A FEW comments, prompted by Trevor Bevins’ thought-provoking article about Dorset flooding which appeared in the Echo on November 19.

Weymouth is one of 20 coastal towns considered at serious risk of flooding, mainly in the Town Centre and Park District. Climate change, the main cause, has two effects: sea level rise and an increase in storm frequency and severity. Weymouth flooding is either from the sea or from heavy rainfall swelling the River Wey and hence flooding northern areas of the town.

In 2015, Radipole Lake burst its banks, due to flooding from the River Wey. This flooded Swannery Car park as well as parts of the town centre. The harbour wall, built in 2002 to protect both Town Centre and Park District, did not allow for sea level rise. This rise is now predicted to be 1 - 2 metres by 2100. In 2008, the sea almost reached the top of the 2002 sea wall. Since 2008, mean sea level has risen by 5 cm. Thus if 2008 conditions were repeated on 2021, most of the Town Centre and all of Park Street could be flooded by around 1 m of sea water.

In his article Trevor notes that £ 115 million has been allocated for a replacement harbour wall. I would be interested to know more details about this vital project.

Readers may be interested in the Environment Agency flood risk maps for Weymouth and also the excellent, well illustrated book by Geoff Kirby “Flooding in Weymouth “ (2019). Geoff gives both the history of Weymouth flooding and predictions for the future. See: www.geoffkirby.co.uk/books.

John Tomblin

Littlemoor Road

Weymouth