In the latest topical Tuesday we’re looking at the heavy rain that caused widespread flooding across parts of northern and central England on 7 November.
At least one person has died; 500 homes have been flooded; and people from 1,200 properties have had to leave their homes.
More rain fell in 24 hours in the counties of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire than would normally fall in a whole month. This caused rivers to flood, and several towns and cities were overwhelmed with water.
Some people whose homes have been ruined by the flooding are angry about what has happened. They say they were given little warning about the floods, and that more could have been done to stop the rivers from bursting their banks.
Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the Labour Party, and Jo Swinson, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, have both visited the areas that were worst affected. They say the Government should have done more to help those in need.
The Environment Agency, which works to protect and improve the environment, said it will assess the country’s flood defences to see if they need to be changed.
This PDF resource includes this article, as well as accompanying activity ideas:
- Following these floods, there have been calls for the Government to do more to help. Debate whether you think this is fair, or if homeowners should have insurance that pays for the clean up rather than tax payers. Or is it partly the Government’s fault anyway? Should they be investing in better flood defences?
- Imagine your house has been flooded by rising river water. Write a recount of what happened, remembering to describe the sights, the smells and your feelings. Don’t forget, flood water is not clean and it ruins anything it affects.
- Write a powerful acrostic poem using each letter of the word ‘flooding’ to start a new line.
- 2012 was another very bad year for flooding in the UK. Investigate when the worst of the flooding happened and which areas were worst affected. If possible, find out what action was taken to try and prevent it happening again.
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