Coastal Protection

Extent and impacts of erosion in the UK
• In England and Wales, 10% of the coast is experiencing rapid erosion at a rate of 0.5 metres or more per year (Burgess et al 2007); this accounts for approximately 580km of coastline (Eurosion, 2004).
• Coastal erosion puts an estimated 200 homes at risk of complete loss to the sea in the next 20 years, with potentially 2000 more being exposed to risk over this period (DEFRA 2011a).
• Erosion incurs costs of around £15 million to the economy annually (Masselink & Russell 2010).
• Increasing storms and rising sea levels as a result of climate change will increase these impacts; projections indicate erosion could cost between £46 and £126 million per year by the 2080s, assuming current defence spending remains constant (Foresight 2004).

Extent and impacts of coastal flooding in the UK
• The severity of coastal flooding was demonstrated in the tragic 1953 coastal floods in the Southern North Sea, where a storm surge reaching 4.6m OD in height at Lowestoft flooded 600km2 of land in the UK, breached sea defences in 1200 places and claimed the lives of 307 British and 1795 Dutch citizens (RMS 2003).
• Official UK Climate Projections estimate a sea level rise of 37.3 – 54.1cm in London by 2095, which will increase the maximum potential water level reached during storm surges (Lowe et al 2009).
• However, there is no consensus on the influence of climate change on future storm and wave climate, making the impact of climate change on the extent of coastal flooding unclear (Woolf & Wolf 2010)
• The Association of British Insurers predict that with no defence improvements, a single flood event could cause £7.8 - £16bn of damage; they recommend that between £6.1- £8.6bn investment into coastal defences on the east coast is required to reduce the cost of potential damages to £1.3 - £3.4bn (Thurston et al 2006).