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The Thames Barrier The Thames Barrier is the world's largest movable flood barrier. It spans 520 metres (a third of a mile) across the Thames at Woolwich, where it protects London from tidal flooding. In 1907 and in 1928 a barrage at Gravesend was proposed, but it was as a result of the 1953 floods during which over 300 people were drowned and 160,000 acres of farmland were flooded with salt water, that the Government appointed a committee to look into a the possibility of a flood barrier for the Thames. Several schemes were proposed and rejected and it wasn't until 1965 that government consent was given to build a barrier. The high water level at London Bridge has risen by about 75cm (two and a half feet) each century, due to a combination of melting Polar ice caps, the tilting of the British Isles towards Europe (the south of England is sinking at a rate of 30cm per century), and by man, who has progressively built out into the river. However, the major flood threat to central London, which the Barrier was designed to prevent, is from surge tides, which occur during or immediately after severe meteorological conditions. The flood barrier is a marvelous example of modern engineering and the cycle route passes by. Information Environment Agency |
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