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 | Yorkshire Times A Voice of the Free Press |
9:49 AM 21st October 2021
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Thames Barrier Closed For 200th Time
The Thames Barrier is being closed for the 200th time today (Thursday 21 October) to help protect London from potential flooding.
The barrier’s 10 steel gates will begin to move at around 10:45, taking around 90 minutes to close, ahead of the high tide at around 14:30. The barrier will then reopen at approximately 18:00 this evening.
The Thames Barrier is the second largest moveable flood barrier in the world, protecting 125 square kilometres of central London, encompassing 1.4 million people, 400 schools, 16 hospitals, and 86 train and tube stations. It forms part of the Thames Tidal Defences, which also includes the Barking and Dartford Creek Barriers.
Andy Batchelor, Operations Manager for the Thames Tidal Defences, said:
"Since becoming operational in 1982, the Thames Barrier has offered our capital world class flood protection. Without it, the centre of London would have potentially been inundated on multiple occasions and millions of people would have been at risk from the misery of flooding.
"The Barrier will continue to provide that protection until at least 2070, but as we see the effect of the climate emergency with rising sea levels we’re investing a further £54m in London, providing funding to more than 50 schemes to tackle all sources of flooding."
"Since becoming operational in 1982, the Thames Barrier has offered our capital world class flood protection. Without it, the centre of London would have potentially been inundated on multiple occasions and millions of people would have been at risk from the misery of flooding.
"The Barrier will continue to provide that protection until at least 2070, but as we see the effect of the climate emergency with rising sea levels we’re investing a further £54m in London, providing funding to more than 50 schemes to tackle all sources of flooding."
The closure comes as the Environment Agency warns of increasing sea levels along the Thames Estuary, as a result of climate change. We continue to work with our partners to deliver a long-term plan, known as Thames Estuary 2100, to protect London from tidal flooding through the next century, and sets out a series of recommendations for how the Environment Agency and partners can work together to manage these rising sea levels - including a potential new barrier.
The Thames Barrier is made up of 10 steel gates spanning 520 metres (1,706 feet) across the River Thames near Woolwich. Until today and since it became operational in 1982, it has closed on 199 occasions, 110 times to protect against tidal flooding and 89 times to protect against combined sea and river flooding. Each gate takes 10 to 15 minutes to close (one-and-a-half hours for total closure of the barrier), and the control room is manned 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
The defences were constructed following the 1953 floods that swept down the east coast and killed over 300 people. While it is designed to provide protection for London until at least 2070, work is already underway on the Thames Estuary 2100 project, which includes a number of measures that will make the capital resilient until at least the end of the century.
As of 07:45 on Thursday, there are 53 Flood Warnings and 108 Flood Alerts in force, with Environment Agency teams out on the ground clearing waste grilles and screens and standing ready to support local authorities in their response to surface water flooding.
People should stay alert and check their flood risk by signing up for free flood warnings on the Gov.uk website and via @EnvAgency on Twitter, which offer the latest updates.