
un
dre
ds o
f h
ouse
ho
lds w
ere
wa
rne
d a
bo
ut th
e t
hre
at
of flood
ing
aft
er
rece
nt
hea
vy r
ain
s le
d to
lo
cal ri
ve
rs b
urs
tin
g th
eir
ba
nks, p
uttin
g fa
rmla
nd
un
de
r w
ate
r. F
lood
wa
rnin
gs issu
ed b
y t
he
En
vir
onm
en
t A
gen
cy o
n 4
riv
ers
.
http
://a
rchiv
e.t
he
oxfo
rdtim
es.n
et/
200
6/1
1/2
7/1
165
48.h
tml
68
RR
PS
30.1
1.0
6
AH
Flood relief a
decade away
Oxon
Vic
tim
s o
f flo
odin
g w
ill h
ave
to s
tick w
ith
the
sa
nd
ba
gs f
or
a fe
w m
ore
ye
ars
a
s a
pro
po
sed
£10
0m
flo
od
relie
f ch
ann
el is
at
lea
st
a d
ecade
aw
ay.
En
vir
on
men
t A
ge
ncy o
ffe
red
little
ho
pe
to
100
0s a
t-risk.
On
e s
olu
tio
n t
o th
e
pro
ble
m is a
25m
-wid
e f
loo
d c
ha
nn
el o
n t
he R
. T
ha
mes a
t B
inse
y t
o
Sa
nd
ford
Lock. G
ovt
ap
pro
va
l a
nd
a p
lan
nin
g a
pp
lica
tio
n m
ay o
ccu
r in
20
08
. A
fte
r a
pu
blic
in
qu
iry,
co
nstr
uctio
n u
nlik
ely
to
beg
in b
efo
re 2
01
5.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
6/1
1/3
0/1
174
27.h
tm
l
69
R /
F
1.1
2.0
6
BC
Rain May Bring
Fresh Flooding
Oxo
n
Th
rea
t o
f flo
odin
g h
ung
ove
r th
e c
ou
nty
as m
ore
ra
in f
ell.
Heavy d
ow
np
ou
rs
sa
w r
ive
rs f
loo
d th
eir
ba
nks th
is w
ee
k. W
ate
rwa
ys b
ein
g m
onito
red w
ere
Is
lip,
Eve
nlo
de
, W
ind
rush
, C
he
rwe
ll, R
ay,
Th
am
es,
Ch
arn
ey B
asse
tt a
nd
O
ck.
Riv
er
Che
rwe
ll b
roke
its
ba
nks a
t se
ve
ral po
ints
.
http
://a
rchiv
e.t
he
oxfo
rdtim
es.n
et/
200
6/1
2/1
/117
51
3.h
tml
70
G /
S
8.1
2.0
6
OM
County Hit By
New W
eather
Woes
Oxon
Ho
me
s w
ere
le
ft w
ith
out
ele
ctr
icity a
nd
riv
ers
bu
rst
the
ir b
anks a
s h
ea
vy r
ain
a
nd
str
ong
win
ds.
Ele
ctr
icity s
up
ply
wa
s c
ut
off
to
1,7
95 c
usto
me
rs.
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
ha
d b
een
on t
orn
ad
o w
atc
h.
Fir
efig
hte
rs a
tte
nd
ed
ele
ctr
icity
ca
ble
s b
low
n d
ow
n.
De
spite
a th
ird
mo
nth
of h
ea
vy,
we
ll a
bove
ave
rag
e
rain
fall,
Th
am
es W
ate
r in
sis
ted
a h
osep
ipe a
nd s
prinkle
r b
an
is s
till
ne
cessa
ry b
eca
use
of lo
w g
rou
nd
wa
ter
leve
ls.
40
% m
ore
ra
in fe
ll in
No
ve
mbe
r th
an
a
ve
rag
e (
87
mm
co
mp
are
d w
ith
6
2m
m)
- th
e 1
7th
w
ett
est
No
ve
mbe
r
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
6/1
2/8
/118
99
1.h
tm
l http
://a
rchiv
e.t
he
oxfo
rdtim
es.n
et/
200
6/1
2/4
/117
93
2.h
tml
71
RR
PS
20.1
2.0
6
AH
Homes shock
for Didcot
Vale
T
ho
usa
nds o
f n
ew
ho
me
s a
t D
idcot
loo
k s
et to
be
built
to
the
we
st
an
d s
ou
th
of
the
to
wn
. A
stu
dy c
arr
ied
out
by S
OD
C w
ith
VO
WH
an
d O
CC
lo
oke
d a
t n
ine
po
ten
tial a
rea
s fo
r de
ve
lop
me
nt
aro
un
d th
e to
wn
.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
6/1
2/2
0/1
213
90.h
tm
l
No
Event
type
and
Date
story
Media
Media
headline
Oxfordshire
locations o
r Area
reported
Incidents and Impacts on District - details from media reports
Are
as a
nd
gro
ups /
Eve
nt
evo
lutio
n /
Incid
en
ts o
ccu
rre
d /
Im
pa
cts
/
Co
nse
qu
ences
Meteorological
data & info about
causes of event
Internet
reference
Other orgs
involved
72
AS
11.1
.07
OT
The spider's
creeping north
Oxfo
rdshire
Th
e w
asp
sp
ide
r use
d to
occu
r ju
st o
n th
e s
ou
th c
oa
st
but
has s
pre
ad
. T
he
w
asp
sp
ide
r, A
rgio
pe
Bru
en
nic
hi h
as g
ain
ed
a fo
oth
old
in
so
uth
ern
Oxo
n.
Warm
er
sum
me
rs in
cre
ase
the
cha
nce
s o
f its h
ab
ita
t sp
readin
g. W
arm
er
co
nditio
ns w
ill b
e c
ond
uciv
e t
o s
pecie
s e
xte
nd
ing
the
ir r
an
ge
.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
7/1
/11/1
25
06
7.h
tm
l
73
G /
S
12.1
.07
BC
Extreme
weather causes
chaos
Oxfo
rdshire
Dri
ve
rs e
scap
ed
se
rio
us inju
ry a
s d
oze
ns o
f tr
ee
s w
ere
blo
wn
do
wn
in
th
e
ga
le-f
orc
e w
ind
s.
Cou
nty
cou
ncil
en
gin
ee
rs r
ece
ived
300
ca
lls a
bo
ut
falle
n/d
am
ag
ed
tre
es.
700
hom
es a
nd
busin
esse
s in
Abin
gdo
n,
Did
co
t a
nd
W
itn
ey lo
st p
ow
er
as d
eb
ris b
rou
gh
t lin
es d
ow
n.
Me
t O
ffic
e:
win
ds
of
64m
ph
hig
he
st
reco
rde
d fo
r th
e
co
unty
in
Be
nson
.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
7/1
/12/1
25
22
1.h
tm
l
74
DT
16.0
1.0
7
OM
Lift the
hosepipe ban
now!
Oxfo
rdshire
Still
no
t a d
rop
fo
r T
ham
es W
ate
r custo
me
rs’ ho
se
pip
es. T
he
re is
sp
ecu
lation
th
at
the h
ose
pip
e b
an
im
posed
last
ye
ar
is a
bo
ut to
be
lifte
d.
Riv
ers
th
rou
gho
ut
the
co
unty
are
fu
ll a
nd
ma
ny h
ave
ove
rflo
we
d a
nd
flo
od
ed
a
dja
ce
nt field
s.
Th
e b
an
has n
ow
be
en
in
pla
ce
fo
r n
ine
mo
nth
s.
Fro
m 1
0 D
ec.
and
1
0 J
an
., 1
00
.2m
m
of
rain
fe
ll in
Oxo
n
– 4
X
in
sa
me
p
eri
od last
ye
ar.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
7/1
/16/1
25
78
4.h
tm
l
Th
am
es
Wate
r
75
G /
S
19.1
.07
OM
Storm
Damage
Assessed AND
Man Dies Tree
Crushes Car
Oxon
Hig
h w
ind
s to
pple
d a
tre
e o
nto
an
ele
ctr
icity lin
e in M
ilto
n,
Abin
gd
on
, le
avin
g
7,0
00
hom
es n
o p
ow
er.
Hig
h w
ind
s c
aused
tra
ve
l d
ela
ys w
ith
fa
llen
tre
es,
roa
d a
ccid
en
ts a
nd
slo
w t
rain
s.
3 lo
rrie
s t
opp
led
on M
40
. F
ire c
rew
s
rem
ove
d tre
es b
lockin
g A
415
Ab
ing
do
n.
Ma
ny s
cho
ols
clo
sed
. O
CC
re
ce
ive
d 4
50
re
po
rts o
f fa
llen
tre
es a
nd
flo
od
ing
. 7
00
0 h
om
es lost
po
we
r in
D
idco
t, M
ilto
n,
Ste
ve
nto
n, H
arw
ell,
Dra
yto
n,
Su
tto
n C
ou
rte
nay
Me
t O
ffic
e
gusts
w
ere
up
to
70m
ph
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
7/1
/19/1
26
62
3.h
tm
l
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
7/1
/18/1
26
45
3.h
tm
l
Fir
e R
escue
S
erv
ice
76
G /
S
22.1
.07
OT
Woman hit by
plank during
storm
South
and
West O
xon
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
wo
man
kn
ocke
d d
ow
n b
y a
n a
irb
orn
e p
lank o
f w
oo
d.
15
00
h
om
es lo
st p
ow
er
as S
E e
ngin
ee
rs r
ep
aire
d p
ow
er
lines. W
ors
t h
it losin
g
po
we
r w
ere
Bic
este
r, B
erin
sfield
& H
enle
y.
Fire
se
rvic
e in
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
re
ce
ive
d 1
00
calls
, de
alt w
ith
25
fa
llen
tre
es a
nd
ma
de
six
po
we
r lin
es s
afe
.
Wors
t w
ea
the
r sin
ce
ab
ou
t 1
990
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
7/1
/22/1
27
31
0.h
tm
l
So
uth
ern
E
lectr
ic
77
DT
18.1
.07
OM
Hosepipe ban
lifted
Tham
es V
alle
y
Mo
tori
sts
and
ga
rde
ne
rs w
ere
giv
en
the
all-
cle
ar
to u
se
th
eir
ho
sep
ipe
s fo
r th
e f
irst
tim
e in
nin
e m
on
ths a
fte
r T
ha
mes W
ate
r lif
ted its
dom
estic h
osep
ipe
an
d s
pri
nkle
r b
an
, in
tro
du
ced
in
Ap
ril fo
llow
ing
an 1
8-m
on
th d
rou
ght.
It h
as
taken
som
e tim
e f
or
the
ra
in to s
eep
do
wn
in
to u
nd
erg
rou
nd a
qu
ife
rs th
at
ke
ep r
ive
rs a
nd
re
se
rvoir
s to
pp
ed
up
du
rin
g th
e s
prin
g a
nd
th
e s
um
me
r.
Fro
m 1
0/1
2 t
o
10
/01
10
0m
m f
ell
– 4
tim
es t
ha
t in
th
e s
am
e p
erio
d
12
mo
nth
s e
arl
ier
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
7/1
/18/1
26
30
7.h
tm
l
Th
am
es
Wate
r
78
I /
S
8.2
.07
BC
Widespread
Disruption To
Travel
Th
am
es
Va
lley
So
me
sch
oo
ls c
lose
d d
ue
to
he
ating
pro
ble
ms, w
hile
oth
ers
de
cid
ed
to
sh
ut
be
cau
se it
wo
uld
be
to
o d
ifficu
lt f
or
pu
pils
an
d s
taff t
o g
et
to c
lasse
s.
Bu
s
an
d r
ail
se
rvic
es w
ere
dis
rup
ted
an
d d
rivin
g c
on
ditio
ns w
ere
difficu
lt f
or
mo
torists
with
fre
sh
sn
ow
fa
lling
du
rin
g th
e m
orn
ing
rush
-ho
ur.
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
re
ce
ivin
g 1
5cm
of
sn
ow
in
pla
ce
s.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
7/2
/8/1
306
18.h
tml
79
I /
S
8.2
.07
BB
C
Travel Delays
Due To Heavy
Snow
Th
am
es
Va
lley
Co
mm
ute
rs a
cro
ss t
he
Th
am
es V
alle
y a
re b
attlin
g r
ush
-hou
r d
ela
ys a
fte
r h
ea
vy s
no
wfa
lls a
cro
ss t
he
are
a.
Gri
tte
rs w
ere
out
ove
rnig
ht o
n m
ajo
r ro
ads
in O
xfo
rdsh
ire
an
d B
erk
sh
ire.
http
://n
ew
s.b
bc.c
o.u
k/1
/lo
w/e
ngla
nd/o
xfo
rdshir
e/6
341
34
7.s
tm
No
Event
type
and
Date
story
Media
Media
headline
Oxfordshire
locations o
r Area
reported
Incidents and Impacts on District - details from media reports
Are
as a
nd
gro
ups /
Eve
nt
evo
lutio
n /
Incid
en
ts o
ccu
rre
d /
Im
pa
cts
/
Co
nse
qu
ences
Meteorological
data & info about
causes of event
Internet
reference
Other orgs
involved
80
I /
S
9.2
.07
BB
C
Schools
Closed After
Snow
Th
am
es
Va
lley
At
least
90
sch
oo
ls a
cro
ss O
xfo
rdshir
e r
em
ain
ed c
lose
d f
or
a s
eco
nd
da
y o
n
Fri
da
y a
fte
r sn
ow
sh
ow
ers
.
http
://n
ew
s.b
bc.c
o.u
k/1
/hi/e
ngla
nd/o
xfo
rdshir
e/6
3455
79.s
tm
81
RR
PS
5.4
.07
OT
Solving the
drought
UK
P
rep
are
fo
r a
dry
sum
me
r! G
ard
en
ers
we
re in
de
sp
air
la
st
sum
me
r b
eca
use
o
f th
e h
ose
pip
e b
an
. P
len
ty o
f p
lan
ts s
hru
g o
ff d
rou
gh
t an
d n
eve
r n
ee
d
wa
teri
ng
. A
s d
rie
r sum
me
rs s
ee
m t
o b
e b
eco
min
g th
e n
orm
, se
nsib
le t
o g
row
w
ate
r-w
ise
pla
nts
th
at
actu
ally
lo
ve
ho
t, d
ry c
on
ditio
ns.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
7/4
/5/1
432
17.h
tml
82
RR
PS
19.4
.07
OT
Storm
y future
ahead
Oxfo
rdshire
Co
un
ty f
ace
s a
dis
co
nce
rtin
g fu
ture
of
hose
pip
e b
ans in
su
mm
er
an
d fla
sh
flo
ods in
win
ter.
UK
CIP
with
Oxfo
rd C
ity C
ou
ncil
& O
CC
to
ma
ke
th
e c
ou
nty
a
te
st
are
a f
or
reco
rdin
g "
se
vere
we
ath
er
incid
en
ts"
an
d e
va
lua
ting
the
ir
co
st, u
sin
g t
he Local Climate Impact Profile
. T
he
id
ea is t
o lo
ok a
t th
e
imm
ed
iate
pa
st to
exa
min
e h
ow
in
cid
en
ts a
re m
an
ag
ed
an
d c
oste
d.
Th
en
revie
w c
ritica
l th
resh
old
s a
nd
me
asu
re fre
que
ncie
s f
or
futu
re p
lann
ing
action
.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
7/4
/19/1
46
49
8.h
tm
l
UK
CIP
w
ith
O
xfo
rd
City
Co
un
cil
&
OC
C
83
DT
1.5
.07
BC
Fire crews
tackle blazes
South
O
xfo
rdshire
Rest
of county
Fla
me
s d
estr
oye
d t
wo
ve
hic
les a
nd
a c
om
mun
ity c
en
tre
wa
s d
am
ag
ed in
a
sp
ate
of
fire
s a
cro
ss t
he
co
un
ty.
Fir
e c
rew
s w
ere
ca
lled
to
a c
ar
on
fire
in
w
hile
in
Ban
bu
ry a
ho
use
wa
s d
estr
oye
d b
y f
ire
. 6
acre
s o
f w
oo
dla
nd
wa
s
ab
laze
in
so
uth
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
7/5
/1/1
493
11.h
tml
F &
R
84
RR
PS
15.5
.07
OM
Warm
summers pose
disease threat
Oxfo
rdshire
within
UK
H
ott
er
su
mm
ers
cou
ld le
ad
to g
rea
ter
dis
ease
sp
rea
d b
y in
se
cts
. A
s
tem
pe
ratu
res r
ise,
bacte
ria
passed
on
by s
hee
p/d
ee
r ticks c
ou
ld th
reate
n
hu
man
s w
he
n th
ey v
en
ture
in
to f
ore
sts
an
d m
ea
do
ws.
Zoo
log
ists
at O
xfo
rd’s
T
ick R
ese
arc
h U
nit w
arn
ed
this
cou
ld le
ad
to
Lym
e d
ise
ase
. P
CT
’s 4
-sta
ge
h
ea
twa
ve
pla
n a
ctiva
tes w
he
n t
em
ps r
ea
ch
31
C d
uri
ng
th
e d
ay a
nd
16
C a
t n
igh
t fo
r tw
o d
ays r
un
nin
g. L
eve
l 4
of
the
pla
n a
ctiva
tes e
me
rge
ncy
resp
on
ses w
he
n t
he
re is a
cata
str
op
hic
th
rea
t to
the
wa
ter
or
po
we
r su
pply
.
Do
H r
ep
ort
w
arn
ed
th
ere
wa
s
a 1
/ 4
0 c
ha
nce
th
at
SE
Eng
lan
d
will
exp
eri
en
ce
a
se
riou
s h
ea
twa
ve
b
y 2
01
2
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
7/5
/15/1
52
42
4.h
tm
l
Oxo
n P
CT
85
R /
F
22.7
.07
OM
Flooding:
Clean-up 'will
take months'
Oxfo
rdshire
and B
erk
shire
Flo
od v
ictim
s m
ay n
ot
be a
ble
to
re
turn
to
th
eir
hom
es f
or
mon
ths. C
an
no
t p
red
ict
wh
en
hou
se
s w
ou
ld b
e h
ab
ita
ble
, giv
en
dry
ing
-ou
t p
eri
od
. E
nv
Ag
en
cy s
aid
at
least
700
hom
es w
ere
aff
ecte
d,
mo
st in
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
and
B
erk
sh
ire
. F
loo
dw
ate
r o
n th
e tra
cks a
t K
en
nin
gto
n s
usp
end
ed
tra
in s
erv
ices.
http
://w
ww
.oxfo
rdm
ail.
net/searc
h/d
ispla
y.v
ar.
15
63
887
.0.flo
odin
g_cl
ean
up
_w
ill_ta
ke
_m
onth
s.p
hp
En
vir
on
men
t A
ge
ncy
86
R /
F
25.7
.07
BB
C
Thames flood
sees homes
evacuated
Oxfo
rdshire
Hu
nd
reds o
f h
om
es e
va
cua
ted.
En
v A
ge
ncy:
le
ve
ls p
ea
ke
d in
Ab
ing
do
n,
wh
ere
58
5 h
om
es w
ere
flo
od
ed
. O
sn
ey M
ea
d s
ub
sta
tion
unde
r th
rea
t. M
ain
ro
ad
s in
to t
he c
ity,
Bo
tle
y a
nd
Ab
ing
do
n R
oa
ds c
losed
. T
ho
usa
nds o
f sa
ndb
ags w
ere
de
live
red
to
hou
se
ho
lds a
cro
ss th
e c
ou
nty
.
http
://n
ew
s.b
bc.c
o.u
k/1
/hi/e
ngla
nd/o
xfo
rdshir
e/6
9149
45.s
tm
Th
am
es
Va
lley
Po
lice
E
nvir
on
men
t A
ge
ncy
No
Event
type
and
Date
story
Media
Media
headline
Oxfordshire
locations o
r Area
reported
Incidents and Impacts on District - details from media reports
Are
as a
nd
gro
ups /
Eve
nt
evo
lutio
n /
Incid
en
ts o
ccu
rre
d /
Im
pa
cts
/
Co
nse
qu
ences
Meteorological
data & info about
causes of event
Internet
reference
Other orgs
involved
87
R /
F
25.7
.07
BB
C
Floods hit
about 900
properties
Oxon
Ab
ou
t 90
0 p
rop
ert
ies h
ave
bee
n f
loo
ded
in O
xfo
rdsh
ire
du
e to
th
e to
rren
tial
rain
. In
Ab
ing
do
n,
on
the
Riv
er
Ock,
57
0 p
rop
ert
ies w
ere
flo
od
ed
. N
o flo
od
d
efe
nces f
aile
d,
thou
gh r
ive
r w
ate
r / su
rface
wa
ter
ove
rwh
elm
ed
ma
ny
locatio
ns.
Kid
ling
ton
Flo
od D
efe
nce S
che
me (
Riv
er
Ch
erw
ell)
su
ccessfu
lly
pro
tecte
d m
an
y h
om
es in
no
rth
Oxfo
rd.
Th
ou
sa
nds o
f sa
nd
ba
gs d
eliv
ere
d t
o
ho
use
hold
s. O
xfo
rdsh
ire
fir
e c
hie
fs d
ivid
ed
th
e c
ou
nty
in
to 1
1 a
reas.
Prim
ary
scho
ols
fo
rce
d t
o s
hu
t e
arl
y fo
r th
e s
um
me
r h
olid
ays.
Ma
ny r
oa
ds c
losed
.
Flo
ods 2
00
0/2
00
3
de
scri
bed
as o
ne
-in
-40
-ye
ar
eve
nts
. W
ith
Ju
ly 2
00
7
flo
ods,
the
se
no
w
are
th
ree
-in
-se
ve
n-y
ea
r e
ve
nts
http
://n
ew
s.b
bc.c
o.u
k/1
/hi/e
ngla
nd/o
xfo
rdshir
e/6
9154
07.s
tm
88
R /
F
25.7
.07
BB
C
Crews pump
out power
substation
Oxon
Wate
r flo
ode
d in
to h
om
es in
the
we
st
of
Oxfo
rd.
Fir
e c
rew
s p
um
pin
g o
ut
a
su
bsta
tio
n.
No
w s
om
e 3
,000
pro
pe
rtie
s w
ere
flo
ode
d.
Str
ate
gic
pla
nn
ing
wa
s
in p
lace f
or
Oxfo
rd a
nd
Ab
ing
do
n.
Fire
se
rvic
e is m
ee
ting
pote
ntial lif
e-
thre
ate
nin
g incid
en
ts f
rom
Abin
gd
on s
ou
th to
the
He
nle
y a
rea
.
http
://n
ew
s.b
bc.c
o.u
k/1
/hi/e
ngla
nd/o
xfo
rdshir
e/6
9130
25.s
tm
89
R /
F
26.7
.07
OM
Flooding:
Power Out To
2,000 Homes
Oxon
2,0
00
hom
es in
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
are
cu
rre
ntly w
ith
ou
t e
lectr
icity. D
ecis
ion m
ad
e
to c
ut
the p
ow
er
to 2
60
ho
mes n
ea
r A
bin
gd
on
Roa
d..
Th
e E
nvir
on
men
t A
ge
ncy c
laim
s t
hin
gs a
re n
ow
sta
rtin
g to
im
pro
ve
aft
er
a w
ee
k o
f risin
g
flo
ods.
Riv
er
Th
am
es f
rom
Oxfo
rd a
nd
Ab
ing
do
n a
nd
the
Riv
er
Ock f
rom
C
ha
rne
y B
asse
tt t
o A
bin
gd
on
we
re b
oth
und
er
se
ve
re flo
od w
arn
ing
.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
7/7
/26/1
74
08
2.h
tm
l
90
R /
F
28.7
.07
BB
C
Warning for
flood-hit
homes
Oxon
Pe
op
le c
lea
rin
g u
p a
fte
r th
e r
ece
nt flo
od
ing
in O
xfo
rdsh
ire
wa
rne
d to
pre
pa
re
for
he
avy r
ain
this
we
eken
d.
Are
as a
t risk o
ve
r th
e w
ee
ke
nd
in
clu
de
ho
me
s
ne
ar
rive
rs in C
ha
rne
y B
asse
tt,
Ab
ingd
on,
Islip
, E
yn
sh
am
and
Oxfo
rd.
http
://n
ew
s.b
bc.c
o.u
k/1
/hi/e
ngla
nd/o
xfo
rdshir
e/6
9203
32.s
tm
91
R /
F
6.8
.07
BB
C
Joint force
tackles flood
damage
Oxon
Aft
erm
ath
of la
st m
on
th's
flo
odin
g is b
ein
g d
ea
lt w
ith
by s
eve
ral a
ge
ncie
s a
re
wo
rkin
g t
oge
the
r. R
eco
ve
ry t
ea
ms inclu
de
sta
ff fro
m t
he
co
un
ty a
nd
dis
tric
t co
uncils
, e
me
rge
ncy s
erv
ice
s, h
ea
lth
tru
sts
, E
nvir
onm
en
t A
ge
ncy a
nd
loca
l b
usin
esses.
Resid
en
ts a
nd
busin
esse
s s
till
face p
ractica
l, f
ina
ncia
l an
d
he
alth
pro
ble
ms c
au
sed
by t
he f
lood
ing.
http
://n
ew
s.b
bc.c
o.u
k/1
/hi/e
ngla
nd/o
xfo
rdshir
e/6
9342
03.s
tm
En
vir
on
men
t A
ge
ncy
NOTE: given the severity of the 2007 floods and numbers affected,
many news stories covered the recovery and wider policy issues.
These relate to the event, but are not about the direct effects of the
weather event itself.
92
RR
PS
10.8
.07
OT
A gloomy
outlook?
Oxfo
rdshire
Ian
Cu
rtis
, fo
und
er
of
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
Clim
ate
XC
ha
ng
e, ta
lke
d a
bo
ut
the
flo
od
s
with
co
llea
gue
s in
Oxfo
rd c
arr
yin
g o
ut
rese
arc
h into
clim
ate
ch
ang
e.
Ag
ree
d
tha
t it h
as b
ee
n w
et,
but
wa
s it u
nusu
ally
we
t? H
an
g G
ao
, th
e o
bse
rve
r fo
r O
xfo
rd U
niv
ers
ity's
Rad
clif
fe M
ete
oro
logic
al S
tatio
n p
rovid
es a
de
taile
d
an
aly
sis
of
rain
patt
ern
s in
Sum
me
r 2
007
.
http
://w
ww
.th
eo
xfo
rdtim
es.n
et/m
isc/p
rint.
ph
p?a
rti
d=
16
04
60
9
Clim
ate
XC
ha
ng
e,
ww
w.c
lima
te
x.o
rg
No
Event
type
and
Date
story
Media
Media
headline
Oxfordshire
locations o
r Area
reported
Incidents and Impacts on District - details from media reports
Are
as a
nd
gro
ups /
Eve
nt
evo
lutio
n /
Incid
en
ts o
ccu
rre
d /
Im
pa
cts
/
Co
nse
qu
ences
Meteorological
data & info about
causes of event
Internet
reference
Other orgs
involved
93
RR
PS
15.0
8.0
7
OT
Victims' anger
over floods
Oxon
Flo
od v
ictim
s r
ou
nd
ed
on
th
e E
nvir
on
men
t A
ge
ncy d
uri
ng
a h
ea
ted
me
etin
g
to d
iscu
ss t
he f
all-
ou
t o
f th
e d
isa
ste
r. H
om
eo
wn
ers
, m
an
y o
f w
ho
m a
re s
till
mo
ppin
g u
p f
rom
th
e flo
od
s th
ree
we
eks a
go
, ven
ted
th
eir a
ng
er
at th
e
me
etin
g -
"th
ey s
ay 'n
ot o
ur
fau
lt,
too
mu
ch
ra
in,
the
wa
ter
just
ca
me
'...
I fe
el
like p
unchin
g th
em
." A
ge
ncy W
est m
ana
ge
r G
eo
ff B
ell
sa
id th
e d
rain
ag
e a
nd
m
ain
ten
an
ce
issue
s r
ais
ed
had
no
t co
ntr
ibute
d to
the
rece
nt flo
odin
g
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
7/8
/15/1
80
65
9.h
tm
l
94
RR
PS
17.8
.07
OM
£800,000 aid
for flood zones
All
Oxfo
rdshire
Co
un
ty is t
o g
et m
ore
th
an
£80
0,0
00
in a
id a
s p
art
of
a G
ovt
£6
.2m
flo
od
re
co
ve
ry p
ackag
e.
Extr
a c
ash
fo
r fo
ur
dis
tric
t co
uncils
th
at
will
split
£8
61,5
00
in e
me
rgen
cy a
id.
Big
gest
recip
ien
t w
ill b
e W
est O
xfo
rdsh
ire
Dis
tric
t C
oun
cil
(£6
00
,00
0);
Va
le o
f W
hite H
ors
e (
£2
00
,00
0);
Oxfo
rd C
ity C
ou
ncil
(£50
,00
0);
C
he
rwe
ll D
istr
ict
Co
uncil
(£1
1,5
00
).
http
://w
ww
.oxfo
rdm
ail.
net/searc
h/d
ispla
y.v
ar.
16
26
061
.0.8
00_0
00
_aid
_fo
r_flo
od
_zo
nes.p
hp
95
RR
PS
24.8
.07
OM
Victims offered
a £250 lifeline
H
ard
ship
pa
ym
en
ts o
f £
250
will
be g
ive
n to
resid
en
ts w
ors
t hit b
y last
mo
nth
's f
loo
d b
y s
om
e O
xfo
rdsh
ire D
istr
ict C
ou
ncils
.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
7/8
/24/1
82
76
3.h
tm
l
WO
DC
96
RR
PS
22.8
.07
OT
County faces
ongoing flood
risk
All
Oxfo
rdshire
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
fa
cin
g f
urt
he
r flo
od
s in
th
e c
om
ing
mo
nth
s.
En
vir
on
men
t A
ge
ncy
ha
s issu
ed ‘e
nh
ance
d f
loo
d w
arn
ings’ a
cro
ss E
ngla
nd b
ecau
se
wa
ter
sto
red
u
nd
erg
rou
nd
follo
win
g th
e r
ece
nt
delu
ge
s c
ould
ove
rflo
w if
furt
he
r h
ea
vy r
ain
fa
lls.
En
vir
on
men
t A
ge
ncy s
aid
it
wa
s ‘w
orr
ied’ a
bo
ut la
nd a
cro
ss t
he
UK
a
fte
r ra
in in
Ju
ly a
nd
Au
gu
st fille
d a
qu
ife
rs a
cro
ss th
e r
eg
ion
s.
So
ils w
ett
est sin
ce
re
co
rds b
eg
an in
1
96
1. 2
006
wa
s
the
wo
rst
dro
ug
ht
for
10
0 y
ea
rs
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
7/8
/22/1
81
89
5.h
tm
l
En
vir
on
men
t A
ge
ncy
97
RR
PS
3.9
.07
OM
Team launches
flood survey
Vale
A
bin
gdo
n to
wn
co
uncill
ors
to
ure
d t
he t
ow
n's
flo
od
-hit a
rea
s to b
uild
a p
ictu
re
of
eve
nts
- a
llow
ing
resid
en
ts to
be
be
tte
r p
repa
red
. Q
ue
stio
nn
air
e d
eliv
ere
d
to d
oze
ns o
f h
om
es a
nd p
ropert
ies in
Ab
ingd
on
, m
ain
ly in
the s
ou
th o
f th
e
tow
n,
bo
rde
rin
g th
e R
ive
r O
ck. S
om
e s
tree
ts in
no
rth
Ab
ing
do
n h
it w
he
n t
he
R
ive
r S
tert
bu
rst its b
anks. In
form
atio
n s
ent
to c
oun
cils
, E
nviro
nm
en
t A
ge
ncy
an
d e
me
rge
ncy s
erv
ice
s fo
r in
clu
sio
n o
n d
ata
ba
se
s a
nd
mapp
ing
syste
ms.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
7/9
/3/1
844
82.h
tml
98
RR
PS
4.9
.07
BB
C
Call for public
views on
floods
UK
A
re
vie
w o
f th
is s
um
me
r's flo
od
ing
wa
nts
pe
op
le a
ffecte
d t
o o
ffe
r th
eir
vie
ws
via
th
e C
ab
inet
Off
ice
we
bsite
. S
ir M
ich
ae
l P
itt ca
lled
on
ho
me
ow
ne
rs,
bu
sin
esses t
o s
ha
re th
eir
exp
eri
en
ce
s a
nd
su
gg
estion
s fo
r a
vo
idin
g m
ore
flo
ods a
nd
to e
xa
min
e w
hy t
he f
lood
s in
Ju
ne
an
d J
uly
we
re s
o w
ide
sp
rea
d.
It w
ill lo
ok a
t th
e e
me
rgen
cy r
esp
onse
an
d th
reat
to in
frastr
uctu
re.
http
://n
ew
s.b
bc.c
o.u
k/1
/hi/uk/6
97
841
0.s
tm
ww
w.c
ab
ine
toff
ice
.go
v.u
k/f
loo
din
gre
vie
w
99
RR
PS
7.9
.07
AH
Victims To Sue
Over Floods
Oxfo
rd
A f
loo
d v
ictim
is r
ally
ing
sup
port
fo
r th
e f
irst le
gal action
aga
inst
the
E
nvir
on
men
t A
ge
ncy in
the
wa
ke
of th
is s
um
me
r's flo
od
s.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
7/9
/7/1
858
23.h
tml
No
Event
type
and
Date
story
Media
Media
headline
Oxfordshire
locations o
r Area
reported
Incidents and Impacts on District - details from media reports
Are
as a
nd
gro
ups /
Eve
nt
evo
lutio
n /
Incid
en
ts o
ccu
rre
d /
Im
pa
cts
/
Co
nse
qu
ences
Meteorological
data & info about
causes of event
Internet
reference
Other orgs
involved
100
RR
PS
13.9
.07
OM
Traders suffer
'worst summer'
Oxfo
rd
Tra
de
rs in E
ast O
xfo
rd p
rayin
g f
or
the
stu
de
nts
’ re
turn
afte
r su
ffe
rin
g t
he
ir
wo
rst
eve
r sum
me
r. A
co
mbin
atio
n o
f po
or
we
ath
er,
ro
ad
wo
rks a
nd
th
e
tem
po
rary
clo
su
re o
f th
e Z
od
iac n
igh
tclu
b,
left
busin
esses s
tru
gg
ling
. T
ha
me
s V
alle
y C
ham
be
r o
f C
om
me
rce:
"I'm
con
fide
nt th
at th
e s
um
me
r re
ve
nu
e d
rou
gh
t w
ill p
ass a
nd it
will
pose
no
lo
ng
-te
rm th
rea
t fo
r b
usin
ess"
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
7/9
/13/1
86
75
8.h
tm
l
101
RR
PS
21.9
.07
OM
Coping after
the flood
Oxon
Flo
odin
g, d
ise
ase
, fo
od s
ho
rtag
es –
we
se
em
lik
e a
Th
ird
Wo
rld
co
untr
y h
it
by a
mo
nsoo
n. Ju
ly’s
delu
ge
me
ant
that
thou
gh
fa
rme
rs w
ere
re
ad
y f
or
ha
rve
stin
g,
the
gro
und
wa
terl
og
ge
d.
Cro
ps c
ou
ld n
ot b
e h
arv
este
d u
ntil th
e
wa
ter
ha
d d
rain
ed
and
lan
d d
rie
d.
Flo
od
man
ag
em
ent
is im
po
rta
nt: o
ur
clim
ate
is c
ha
ngin
g a
nd
we
have
to
ad
ap
t to
mo
re e
xtr
em
e c
on
ditio
ns.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
7/9
/21/1
88
25
3.h
tm
l
SE
En
gla
nd
D
eve
lop
me
nt
Ag
ency
(SE
ED
A)
gra
nts
102
RR
PS
2.1
0.0
7
OT
Flooding: 'We
have learned
lessons'
All
Oxfo
rdshire
within
most
of
UK
Em
erg
en
cy p
lan
ne
rs a
dm
itte
d th
ey s
hou
ld h
ave
de
cla
red
a m
ajo
r in
cid
ent
mo
re q
uic
kly
. O
CC
le
sso
ns lea
rne
d in
clu
de
d:
(i)
revie
win
g the
ris
ks o
f b
uild
ing o
n flo
od
pla
ins;
(ii)
more
pla
nn
ing
by u
tilit
y c
om
pa
nie
s t
o p
reve
nt
thre
at to
su
pplie
s;
(iii)
a m
ajo
r in
cid
en
t sh
ou
ld h
ave
be
en
de
cla
red
as s
oo
n
as t
he
se
ve
re f
loo
d w
arn
ing
wa
s r
ece
ive
d;
(iv)
En
vir
onm
en
t A
ge
ncy's
syste
m
- o
f flo
od
wa
tche
s,
wa
rnin
gs, se
ve
re w
arn
ing
s,
rive
r su
rges, p
ea
ks -
co
nfu
sed
pro
fessio
na
ls a
nd
resid
en
ts;
(v)
Ro
ad
clo
su
res w
ere
no
t e
nfo
rce
d
str
ictly;
(vi)
Re
po
rt m
en
tio
ns t
he
re w
as t
oo
much
fo
cus o
n s
an
db
agg
ing
at
the
exp
en
se
of
eff
ective
pre
ve
ntio
n v
ia c
ha
nne
l dig
gin
g.
n/a
http
://w
ww
.th
eo
xfo
rdtim
es.n
et/
ne
ws/flo
odin
g/d
ispl
ay.v
ar.
173
06
62.
0.flo
odin
g_
we_
have
_le
arn
ed
_le
ssons.p
hp
OC
C
103
RR
PS
2.1
0.0
7
AH
Reservoir bid
slated
Vale
Th
e G
ove
rnm
en
t sh
ou
ld r
eje
ct b
uild
ing
ne
w r
ese
rvoir
s a
s th
e a
nsw
er
to
wa
ter
sh
ort
ag
es,
a r
ep
ort
wa
rns. W
ith
Th
am
es W
ate
r p
rop
osin
g a
rese
rvo
ir
be
twe
en
Ab
ing
don
and
Wanta
ge
, th
e s
tud
y s
ays w
ate
r n
ee
ds c
an
no
t b
e m
et
by m
assiv
e n
ew
de
ve
lop
me
nts
. T
he
stu
dy f
rom
th
e C
am
paig
n T
o P
rote
ct
Ru
ral E
ngla
nd
, ju
dg
es th
e p
rop
osed
Up
per
Th
am
es R
ese
rvoir
at
Ste
ve
nto
n
to b
e p
oo
r in
te
rms o
f e
nvir
onm
en
tal im
pact a
nd
en
vir
onm
en
tal susta
ina
bili
ty.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
7/1
0/2
/190
98
8.h
tm
l
Th
am
es
Wate
r C
PR
E
104
PP
R
18.1
0.0
7
BB
C
Flooding relief
grants
unclaimed
Oxfo
rd
Tim
e is r
un
nin
g o
ut
for
flo
od
vic
tim
s to
cla
im g
ran
ts,
a c
oun
cil
ha
s w
arn
ed.
Re
sid
en
ts h
it b
y t
he
sum
me
r's flo
ods in
Oxfo
rd m
ust a
pply
fo
r a
flo
od
re
co
ve
ry g
rant
by t
he e
nd o
f O
cto
be
r.
http
://n
ew
s.b
bc.c
o.u
k/1
/hi/e
ngla
nd/o
xfo
rdshir
e/7
0518
93.s
tm
Oxfo
rd
City
Co
un
cil
105
RR
PS
25.1
0.0
7
BB
C
Councils short
on clean-up
money
Oxfo
rdshire
Le
ad
ers
fro
m a
ll o
f O
xfo
rdsh
ire
's c
ou
ncils
app
eale
d to
the
Go
vt
for
help
to
m
ee
t a
£3.3
m s
ho
rtfa
ll in
the
ir flo
od c
lea
n-u
p b
ill. G
ovt
ha
d p
rom
ise
d to
fully
re
imbu
rse
th
em
fo
r a
dd
itio
nal co
sts
in
vo
lve
d in
the
cle
an
-up
.
http
://n
ew
s.b
bc.c
o.u
k/1
/hi/e
ngla
nd/o
xfo
rdshir
e/7
0625
03.s
tm
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
's c
ou
ncils
106
RR
PS
27.1
0.0
7
OT
Hosepipe rules
to be tightened
Oxfo
rdshire
Wate
r cu
sto
me
rs in
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
fa
ce
tou
gh
er
hose
pip
e r
estr
iction
s w
he
n
su
pplie
s n
ext
run
lo
w,
the
Go
ve
rnm
en
t ha
s a
nn
ou
nce
d.
Du
rin
g t
he c
ou
nty
's
ho
sep
ipe
ban
be
twe
en
Ap
ril 20
06
an
d J
an
ua
ry t
his
ye
ar,
th
ou
sa
nd
s o
f re
sid
en
ts w
ere
pre
ve
nte
d f
rom
usin
g h
osep
ipe
s to
wa
ter
their g
ard
en
s a
nd
w
ash
ca
rs b
ut
we
re a
llow
ed
to u
se
th
em
fo
r o
the
r p
urp
ose
s.
Th
am
es W
ate
r:
No
re
str
ictio
ns o
n
wa
ter
“in
fo
rese
ea
ble
fu
ture
"
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
7/1
0/2
7/1
968
36.h
tm
l
No
Event
type
and
Date
story
Media
Media
headline
Oxfordshire
locations o
r Area
reported
Incidents and Impacts on District - details from media reports
Are
as a
nd
gro
ups /
Eve
nt
evo
lutio
n /
Incid
en
ts o
ccu
rre
d /
Im
pa
cts
/
Co
nse
qu
ences
Meteorological
data & info about
causes of event
Internet
reference
Other orgs
involved
107
G /
S
9.1
1.0
7
OM
Wind topples
trees
Oxo
n
Fa
llen
tre
es c
ause
d c
ha
os o
n r
oa
ds,
as a
sto
rm f
ront
passe
d t
hro
ugh
O
xfo
rdsh
ire
. R
oa
ds a
ffe
cte
d r
un
th
roug
h B
uckla
nd
, C
hip
pin
g N
ort
on
, K
irtlin
gto
n,
Bu
rfo
rd a
nd
Bro
ugh
ton
.
http
://a
rchiv
e.b
anbu
rycake.n
et/
2007
/11
/9/2
000
47
.htm
l
108
RR
PS
14.1
1.0
7
OM
Victims put
agencies on
the spot
Vale
Vic
tim
s o
f th
e J
uly
flo
ods a
re d
em
and
ing
answ
ers
ab
ou
t w
hy it
hap
pe
ne
d -
w
ill t
om
orr
ow
ha
ve
a c
ha
nce
to
air
th
eir o
pin
ion
s.
Hu
nd
red
s o
f p
eop
le a
re
exp
ecte
d t
o a
tten
d a
pu
blic
mee
tin
g a
t th
e G
uild
hall
in A
bin
gdo
n
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
7/1
1/1
4/2
010
08.h
tm
l
OC
C,
F &
R
VO
WH
, E
A
109
RR
PS
16.1
1.0
7
AH
Residents see
latest flood
defences
Oxfo
rd
Sta
nd
s a
t a
fa
ir c
laim
ed
to
pro
vid
e t
he
solu
tio
n to
eve
ry k
ind
of
floo
din
g
pro
ble
m.
Held
in
the
Kin
g's
Cen
tre
sta
lls o
ffe
rin
g a
n a
rra
y o
f flo
od
wa
lls,
air
b
ricks a
nd
po
rtab
le b
arr
iers
attra
cte
d s
co
res o
f O
xfo
rdsh
ire
re
sid
en
ts
an
xio
us t
o e
nsu
re th
ey w
ere
pre
pa
red f
or
the
wo
rst.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
7/1
1/1
6/2
014
55.h
tm
l
110
RR
PS
29.1
1.0
7
AH
At risk
Vale
A
pa
cke
d flo
od
ing
me
etin
g in
Ab
ing
do
n h
ighlig
hte
d c
on
ce
rns a
bo
ut
futu
re
flo
odin
g. T
wo
riv
ers
flo
w t
hro
ug
h t
he t
ow
n a
nd
wh
ilst
on
ly t
he
Ock flo
od
ed
th
is tim
e,
the
Th
am
es a
void
ed it
by just
a fe
w in
che
s.
Mu
ch
of th
e p
rob
lem
is
ca
use
d b
y f
lood
pla
in d
eve
lopm
en
t. P
eo
ple
are
un
aw
are
of
the
unsa
tisfa
cto
ry
na
ture
of
the
ris
k a
ssessm
en
t p
rocess,
assum
ing
tha
t if t
he
En
vir
on
men
t A
ge
ncy h
as n
o o
bje
ction
, th
ere
is n
o r
isk.
EA
sp
oke
sm
an a
t th
e m
ee
tin
g
str
essed
th
at
EA
co
uld
no
t cope
beca
use
it
is u
nd
erf
un
de
d.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
7/1
1/2
9/2
051
57.h
tm
l
111
PP
R
2.1
2.0
7
OT
Report
discloses flood
failures
Oxfo
rd
A r
ep
ort
in
to J
uly
's f
loo
ds p
rais
es f
ire
-fig
hte
rs a
nd
co
un
ty/c
ity c
ou
ncils
' e
me
rge
ncy te
am
s.
Flo
od
Em
erg
en
cy -
Le
sso
ns L
ea
rned
and F
utu
re O
ption
s,
wa
s d
iscu
sse
d b
y O
xfo
rd C
ity C
ou
ncil'
s B
oa
rd. F
aili
ngs h
ighlig
hte
d: (
i)
Sa
nd
bag
pro
vis
ion
wa
s c
ha
otic;
(ii)
Inco
rrect/co
nflic
ting
in
form
atio
n issu
ed
; (i
ii) L
ack o
f in
form
ation
on
he
alth
ris
ks o
f flo
od
wa
ter;
(iv
) L
ack o
f in
form
ation
o
n a
ccessin
g r
elie
f fu
nd
s;
(v)
So
me
em
erg
ency p
lan
pho
ne
nu
mbe
rs w
ere
w
ron
g;
(vi)
Pe
op
le a
nsw
eri
ng
co
uncil
pho
nes w
ere
in
exp
eri
en
ce
d (
vii)
R
esid
en
tia
l bo
ate
rs t
rap
ped
on v
essels
we
re f
org
ott
en
(viii
) La
ck o
f o
ve
rall
resp
on
sib
ility
fo
r co
-ord
ina
ting
th
e r
esp
on
se
. E
nvir
onm
ent
Age
ncy a
nd
Go
vt
will
dis
cu
ss flo
od p
reve
ntio
n m
ea
su
res, in
clu
din
g im
pro
vin
g s
up
ply
ch
ain
of
ma
teria
ls s
uch a
s s
an
d d
ep
loye
d t
o s
ite
s in
ad
va
nce o
f a
n e
me
rgen
cy.
n/a
http
://w
ww
.th
eo
xfo
rdtim
es.n
et/
ne
ws/flo
odin
g/d
ispl
ay.v
ar.
187
46
64.
0.r
epo
rt_
dis
clo
ses_floo
d_fa
ilure
s.p
hp
http
://w
ww
.oxfo
rd.g
ov.u
k/file
s/m
eetin
gdo
cs/6
98
17
/ite
m%
20
17%
20
part
%20
1.p
df
Oxfo
rd
City
Co
un
cil
112
RR
PS
6.1
2.0
7
OM
The floods will
return
Oxfo
rd
Oxfo
rd's
his
toric a
nd
"se
nsitiv
e"
land
sca
pe
is h
am
pe
rin
g th
e s
ea
rch f
or
so
lutio
ns to
pre
ve
nt
futu
re flo
od
ing
. A
re
po
rt r
ele
ase
d b
y t
he
En
vir
on
men
t A
ge
ncy p
ain
ted
a b
lea
k p
ictu
re f
or
the
city,
pre
dic
ting
th
e o
nse
t of
clim
ate
ch
ang
e w
ou
ld p
ut
tho
se
liv
ing
he
re a
t a
n e
ve
n g
rea
ter
risk o
f flo
odin
g.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
7/1
2/6
/206
90
3.h
tm
l
No
Event
type
and
Date
story
Media
Media
headline
Oxfordshire
locations o
r Area
reported
Incidents and Impacts on District - details from media reports
Are
as a
nd
gro
ups /
Eve
nt
evo
lutio
n /
Incid
en
ts o
ccu
rre
d /
Im
pa
cts
/
Co
nse
qu
ences
Meteorological
data & info about
causes of event
Internet
reference
Other orgs
involved
113
RR
PS
4.1
2.0
7
OT
/
AB
I
Flood strategy
needed
All
Oxfo
rdshire
Associa
tio
n o
f B
ritish
Insu
rers
urg
ed
Go
ve
rnm
ent
mu
st d
eve
lop
a 2
5-y
ea
r str
ate
gy t
o m
an
ag
e th
e U
K's
gro
win
g r
isk f
rom
flo
ods:
(i)
Go
ve
rnm
en
t to
e
mb
ark
on
an in
ve
stm
en
t p
rogra
mm
e t
ha
t re
fle
cts
clim
ate
cha
ng
e a
nd
th
e
rea
l risk o
f flo
od
ing f
rom
riv
ers
, se
a a
nd d
rain
age
syste
ms;
(ii) s
tro
ng
er
pla
nnin
g c
on
tro
ls s
o n
ew
de
ve
lop
me
nts
are
no
t b
uilt
in
are
as a
t risk;
(iii)
n
ee
d fo
r a
lo
ng
-te
rm s
tra
teg
y b
ased
aro
un
d m
ore
in
vestm
ent,
na
tio
nal co
-o
rdin
ation
and
be
tte
r la
nd
use
pla
nnin
g;
(iv)
a 2
5-y
ea
r pla
n o
utlin
ing
th
e
inve
stm
en
t n
eed
ed
; (v
) b
uild
ing
or
rep
air
wo
rk in
hig
h r
isk a
rea
s s
hou
ld b
e
ca
rrie
d o
ut
to h
igh
er
sta
nd
ard
s;
(vi)
id
en
tify
wa
ys t
o p
rote
ct
cri
tica
l in
frastr
uctu
re; (v
ii) O
ve
rha
ul o
f d
rain
ag
e s
yste
ms t
o r
ed
uce
th
e r
isk.
Mo
re
ab
ou
t A
BI
and
clim
ate
ch
an
ge
.
http
://w
ww
.th
eo
xfo
rdtim
es.n
et/
se
arc
h/d
ispla
y.v
ar.
187
82
82.0
.flo
od
_str
ate
gy_
ne
ed
ed.p
hp
AB
I
114
RR
PS
14.1
2.0
7
OM
County eyes
£115m flood
relief
All
Oxfo
rdshire
A la
rge s
lice o
f a
n E
U £
11
5m
flo
odin
g r
elie
f g
ran
t fr
om
Eu
rope
sho
uld
com
e
to O
xfo
rdsh
ire
. E
uro
pea
n m
one
y w
ill b
e s
ha
red
by a
reas o
f B
rita
in w
ors
t h
it
by t
he
su
mm
er
flo
ods.
EU
fu
nd
s w
ill g
o t
ow
ard
s r
eim
bu
rsin
g t
he
co
st o
f e
me
rge
ncy m
easu
res (
rescu
e s
erv
ices, cle
an
ing
up
, re
sto
ring
in
fra
str
uctu
re).
http
://w
ww
.oxfo
rdm
ail.
net/searc
h/d
ispla
y.v
ar.
19
04
102
.0.c
ou
nty
_e
yes_
115m
_floo
d_
relie
f.p
hp
115
23.1
.08
OM
Call for talks as
flood risk
abates
Vale
H
un
dre
ds o
f A
bin
gd
on
resid
ents
are
re
lieve
d th
eir
ho
me
s e
sca
pe
d fu
rthe
r flo
odin
g -
an
d a
re d
em
an
din
g a
no
the
r m
ee
tin
g w
ith
En
vir
onm
en
t A
ge
ncy
bo
sse
s.
Th
e R
ive
r O
ck b
roke
its
ban
ks a
nd
resid
en
ts o
n T
ithe
Fa
rm e
sta
te,
Mill
Ro
ad
an
d o
ff D
rayto
n R
oad
fe
are
d a
re
pea
t o
f July
's d
eva
sta
tio
n.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
8/1
/23/2
18
56
1.h
tm
l
116
RR
PS
23.1
.08
OT
Floods: Fire
chief says they
are inevitable
All
Oxfo
rdshire
Flo
odin
g a
s a
n e
ve
ryd
ay p
art
of
win
ter
life
will
pla
gue
Oxfo
rdsh
ire.
Fire
o
ffic
er
Eth
eri
dg
e n
ote
d p
eop
le m
ust b
e r
ea
listic in
th
e f
ace
of clim
ate
cha
nge
a
nd
acce
pt
flo
od
ing a
s a
co
mm
on
pro
ble
m. P
re-p
lan
nin
g fo
r flo
od
s p
aid
off
a
nd
Fir
e S
erv
ice
is p
rep
are
d s
ho
uld
wa
ter
leve
ls r
ise
. F
utu
re p
lans -
pla
ce
m
ore
dry
su
its o
n f
ire
eng
ine
s s
o c
rew
s c
on
tin
ue
wo
rkin
g a
bo
ve
kn
ee
heig
ht.
Ove
r la
st
7/8
ye
ars
, vo
lum
e o
f flo
odin
g a
cro
ss
the
co
un
ty h
as
incre
ased
http
://w
ww
.th
eo
xfo
rdtim
es.n
et/
ne
ws/flo
odin
g/d
ispl
ay.v
ar.
198
62
41.
0.flo
ods_fire
_chi
ef_
sa
ys_
the
y_
ar
e_in
evitable
.ph
p
117
RR
PS
7.2
.08
AH
Grove growth
'flood risk'
Vale
P
lan
s t
o d
ou
ble
th
e s
ize
of
Gro
ve
must
not
lea
ve
th
e v
illag
e a
t ri
sk o
f flo
odin
g, E
nv A
ge
ncy s
tresse
d.
Are
a s
et
to b
allo
on
in
the
ne
xt
5 y
ea
rs w
ith
1
,00
0 h
om
es in
th
e p
ipelin
e a
nd
an
oth
er
1,0
00
pro
pe
rtie
s b
y 2
02
1.
En
v
Ag
en
cy d
em
an
de
d a
de
taile
d s
urv
ey o
n t
he
im
pact
of
the e
xp
an
sio
n o
n
flo
od
wa
ter.
Th
ere
is a
fee
ling
in
th
e v
illa
ge
tha
t d
evelo
pm
en
t is
be
ing f
ois
ted
.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
8/2
/7/2
228
94.h
tml
118 R
RP
S
13.2
.08
BB
C
UK 'ill-
prepared'
against floods
UK
T
he
UK
's w
ea
the
r fo
reca
stin
g n
ee
ds t
o b
e im
pro
ve
d,
acco
rdin
g t
o th
e m
an
le
adin
g a
go
ve
rnm
ent
revie
w in
to la
st sum
me
r's d
ow
np
ou
rs. S
ir M
ich
ae
l P
itt
told
a L
GA
me
etin
g th
at
pre
para
tio
ns a
nd
wa
rnin
gs f
or
su
rface
wa
ter
flo
odin
g w
ere
no
t in
pla
ce.
It is im
po
rta
nt
to id
entify
and
ma
p th
e h
ots
po
ts.
http
://n
ew
s.b
bc.c
o.u
k/1
/hi/uk/7
24
357
7.s
tm
Lo
cal
Go
ve
rnm
en
t Associa
tio
n
No
Event
type
and
Date
story
Media
Media
headline
Oxfordshire
locations o
r Area
reported
Incidents and Impacts on District - details from media reports
Are
as a
nd
gro
ups /
Eve
nt
evo
lutio
n /
Incid
en
ts o
ccu
rre
d /
Im
pa
cts
/
Co
nse
qu
ences
Meteorological
data & info about
causes of event
Internet
reference
Other orgs
involved
119
RR
PS
26.1
.08
SM
S
ne
ws
Oxfordshire
Council
launches flood
text alerts via
Avanquest
Oxfo
rdshire
County
A
va
nq
ue
st,
the
glo
bal so
ftw
are
de
ve
lop
er
an
d c
om
pa
ny b
ehin
d te
xt
se
rvic
e,
ha
s la
unch
ed
a te
xt
ale
rt s
erv
ice
fo
r floo
d in
form
atio
n to
ge
the
r w
ith
O
xfo
rdsh
ire
Co
un
ty C
oun
cil.
Th
e r
ive
rs C
he
rwe
ll an
d Isis
/Th
am
es,
wh
ich
tr
ave
rse
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
, flo
ode
d fo
llow
ing
exce
ssiv
e r
ain
fall.
Adva
nce
wa
rnin
g
of
a p
ote
ntia
l floo
d g
ive
s p
rop
ert
y o
wn
ers
th
e c
ha
nce
to
pre
pa
re a
nd
take
th
e
actio
n n
ecessa
ry t
o m
inim
ise
da
mag
e.
Te
xt
ale
rts fo
r po
ssib
le im
pe
nd
ing
flo
ods w
ill b
e v
alu
ab
le f
or
resid
en
ts w
ho
se
are
as a
re p
ron
e.
http
://w
ww
.sm
st
extn
ew
s.c
om
/20
08/0
2/o
xfo
rdshir
e_coun
cil_
launc
hes_flo
od_
text_
ale
rts_via
_ava
nq
uest.
htm
l
120
RR
PS
21.2
.08
AH
Flood groups
gear up to help
Vale
N
eig
hbo
urh
oo
d W
atc
h-t
yp
e s
ch
em
e a
ims to
he
lp h
ouse
ho
lders
bea
t flo
ods.
Fiv
e e
me
rge
ncy f
loo
d g
rou
ps a
re b
ein
g s
et u
p a
cro
ss W
an
tag
e t
o h
elp
p
eo
ple
pro
tect
hom
es f
rom
rain
. W
ill b
e m
ad
e u
p o
f re
sid
en
ts w
ho
liv
e a
lon
g
the
Letc
om
be B
rook.
Th
e a
im is t
o h
elp
re
sid
en
ts b
e b
ett
er
pre
pa
red f
or
an
y
futu
re flo
od
s. G
rou
ps w
ork
to
: (i
) d
eve
lop
actio
n p
lans o
f p
ractical so
lutio
ns;
(ii)
org
an
ise
ne
igh
bou
rhoo
d f
loo
d-a
lert
syste
ms;
(iii)
bu
lk b
uy flo
odg
ate
s;
(iv)
sto
re s
and
bag
s.
So
me
solu
tion
s m
ay r
eq
uir
e th
e h
elp
of
co
un
cils
. V
OW
H’s
B
ill F
arr
ar:
we
ho
pe
the
se g
rou
ps h
elp
pe
op
le c
om
e u
p w
ith
he
lpfu
l so
lution
s
an
d p
ractical jo
int
wo
rkin
g a
rran
ge
me
nts
with
oth
er
age
ncie
s.
En
v A
ge
ncy
reco
rde
d 7
in
cid
en
ts o
f se
ve
re flo
odin
g in
th
e b
roo
k s
ince
1
89
4, th
e la
st
4
incid
en
ts s
ince
2
00
0.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
8/2
/21/2
26
73
9.h
tm
l
Va
le
of
White
H
ors
e
Dis
tric
t C
ou
ncil,
121
G /
S
10.3
.08.
BC
Storm
s cause
power cut
Oxo
n
Mo
re t
ha
n 1
,000
resid
en
ts n
ear
Did
cot
we
re le
ft w
ith
ou
t ele
ctr
icity t
his
m
orn
ing
aft
er
the
sto
rm b
att
erin
g B
rita
in d
am
ag
ed
po
we
r lin
es.
Re
sid
en
ts in
B
lew
bu
ry,
Asto
n T
irro
ld a
nd
Ea
st
Hen
dre
d s
uffe
red
po
we
r cu
ts.
Fa
llen
tre
es
clo
se
d C
ha
llow
Ro
ad
be
twe
en W
an
tag
e a
nd
Kin
g A
lfre
d S
cho
ol, a
nd
b
locke
d K
irtlin
gto
n c
rossro
ad
s n
ea
r K
idlin
gto
n.
A4
15
cro
ssro
ad
s a
t C
lifto
n
Ha
mp
den
blo
cke
d d
ue t
o a
fa
llen
tre
e.
Win
ds o
f u
p to
60
m
ph
122
RR
PS
18.3
.08
OT
Flood calls
'overloaded'
system
Oxfo
rdshire
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
Fir
e a
nd R
escu
e S
erv
ice
rece
ived
2,0
00
ca
lls for
assis
tance
d
uri
ng 2
00
7 f
loo
ds.
Off
icia
l re
po
rt F
acin
g T
he C
ha
lleng
e b
y th
e
Go
ve
rnm
en
t's c
hie
f fire
an
d r
escue
ad
vis
er,
Sir
Ke
n K
nig
ht,
sa
id 1
00
s o
f e
xtr
a c
alls
we
re lo
gge
d a
nd
con
tro
l ro
om
sta
ff w
ork
ed
"tire
lessly
". F
ire
an
d
Re
scue
Se
rvic
e s
pe
nt £
287
,000
de
alin
g w
ith
th
e s
itu
atio
n, in
clu
din
g
£1
89
,00
0 fo
r o
ve
rtim
e p
ay.
http
://w
ww
.oxfo
rdm
ail.
net/dis
pla
y.v
ar.
21
30
45
2.0
.fl
ood
_calls
_o
verl
oade
d_syste
m.p
hp
Fir
e
and
Re
scue
S
erv
ice
123
I /
S
6.4
.08
Snow falls
across much of
the UK
S
no
w h
as f
alle
n a
cro
ss m
uch o
f th
e U
K, d
escen
din
g o
n n
ort
h-e
ast
En
gla
nd,
with
sim
ilar
co
nd
itio
ns in
sou
the
rn E
ngla
nd.
Me
t O
ffic
e h
as issu
ed a
nu
mbe
r o
f flash
wa
rnin
gs o
f se
ve
re o
r e
xtr
em
e w
ea
the
r.
h
ttp
://n
ew
s.b
bc.c
o.u
k/1
/hi
/uk/7
33
29
86
.stm
No
Event
type
and
Date
story
Media
Media
headline
Oxfordshire
locations o
r Area
reported
Incidents and Impacts on District - details from media reports
Are
as a
nd
gro
ups /
Eve
nt
evo
lutio
n /
Incid
en
ts o
ccu
rre
d /
Im
pa
cts
/
Co
nse
qu
ences
Meteorological
data & info about
causes of event
Internet
reference
Other orgs
involved
124
RR
PS
16.5
.08
OM
£1.8m flood
measures
unveiled
Oxon
Bra
nche
s o
f th
e R
ive
r T
ha
mes,
we
st
an
d s
outh
of O
xfo
rd,
are
to
be
cle
are
d
ou
t a
nd
ne
w t
em
po
rary
ba
rrie
rs b
ou
gh
t to
red
uce
the
ris
k o
f flo
odin
g.
En
vir
on
men
t A
ge
ncy fin
alis
ed
a £
1.8
m p
acka
ge
of sch
em
es. M
ore
m
ain
ten
an
ce
will
be
do
ne
on
lo
ca
l str
ea
ms.
Th
e a
ge
ncy h
as n
ot
rule
d o
ut
a
£1
00m
flo
od
re
lief
ch
ann
el fr
om
th
e T
ha
mes a
t B
inse
y t
o S
an
dfo
rd L
ock, a
nd
is
in
ve
stig
atin
g th
e c
rea
tio
n o
f fo
ur
larg
e w
ate
r sto
rag
e a
rea
s -
are
as o
f fa
rmla
nd
th
at
wo
uld
be
allo
we
d t
o flo
od -
besid
e t
he
Th
am
es a
nd
Che
rwe
ll.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
8/5
/16/2
45
05
4.h
tm
l
125
R /
F
20.6
.08
OT
Flood-hit
homes still
empty
Oxon
30
0 h
om
es in
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
are
still
em
pty
te
n m
on
ths a
fte
r la
st
sum
me
r's
ca
tastr
oph
ic f
loo
ds.F
igu
res p
ub
lish
ed
to
da
y s
ho
we
d t
he
re a
re h
und
reds o
f p
eo
ple
acro
ss th
e c
ou
nty
liv
ing
in
ca
rava
ns o
r re
nte
d a
cco
mm
od
atio
n a
s
the
y w
ait f
or
repa
irs t
o b
e c
om
ple
ted
on t
heir
flo
od
-hit h
om
es.
Th
e s
itu
atio
n
is w
ors
e in
the
Va
le o
f W
hite
Ho
rse
wh
ere
97
hou
seh
old
s r
esp
ective
ly
rem
ain
affe
cte
d.
In A
bin
gdo
n, S
am
anth
a B
ow
rin
g a
nd
husb
an
d N
eil
Fa
wce
tt
are
co
un
tin
g d
ow
n t
he
da
ys u
ntil th
ey c
an r
etu
rn t
o th
eir
hom
e w
ith
th
eir
th
ree
ch
ildre
n.
Da
ma
ge h
ad c
ost
at
lea
st £
30
,00
0 to
rep
air
.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
8/5
/20/2
45
83
0.h
tm
l
126
R /
F
3.6
.08
County hit by
floods - update
Oxo
n
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
su
ffe
red m
ajo
r floo
din
g f
or
the
th
ird
tim
e in a
yea
r to
da
y a
s th
e
co
unty
's in
frastr
uctu
re f
aile
d t
o c
ope
with
a h
ea
vy d
elu
ge
. R
oa
ds w
ere
clo
se
d, sch
ools
sh
ut,
riv
ers
put
on
flo
od w
arn
ing
s a
nd w
atc
he
s,
an
d h
ou
se
s
flo
ode
d.
An
ove
rru
n o
f su
rface w
ate
r w
as b
lam
ed
. O
CC
: is
do
ing
all
it c
ould
to
re
duce
th
e e
ffects
of
flo
odin
g,
rece
ntly s
pe
nt
£1.8
m t
o ta
ckle
the
pro
ble
m.
Fir
e c
rew
s d
ea
lt w
ith
12
0 e
me
rge
ncy c
alls
as a
t le
ast 1
2 r
oa
ds w
ere
clo
se
d.
Ho
me
s in
Tid
din
gto
n,
Kid
ling
ton
an
d K
en
nin
gto
n h
ad
rain
wa
ter
pum
pe
d o
ut.
Fir
e c
rew
s a
lso
dea
lt w
ith
flo
od
ing
in
Th
am
e,
Ch
inn
or,
Wheatle
y a
nd
Witne
y.
two
in
ch
es o
f ra
in
- m
ore
th
an 7
5 p
er
ce
nt o
f an
ave
rage
Ju
ne r
ain
fall
- fe
ll.
http
://w
ww
.oxfo
rdm
ail.
co.u
k/n
ew
s/flo
odin
g/flo
odin
gne
ws/2
31
66
32.
Coun
ty_
hit_
by_
flood
s__
_u
pd
ate
/
127
R /
F
3.6
.08
Flooding
closes roads
Oxo
n
A s
erie
s o
f ro
ad
s a
cro
ss t
he
co
un
ty h
ave
be
en
clo
sed
due
to f
lood
ing.
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
Hig
hw
ays c
losed
B4
04
4 b
etw
ee
n B
otle
y a
nd F
arm
oo
r, A
40
in
W
hea
tle
y,
A4
18 a
t T
iddin
gto
n a
nd
Go
ose
y L
an
e in
Go
ose
y. M
ill L
an
e in
C
ha
lgro
ve
, T
he
Ga
rth
in
Ya
rnto
n a
nd
Ha
iley R
oa
d in
Witn
ey h
ave
als
o s
hu
t d
ue
to f
loo
din
g.
San
dba
gs h
ave
be
en
pu
t d
ow
n a
lon
g a
ro
ad in
East
Ha
nn
ey
follo
win
g r
ep
ort
s o
f floo
din
g.
http
://w
ww
.oxfo
rdm
ail.
co.u
k/n
ew
s/flo
odin
g/flo
odin
gne
ws/2
31
63
57.
Flo
odin
g_clo
se
s_ro
ads/
128
R /
F
5.6
.08
Floods bring
fresh anger
Witn
ey
A t
ee
nag
er's d
ea
th in W
itn
ey lo
oks lik
e a
cce
lera
tin
g m
easu
res t
o c
om
bat
fla
sh
flo
od
ing
. M
ax S
ulli
va
n-W
eb
b d
ied
in
th
is w
ee
k's
flo
odin
g.
An
ge
r m
ou
nte
d a
s th
e c
ou
nty
's in
fra
str
uctu
re f
aile
d t
o c
ope
. A
lmost ce
rtain
tha
t flo
od s
tora
ge
po
nd
s w
ill b
e b
uilt
on
th
e e
sta
te.
Fa
ilure
s in
cle
ari
ng
dra
ins a
nd
re
pa
irin
g c
ulv
ert
s r
ais
ed
. C
onfu
sio
n o
ve
r w
he
the
r la
nd
ow
ne
rs,
co
uncils
or
the
En
vir
on
men
t A
ge
ncy a
re r
esp
on
sib
le f
or
ma
inta
inin
g w
ate
r cou
rses.
http
://a
rchiv
e.b
anbu
rycake.n
et/
2008
/6/5
/248
41
3.
htm
l
Th
am
es
Wate
r E
nvir
on
men
t A
ge
ncy
No
Event
type
and
Date
story
Media
Media
headline
Oxfordshire
locations o
r Area
reported
Incidents and Impacts on District - details from media reports
Are
as a
nd
gro
ups /
Eve
nt
evo
lutio
n /
Incid
en
ts o
ccu
rre
d /
Im
pa
cts
/
Co
nse
qu
ences
Meteorological
data & info about
causes of event
Internet
reference
Other orgs
involved
129
R /
F
6.6
.08
BC
Calamitous
floods
Oxo
n
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
sub
jecte
d t
o a
se
ve
re b
ou
t o
f flash
flo
od
ing
, n
ow
alm
ost
the
n
orm
du
ring
he
avy r
ain
. D
itches h
ave
dis
ap
pea
red
fro
m f
arm
lan
d.
Dra
ins
an
d c
ulv
ert
s a
re o
ld,
ma
ny b
locked
and
no
t m
ain
tain
ed
. A
dde
d t
o th
is is t
he
p
ace o
f de
ve
lopm
ent
on f
loo
dp
lain
s.
Mo
re n
eed
s to
be
don
e t
o c
o-o
rdin
ate
a
nd
en
forc
e t
he
upkee
p o
f e
xis
ting
dra
inag
e s
yste
ms a
nd
mu
ch
mo
re n
eed
s
to b
e d
on
e t
o p
rovid
e n
ew
dra
ina
ge
syste
ms.
http
://a
rchiv
e.b
anbu
rycake.n
et/
2008
/6/6
/248
59
4.
htm
l
130
RR
PS
11.0
6.0
8
AH
Flood victims
want more
council help
Vale
F
loo
d v
ictim
s in
th
e V
ale
de
man
d p
rote
ctio
n fro
m t
he d
istr
ict co
uncil,
sa
yin
g
the
y a
re p
oo
rly s
erv
ed
by t
he
VO
WH
afte
r it u
rged
hom
eo
wn
ers
to f
und
th
eir
o
wn
flo
od
de
fences.
Vale
dis
tric
t h
ad
mo
re th
an
13
0 flo
od
ed
pro
pe
rtie
s in
W
anta
ge
, G
rove
an
d v
illa
ges, w
hile
10
0s f
loo
ded
in A
bin
gd
on
. V
OW
H: it h
ad
n
o p
lan
s t
o in
cre
ase
sa
nd
ba
g p
rovis
ion
, bu
t w
ou
ld in
ve
st in
dra
ina
ge
an
d
flo
od p
rote
ctio
n s
ch
em
es. W
he
n h
ea
vy r
ain
fell
last w
ee
k,
VO
WH
su
pplie
d
on
ly 5
00 s
an
dba
gs to
50
vu
lnera
ble
ho
me
ow
ne
rs.
Resid
en
ts s
aid
: "S
up
po
rt
ag
encie
s,
inclu
din
g th
e c
ou
ncil,
th
ey c
laim
the
y're
co
nce
rne
d, b
ut
are
n't.
We
ha
ve
no
ch
oic
e n
ow
bu
t to
so
rt o
ut
ou
r o
wn
flo
od
defe
nce
s.
Th
ere
's n
ot
be
en
e
no
ugh
sa
ndb
ags”.
VO
WH
: re
sid
en
ts s
ho
uld
kee
p s
and
ba
gs in
the
ir h
om
es
or
bu
y f
latp
ack s
and
bag
s w
hic
h in
fla
te in
wa
ter.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
8/6
/11/2
49
24
8.h
tm
l
Va
le
of
White
H
ors
e
Dis
tric
t C
ou
ncil
131
RR
PS
12.6
.08
OM
Councils
warned over
flood plains
Oxon
Co
un
cils
in
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
ha
ve
be
en
wa
rne
d a
ga
inst g
ivin
g p
lan
nin
g c
on
sen
t to
"in
ap
pro
pria
te"
de
ve
lop
me
nts
on f
loo
d p
lain
s.
Pla
nn
ing M
inis
ter
Ca
rolin
e
Flin
t h
as p
ub
lish
ed
ne
w g
uid
an
ce
fo
r lo
cal a
uth
orities t
o m
ake
su
re t
oug
h
ne
w r
ule
s a
re f
ollo
we
d.
Gu
idan
ce
ca
lls o
n a
ll lo
ca
l au
tho
rities t
o id
entify
flo
od
ri
sks,
prio
ritise
non
-flo
od
are
as f
or
ne
w d
eve
lop
men
t, a
sse
ss w
he
the
r th
e
ne
ed
to
build
ou
twe
ighs t
he
flo
od
ris
k, u
se d
rain
age
and
good
desig
n t
o
co
ntr
ol flo
odin
g a
nd
ensu
re a
ll b
uild
ings a
re r
esili
en
t a
nd s
afe
.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
8/6
/12/2
49
33
2.h
tm
l
132
RR
PS
22.6
.08
OM
Flood hit
families to get
council tax
assistance
UK
T
he
Go
ve
rnm
en
t's f
loo
ds r
ecove
ry m
inis
ter
Jo
hn H
ea
ley h
as p
rom
ised
fa
mili
es w
ho
are
still
ou
t o
f th
eir h
om
es a
fte
r la
st
su
mm
er's flo
od
ing t
he
y w
ill
no
t b
e h
it w
ith
co
un
cil
tax b
ills.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
8/6
/22/2
50
90
2.h
tm
l
133
RR
PS
24.7
.08
OT
Teenager
burgled flood
victims
Oxon
A t
ee
nag
er
wh
o b
urg
led
a c
ara
va
n b
ein
g u
sed
by a
fa
mily
of flo
od
vic
tim
s
wa
s t
od
ay w
arn
ed
he
fa
ce
d ja
il.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
8/6
/24/2
51
25
2.h
tm
l
No
Event
type
and
Date
story
Media
Media
headline
Oxfordshire
locations o
r Area
reported
Incidents and Impacts on District - details from media reports
Are
as a
nd
gro
ups /
Eve
nt
evo
lutio
n /
Incid
en
ts o
ccu
rre
d /
Im
pa
cts
/
Co
nse
qu
ences
Meteorological
data & info about
causes of event
Internet
reference
Other orgs
involved
134
RR
PS
24.6
.08
OT
Tax boost for
flood victims
Oxon
Fa
mili
es le
ft h
om
ele
ss b
y s
evere
flo
od
ing
giv
en
a s
urp
rise c
ash
bo
ost b
y t
he
G
ove
rnm
en
t. 1
80 O
xfo
rdsh
ire
fa
mili
es a
re u
na
ble
to
re
turn
to t
he
ir h
om
es in
th
e w
ake
of w
ide
sp
rea
d flo
ods.
Th
e G
ove
rnm
ent
inte
rve
ne
d to
pro
vid
e c
ash
to
cou
ncils
, en
ab
ling
th
em
to c
on
tinu
e w
aiv
ing
co
uncil
tax b
ills.
Hu
nd
reds o
f fa
mili
es g
ran
ted
tem
po
rary
cou
ncil
tax e
xe
mp
tio
ns,
bu
t th
e m
ajo
rity
no
w p
ay
tax a
fte
r re
turn
ing
ho
me
. O
f th
e 1
80
fa
mili
es s
till
un
able
to
retu
rn t
o t
heir
h
om
es,
50
liv
e in
th
e V
ale
dis
tric
t of
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
, fo
ur
mo
re in C
he
rwe
ll.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
8/6
/24/2
51
23
3.h
tm
l
135
RR
PS
25.6
.08
26.6
.08
OM
'More flood
protection
work needed'
Flood victims
told 'protect
yourself'
UK
B
rita
in w
as n
ot p
rep
are
d fo
r floo
ds, a
n in
dep
en
de
nt
rep
ort
con
clu
de
d.
Mic
ha
el P
itt’s G
ove
rnm
ent-
revie
w c
on
tain
s 9
2 r
eco
mm
en
da
tio
ns o
n h
ow
th
e
co
untr
y c
ould
be
bett
er
eq
uip
pe
d.
Re
vie
w's
re
com
me
nda
tions inclu
de
: (i)
cre
atio
n o
f a
n e
lectr
on
ic m
ap
of
all
Bri
tain
's d
rain
age
ditche
s a
nd
str
eam
s,
sta
tin
g w
ho
ow
ns w
ha
t sectio
ns a
nd
wh
o is r
espo
nsib
le f
or
ke
ep
ing
the
m
cle
ar;
(ii)
Loca
l a
uth
ori
tie
s t
o b
e g
ive
n a
lea
de
rsh
ip r
ole
in
ove
rse
ein
g th
e
ma
inte
nan
ce
of d
rain
ag
e n
etw
ork
s, cou
nty
co
uncil
takin
g th
e le
ad r
ole
; (i
ii)
Me
t O
ffic
e /
En
vir
onm
ent
Ag
ency s
hou
ld h
ave
a jo
int
ne
rve
ce
ntr
e to
issue
b
ett
er
flo
od
wa
rnin
gs b
ased
on
colle
ctive
in
form
atio
n;
(iv)
Flo
od
wa
rnin
gs
mu
st b
eco
me
ea
sie
r to
un
de
rsta
nd
; (v
) Im
ple
men
t ne
w b
uild
ing
re
gu
latio
ns,
de
taili
ng
dra
inag
e s
yste
ms a
nd
ap
pro
pria
te c
onstr
uction
ma
teri
als
, to
make
su
re th
e r
igh
t re
furb
ish
men
ts w
ere
ma
de
aft
er
flo
od
dam
age;
(vi)
Wate
r a
nd
p
ow
er
firm
s t
o s
afe
gu
ard
ke
y s
ite
s (
vii)
vic
tim
s h
ave
to
take
re
sp
on
sib
ility
fo
r sa
vin
g th
eir p
rope
rtie
s f
rom
fu
ture
flo
od
ing
an
d n
ot
just re
ly o
n t
he
Go
vt
an
d
oth
er
au
tho
ritie
s;
(vii)
cre
atin
g a
pe
rso
nal sto
ckp
ile o
f su
pplie
s,
or
flo
od
kit.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
8/6
/25/2
51
38
4.h
tm
l http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
8/6
/26/2
51
79
0.h
tm
l
136
RR
PS
1.7
.08
AH
Flood report
Vale
P
itt
Re
vie
w in
to th
e flo
ods a
nd t
he
92
reco
mm
end
atio
ns s
tate
th
at
we
mu
st
be
fa
r b
ette
r p
rep
are
d f
or
se
vere
we
ath
er
patt
ern
s.
All
gro
ups h
ave
a p
art
to
pla
y in
de
alin
g w
ith
th
e th
rea
t o
f se
ve
re f
loo
din
g.
Th
e r
evie
w is a
go
od
e
xa
mp
le o
f com
mon
se
nse
and
te
ch
nic
al d
eta
il. G
ove
rnm
en
t sh
ou
ld a
cce
pt
the
re
vie
w in
fu
ll a
nd
fu
lly f
un
d t
he
recom
men
da
tio
ns.
Lo
ca
lly,
flo
od
gro
up
s
are
bein
g fo
rme
d a
s s
tand
-alo
ne
org
an
isa
tio
ns a
lon
gsid
e p
arish
co
un
cils
. T
he
gro
up
in
East
Han
ne
y h
as s
ecu
red
fu
ndin
g f
rom
th
e c
oun
ty c
ou
ncil,
the
E
nvir
on
men
t A
ge
ncy a
nd
th
e d
istr
ict cou
ncil
as w
ell.
La
ndow
ne
rs a
re c
o-
op
era
tin
g fu
lly w
ith
th
e f
loo
d g
rou
p,
as w
ell
as T
ha
me
s W
ate
r. P
rob
lem
s
cre
ate
d b
y s
eve
re f
loo
din
g m
ust
be d
ealt w
ith
, no
t o
nly
na
tion
ally
, bu
t lo
cally
w
ith
co
un
ty,
dis
tric
t a
nd p
arish C
ou
ncils
wo
rkin
g to
geth
er.
East
Ha
nn
ey is
the
best e
xa
mp
le o
f h
ow
to
help
re
duce
th
e flo
od
ing o
f ho
mes in
fu
ture
.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
8/7
/1/2
522
55.h
tml
VO
WH
137
1
.7.0
8
Villagers team
up to clear
brook
Va
le
10
0 v
olu
nte
ers
fro
m E
ast
Hann
ey c
lea
ne
d t
onn
es o
f w
ee
d f
rom
a m
ile-lo
ng
str
etc
h o
f th
e L
etc
om
be
Bro
ok, g
uid
ed
by E
nv.
Age
ncy. W
ork
wa
s s
ucce
ssfu
l o
pe
ratio
n a
s le
ve
ls o
f w
ate
r d
rop
pe
d b
y a
bou
t a
fo
ot –
the
bro
ok h
as e
xtr
a
ca
pacity.
Fu
rth
er
pla
ns o
f H
ann
ey's
Flo
od
Gro
up a
re to
cle
ar
sto
rm d
rain
s.
Vill
ag
ers
org
an
ise
d th
e e
ve
nt,
aft
er
it b
ecam
e c
lea
r re
so
urc
es f
rom
VO
WH
a
nd
OC
C h
igh
wa
ys d
ep
art
men
t w
ou
ld n
ot
be
ava
ilab
le in
the
sho
rt t
erm
.
http
://a
rchiv
e.b
anbu
rycake.n
et/
2008
/7/1
/252
16
4.
htm
l
No
Event
type
and
Date
story
Media
Media
headline
Oxfordshire
locations o
r Area
reported
Incidents and Impacts on District - details from media reports
Are
as a
nd
gro
ups /
Eve
nt
evo
lutio
n /
Incid
en
ts o
ccu
rre
d /
Im
pa
cts
/
Co
nse
qu
ences
Meteorological
data & info about
causes of event
Internet
reference
Other orgs
involved
138
RR
PS
18.7
.08
OT
Objections
flood in
Vale
N
ew
co
nce
rns a
bo
ut flo
od
ing
aro
un
d t
he A
bin
gd
on
Te
sco s
ite
. P
lann
ing
o
ffic
ers
at
the
Va
le o
f W
hite
Ho
rse
Dis
tric
t C
ou
ncil
sa
id t
he
re w
as n
o r
easo
n
to r
eje
ct th
e s
ch
em
e b
ut
cou
ncill
ors
ove
rrule
d th
em
. esco
is p
lan
nin
g to
me
et
the
Va
le a
nd
the
En
vir
on
men
t A
ge
ncy.
Te
sco
will
be
loo
kin
g a
t w
ays o
f in
cre
asin
g flo
od
mitig
ation
mea
su
res s
o a
s t
o o
ve
rcom
e th
e o
bje
ction
s.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
8/7
/18/2
53
82
0.h
tm
l
139
6
.8.0
8
New calls for
flood defences
Vale
F
loo
d-h
it h
om
eo
wn
ers
ha
ve
rea
cte
d a
ng
rily
to
ne
ws A
bin
gd
on
will
no
t g
et
an
y n
ew
de
fence
s t
o p
rote
ct
ag
ain
st
futu
re d
elu
ges.
La
st
we
ek t
he
E
nvir
on
men
t A
ge
ncy (
EA
) a
dm
itte
d its
pre
ferr
ed
option
s fo
r p
reve
nting
a
rep
ea
t o
f la
st July
's f
loo
ds d
id n
ot
me
et n
atio
nal fu
nd
ing
crite
ria
, as t
he
y
we
re ju
dg
ed t
o b
e n
ot
co
st-
effe
ctive
be
ca
use
the
y d
on
't m
eet
a t
hre
sho
ld
itself s
et
fro
m in
ade
qua
te c
en
tra
l fu
nd
ing
.
h
ttp
://a
rchiv
e.b
an
bu
ryca
ke
.ne
t/2
00
8/8
/6
/25
55
96
.ht
ml
140
RR
PS
21.7
.08
OM
Flood One Year
On: 'Never Say
Never Again'
Oxon
Ho
use
ho
lds in
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
have
sp
en
t "m
illio
ns o
f p
ou
nds"
in a
despe
rate
e
ffo
rt to
ensu
re a
rep
ea
t o
f la
st ye
ar's d
eva
sta
tin
g flo
odin
g n
eve
r h
ap
pen
s
ag
ain
. H
om
eo
wn
ers
- s
om
e o
f w
ho
m a
re s
till
ou
t o
f th
eir
pro
pe
rtie
s -
ha
ve
p
urc
ha
sed
a r
an
ge o
f e
qu
ipm
en
t d
esig
ne
d to
ke
ep
ris
ing
wa
ter
at
ba
y.
2,1
00
h
om
es a
cro
ss O
xfo
rdsh
ire
flo
od
ed
la
st sum
me
r. B
y t
he
en
d o
f Ju
ne
, th
e
nu
mbe
r o
f fa
mili
es o
ut o
f th
eir
ho
mes in
Oxfo
rdsh
ire
ha
d fa
llen
to
15
8 -
do
wn
fr
om
23
1 in
Ma
y a
nd
29
1 in
Apri
l. I
n t
he V
ale
of W
hite H
ors
e th
e f
igu
re is 5
0.
http
://a
rchiv
e.o
xf
ord
mail.
ne
t/2
00
8/7
/21/2
54
09
8.h
tm
l
141
2
2.1
0.0
8
Study of £3m
flood
protection
scheme for
Abingdon
A
bin
gdo
n c
ould
ge
t £
3m
flo
od
pro
tection
sch
em
e.
En
v.
Ag
ency t
o
co
mm
issio
n a
£34
5,0
00
fea
sib
ility
re
po
rt o
n p
reve
ntion
mea
su
res, such
as
flo
od s
tora
ge
an
d c
on
cre
te w
alls
. T
he
rep
ort
will
be
fin
ish
ed b
y S
ep
tem
be
r 0
9.
A d
ecis
ion
will
be
ma
de
on w
he
the
r to
ap
ply
fo
r a
Go
ve
rnm
en
t g
ran
t o
r
se
ek f
urt
he
r fu
nd
ing
fro
m th
e lo
ca
l le
vy.
Th
e a
gen
cy's
pre
ferr
ed
op
tio
ns f
or
Ab
ing
do
n w
ou
ld c
ost
be
twe
en
£3
m a
nd
£3
.5m
to im
ple
me
nt.
http
://w
ww
.he
ral
dseri
es.c
o.u
k/n
ew
s/h
sabin
gd
on
ne
ws/3
78
22
58.F
lood
s__
ne
w_h
op
e/
142
I /
S
29.1
0.0
8
TR
Snow Blankets
London For
Global
Warm
ing
Debate - How
Parliament
Passed The
Climate Bill
UK
S
no
w f
ell
as t
he H
ouse
of C
om
mon
s d
eb
ate
d G
lob
al W
arm
ing
ye
ste
rda
y -
th
e f
irst
Octo
be
r fa
ll in
th
e m
etr
op
olis
sin
ce
19
22.
Th
e M
oth
er
of
Pa
rlia
me
nts
w
as d
iscu
ssin
g t
he M
oth
er
of A
ll B
ills in
a m
ara
tho
n s
ix h
ou
r se
ssio
n.
To
co
mb
at
a p
roje
cte
d t
wo
deg
ree
cen
tig
rad
e r
ise in
glo
ba
l te
mp
era
ture
, th
e
Clim
ate
Ch
an
ge
Bill
ple
dg
es th
e U
K t
o r
ed
uce
its
ca
rbo
n d
ioxid
e e
mis
sio
ns
by 8
0 p
er
ce
nt
by 2
05
0.
Th
e M
et
Off
ice
- o
ne
of
the k
ee
nest a
dvo
ca
tes o
f th
e
the
ory
of m
an
-mad
e g
lob
al w
arm
ing -
pre
dic
ted
th
e w
ea
the
r fo
r L
ond
on
. A
t 9
pm
, a
fte
r sno
w h
ad
be
en
falli
ng
fo
r th
ree h
ou
rs in
the
city, w
e le
arn
ed
th
at…
… Weather isn't climate, of course. But you can still be equally
hopeless about predicting both.
"BB
C W
ea
the
r fo
reca
ste
rs s
ay..
. a
n a
rea
no
rth
we
st
of
Lo
nd
on
will
ge
t m
ore
sn
ow
th
rou
gh
the
e
ve
nin
g a
nd
it
is
likely
to
mo
ve
fu
rth
er
so
uth
".
http
://w
ww
.th
ere
gis
ter.
co
.uk/2
00
8/1
0/2
9/c
om
mo
ns_clim
ate
_ch
an
ge_bill
/pri
nt.
htm
l
APPENDIX 4: VOWH SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEW FORMAT
Interviewee: Department: Date: Time in post: Introduction – recap LCLIP, reasons for study - need to build capacity; warm-up issue about how interviewee understands ‘climate change’…. LCLIP designed to help gather evidence for adaptation actions; Explain policy drivers – Notting. Decl, NI 188; UKCIP; earlier LCLIPs - OCC; describe some results of media trawl. What interview covers – general relations of weather with services; then review specific events. Relationships between the weather and it’s local effects on delivery of CDC services So I understand what you do, what is your work exactly? What are the various areas and responsibilities of the team? Main remit: Specific work areas / tasks: 1 2 3 How does weather affect this service? (not emergencies or extreme events) What are the main relationships between a specific service area and a particular kind of weather? Confirmed with data? With what confidence? Other related factors? Relationship Area 1: Area 2: Area 3: Area 4: Which particular events over the last 5 years, had the biggest impact on the District / on your service: 1 2 3 The following questions need not be asked in the order they are listed. Only those questions that are appropriate need be asked. Probably only one Event Profile Sheet will be filled out per interview.
Question Checklist for Interviews Event Number / Type: Date occurred: Questions about the Event: Immediate incidents or impacts occurring on area, environment to affected groups. Who and how?: Long term consequences for area / groups: Direct and indirect causes of the impacts ‘caused by the weather’ ie what or who is ‘to blame’? Reasons for that vulnerability? (if known)? Council response to the event: What was the initial response? Advice? Resources? What phases? Collaboration with other Depts / agencies? How adequate was the response according to the recipients / other observers ? (if known) Longer-term - what mitigation responses are being put in place by communities, agencies, or others affected / responsible – to reduce the impacts of this kind of event? Effects of the event on the Council: Initial emergency cost of the incident? Long term costs due to the incident? Staff time devoted to response? LT/ST Impacts of dealing with the incident on service provision? Was team reputation affected? Why? Overall management response: Rank the overall significance of incident to your team in terms of operational impact? What level of awareness / preparedness did you have before the event? How well did you cope overall with the incident? What long-term lessons were learnt through the incident? Are the risks evaluated & incorporated in our RA? Are there opportunities? Adaptations / changes to your services following the event? How effective are they? Policies or guidelines? Any threshold for action in future events? How can we decide this? Who else should we speak to about this event?