flood watch

[Default0ptions]

Glad to hear it worked out okay in the end.

It’s always worth keeping a large scale Road Atlas in your vehicle!

“Being totally dependent on google maps for navigation and having no idea where she was or ability to navigate an alternate route” doesn’t sound ideal

[Mark]

she simply pressed on and was pleased that the car kept going passed other stranded vehicles with water up to the sills, and nearly losing traction in the depth. She was very pleased with herself, but I had to point out that her behaviour was deeply irresponsible.

Any long-term damage to the car ?
They generally don't like being immersed to that depth....

[Ralphw2]

Not that I have noticed. It is our old diesel which I don’t drive that much, but my eldest is using to learn to drive. It is noisy, under powered, difficult gear ratios and makes distressing noises above 60mph. No change there.

[adam2]

Severe flooding hits Dubai, not a place with much history of flooding.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-mid ... t-68833955

[adam2]

Increasingly serious flooding in central Europe, 21 lives lost so far. The death toll is expected to increase.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgmrnwgm7zo

[adam2]

Significant flooding affects many parts of the UK, with more rain expected, and warnings of high winds.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn8j6le2498o

[adam2]

Road and adjacent farmland flooded "due to pumping station flooding" This sounds to me like defective design or installation of the pumping equipment.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy895n9e4x0o

If a pumping station is required, then that suggests that flooding is expected and that flood resistance should be designed in. Electric pumps should be submersible, even if not normally submerged. Switch gear and controls should be located well above the worst foreseeable flood level.
The power supply should be via overhead lines, and any required transformer be pole mounted, or on a plinth, or remotely installed on reliably dry ground.
Preferably make provision for use of a transportable generator, with changeover switchgear and hard standing installed on reliably dry ground.

If diesel driven pumps are used, than the actual pumps should be submersible, and the engines mounted well above the worst flood, driving the pumps via vertical shafts. Water cooling whereby the engine waste heat is rejected into the water being pumped is more reliable than radiator and fan cooling.

[adam2]

A major flood disaster has struck Spain, with over 60 lives lost and substantial destruction of infrastructure.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/ckmgmdxg254t

[adam2]

Later reports put the number of dead at 95 and rising, with many more still missing, this is said to be the worst flood disaster in Spain for about 50 years.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c99ry7x925eo

[clv101]

We think a lot about climate change, but not so much about the specific weather, especially extremes, that go along with a given climate. Say we are now in +1.5°C global climate, what does that specifically mean for the probability distribution of extreme rainfall events in Valencia?

We do not know. There's no paleo climate evidence in the rocks, lake sediments, pollen or tree rings etc that can illuminate extreme weather events. Climate models will generate a PDF of extreme rainfall in Valencia for any amount of global warming you ask for - but I wouldn't trust it. Is what happened this week a 1 in 3 year event? 1 in 10 or 1 in 50 in a +1.5°C world? We'll never figure it out because in a few years we'll be in a +2° world.

It's not just extreme rainfall, do we know how extra tropical cyclone behaviour in the Atlantic, impacting Europe will change? Do we know if France is going to start experiencing tornados like Oklahoma or Kansas?

We really don't know what the *weather* will be like in a +2°C world.

[adam2]

Death toll in Spanish flood disaster now reported as 158, awful, and I suspect is the worst ever toll in a flood disaster in Spain.

Returning to more general impacts, I suspect that floods like this will become the new normal, in Spain and other places, perhaps once a year, not always in the same place, but an average of once a year somewhere in the nation.

[Forever_Winter]

What's really surprising is the lack of support, both from emergency services or the military. On Good Morning Britain, one of the journalists was asked for the ID..

[adam2]

Many areas are inaccessible except by helicopter, I have heard a suggestion that the UK should send troops, REME units in particular to erect Bailey bridges and otherwise assist.
ETA death toll now reported as "over 200", and likely to increase as many are still missing.

[BritDownUnder]

Many areas are inaccessible except by helicopter, I have heard a suggestion that the UK should send troops, REME units in particular to erect Bailey bridges and otherwise assist.
ETA death toll now reported as "over 200", and likely to increase as many are still missing.

I don't see why the UK should send troops. Spain has never helped the UK before and has a claim on UK territory and was hardly an ally during the UK's time in the EU. It is a NATO ally I suppose but what help it has been in the past is debateable. Falklands war for instance.

The UK should offer to replace any bridges at a commercial rate.

[adam2]

Many areas are inaccessible except by helicopter, I have heard a suggestion that the UK should send troops, REME units in particular to erect Bailey bridges and otherwise assist.
ETA death toll now reported as "over 200", and likely to increase as many are still missing.

I don't see why the UK should send troops. Spain has never helped the UK before and has a claim on UK territory and was hardly an ally during the UK's time in the EU. It is a NATO ally I suppose but what help it has been in the past is debateable. Falklands war for instance.

The UK should offer to replace any bridges at a commercial rate.

I am inclined to agree, but I have heard that UK military assistance is being considered.