2021 UK floods: event summaries and reflections from the Flood Forecasting Centre

Abstract

Flooding in 2021 has highlighted the increased risk to national resilience. This is against a backdrop of the UK climate projected to become more extreme over the next few decades. This paper considers the notable river and surface water flood events within England and Wales during 2021 and examines the performance of the Flood Forecasting Centre in highlighting the flood risk to our customers. We reflect on team debriefs as well as feedback and surveys from our customers. We distil our learnings and make connections with improvements in our underpinning science, forecasting tools, products and services. Finally, we highlight challenges associated with surface water flooding and suggest how we may collectively start to overcome these. HIGHLIGHTS We provide an overview of the most noteworthy floods that affected England and Wales in 2021 and outline key products and services provided by the Flood Forecasting Centre (FFC).; Our post flood event reviews are summarised and our reflections on these 2021 events are highlighted.; Key findings from our customer reviews are provided.; Future recommendations for improvements are then highlighted, illustrating the need for international collaboration and the co-design and co-creation of future services with users.;

Keywords

• extremes
• flood
• forecasting
• river
• surface water