Francis Sant » TAN 15

Super Tide

Francis Sant — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 17:36:58 +0000

This weekend sees Wales, and the rest of the UK, bracing ourselves for a weekend of ‘Supertides.’

This is due to a rare alignment of the sun, moon and earth, which happens every 19 years. Tomorrow morning will see the highest astronomical tide level in 25 years, which could strain the current flood defences in place, particularly if adverse weather conditions should coincide with the event.

Last year during an overlap of high tides and low barometric pressure, flood defences were exceeded at many locations in Wales including Amroth (pictured), Aberystwyth and Penarth.

As this article was written, Wales had ten flood alerts, and a further three that had been upgraded to flood warnings in place, with roads being closed this morning amid fears of defences being overtopped. It is thought that the area most at risk is the stretch of coast from The Gower through to the Wye Estuary. Though the high tide peak will be tomorrow morning (Saturday 21^st of February) the threat will not be over, as Britain could be expecting a further five supertides this year due to the rare planetary alignment.

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Gwenllian Hotel Expected To Be Flood Free

Francis Sant — Thu, 23 Oct 2014 14:26:52 +0000

The former Gwenllian Hotel, located on the outskirts of the West Wales town of Cydweli, has now been closed for a number of years with the building becoming derelict. Fortunately a developer has emerged with intentions to develop the site. However, it has transpired that the part of the land was situated within a C2 flood zone which suggested that it is at risk of flooding during at least the 1 in 1000 year event.

Francis Sant prepared a Flood Consequence Assessment for the site which showed that it was likely to be flood free during such an event and that the Development Advise Maps were not correct at this location.

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Flood Consequence Assessment, Llangadog

Francis Sant — Thu, 23 Oct 2014 12:03:13 +0000

It has been proposed to re-build a demolished unit behind the Telegraph Inn Llangadog, for office and storage space. Due to the proximity of the site to both the River Tywi and the Bran river, it was essential that a flood consequence assessment was undertaken, in order to forecast likely levels for the river in different return periods. Using HECRAS points supplied by Natural Resources Wales, Francis Sant estimated what the river levels are expected to be during a 1 in 100, and a 1 in 1000 event, while also considering the impact climate change may have on these levels. It was suggested to raise the floor level as well as incorporate flood proof design while building.

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Flood Proof Services For The Future

Francis Sant — Mon, 22 Sep 2014 09:21:22 +0000

Francis Sant were recently commissioned to prepare a Flood Consequence Assessment, in accordance with TAN 15, for the proposed new fire station at Trefechan, Aberystwyth. Due to its location near both the coast and to the river Rheidol, it was vital to know the flood risk for the new, highly vulnerable development. Using a 2D mathematical model, with the aid of TUFLOW, the risk to the site from both fluvial and costal source was assessed for different return periods. Mitigation measures were then identified and incorporated into the design of the proposed building.

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