Hydrodynamic and loss of life modelling for the 1953 Canvey Island flood

Di Mauro, M. and Lumbroso, D. (2008) Hydrodynamic and loss of life modelling for the 1953 Canvey Island flood. In: FLOODrisk 2008, 30 September - 2 October 2008, Keble College, Oxford, UK.

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Abstract

Canvey Island is located in the Thames Estuary. The island is a low-lying alluvial fan covering an area of 18.5 km2, with an average height of approximately 1 m below the mean high water level. Canvey Island is protected against inundation by a network of flood defences. In 1953, the island was inundated by the “Great North Sea Flood” that breached the island’s flood defences and resulted in the deaths of 58 people and the destruction of several hundred houses. As part of the EC funded research project FLOODsite, work was undertaken to set up both a hydrodynamic and an agent-based loss-of-life model of Canvey Island for the 1953 flood. The objective of the work was to obtain a better understanding of the 1953 flood event and to analyse the consequences of breaches in the island’s flood defences in terms of loss of life and injuries. The work undertaken indicates that the agent-based life safety model can provide a scientifically robust method to assess loss of life, injuries and evacuation times for areas that are at risk from flooding in the UK.

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