Infrastructure ‘at risk from floods’

Institution of Engineering and Technology( IET) said national infrastructure such as energy and water supplies and rail and air transport are increasingly interconnected and interdependent.

This makes the systems smarter and more resilient in everyday use but also means that extensive damage to one system can cause problems with others.

For example flooded power stations mean power cuts, which result in telecommunications failures.

“Greatly improved flood modelling and much better communications has helped provide warnings that may have saved lives and reduced damage,” said Prof Will Stewart from the IET.

“But from an engineering perspective the real challenge is the critical long-term management of our national infrastructure.”

Prof Stewart said government, engineers and the entire supply chain need to work together to make the infrastructure as a whole more resilient and adapt it to cope with the anticipated increase in flooding as result of climate change.

“Tackling parts of the system in isolation, for example improving electricity network management and retrofitting buildings, will help, but the real challenge for engineers will be to find new ways to plan and manage the integrated system,” he said.

“This will include developing and manufacturing new engineering technologies, as well as finding innovative ways to develop multi-purpose infrastructure, such as reservoirs that double up as flood defences.”