For those who haven’t been keeping abreast of the flooding in the United Kingdom, it is apparently extremely severe. Brize Norton, the airbase near Oxford, recorded 127mm of rain on July 20th. Normally, soggy Oxfordshire gets that much in two months.
Thankfully, relatively few people have died, though the British firefighting services are apparently describing this as the largest peacetime rescue operation in their history. Hopefully, the waters will soon abate.
Author: Milan
In the spring of 2005, I graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in International Relations and a general focus in the area of environmental politics. In the fall of 2005, I began reading for an M.Phil in IR at Wadham College, Oxford.
Outside school, I am very interested in photography, writing, and the outdoors. I am writing this blog to keep in touch with friends and family around the world, provide a more personal view of graduate student life in Oxford, and pass on some lessons I've learned here.
View all posts by Milan
Here is a map of affected areas from the BBC.
Photos of Oxfordshire flooding.
Antonia, who I am arbitrarily declaring my roving reporter, is on the scene.
No surprises here:
Humans ‘affect global rainfall’
The study links human activity to more rainfall in places like the UK
Human-induced climate change has affected global rainfall patterns over the 20th Century, a study suggests.
Latest On The Floods: County By County
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The British government’s Environmental Agency describes the floods as the worst in modern history, exceeding the levels of the deadly floods of 1947. “We have not seen flooding of this magnitude before,” Anthony Perry of the Environment Agency told reporters. “The benchmark was 1947, and this has already exceeded it.”
The town of Tewkesbury, whose 17,000 citizens reside at the junction of the Severn and Avon rivers, has been dubbed “the Isle of Tewkesbury” because it is now completely inaccessible by land and is largely devoid of people. The town’s famous cathedral, which has not been flooded since 1760, now contains more than a metre of water.
Nature is not cruel, only pitilessly indifferent.
— Richard Dawkins