East: Flooding fears

Could the devastation of 1953 happen again?

This is the 50th anniversary of the floods that devastated the East Anglian region. Has the Government learned its lesson? Will it happen again? What flood defence mechanisms are in place? Have we built houses on unprotected flood plains?

The floods of 1953 killed 307 people and almost 100,000 ha of eastern England were flooded. The counties of Suffolk and Essex suffered the most.

In the Netherlands, 50 dykes burst and 1,800 people were drowned. The flood covered 9% of all Dutch agricultural land. The sea reclaimed over 200,000 ha of polder country.

The floods were the result of a 'storm surge' that pushed down the North Sea, causing the waters to breach sea defences, flooding a wide area.

Can it happen again?

The Politics Show has learned that new houses are being built on flood plains. Will thousands of houses be flooded? What new flood defences are in place?

From the Isle of Wight to the Norfolk coast, we see images of houses falling into the sea. Even though houses may be falling into the sea at Happisburg in east Norfolk, the other side of the coin is that, along the coast, Wells-next-to-Sea is anything but next to the sea.

The process of coastal erosion and deposition further down the coast has been going on for centuries. But do we face a crisis in 2003?

Personal tragedy

Losing your home is a most stressful experience.

A home falling into the sea or inundated with floodwater is a great personal tragedy.

How can it be prevented? Are our politicians doing enough to address the problem?

The Politics Show East

To try to get an understanding of the problem, The Politics Show East reports from the Netherlands and Happisburg in Norfolk, comparing the attitude of politicians to the problems of coastal erosion, flood defence and flooding.

The Politics Show will also include well researched, in depth interviews which aim to find out exactly who is responsible and what can be done.

We will concentrate on how policies and government decisions affect your lives here in the east. We'll bring you the latest news on the implications of decisions made about our region.

We'll give free rein to diverse views in an engaging way. And we'll reflect the real experience of living in the eastern counties at the beginning of the 21st century.

We want your views

Drop us an email below and share your thoughts on the problem.

We aim to get closer to your community so join presenter, Stephen Rhodes ... and have your say.

That's the Politics Show every Sunday at noon on BBC One.

Send us your comments:

Name:


Your E-mail address:


Country:


Comments:

Disclaimer: The BBC will put up as many of your comments as possible but we cannot guarantee that all e-mails will be published. The BBC reserves the right to edit comments that are published.