12/24/2022 0 Comments Thames barrier![]() When containerization replaced older forms of shipping and a new port was opened at Tilbury, a smaller barrier became feasible with each of the four main navigation spans being the same width as the opening of Tower Bridge. Historical floodingįourteen people died in the 1928 Thames flood, and after 307 people died in the UK in the North Sea Flood of 1953 the issue gained new prominence.Įarly proposals for a flood control system were stymied by the need for a large opening in the barrier to allow for vessels from London Docks to pass through. The threat has increased over time due to the slow but continuous rise in high water level over the centuries (20 cm (8 inches) / 100 years) and the slow "tilting" of Britain (up in the north and west, and down in the south and east) caused by post-glacial rebound. This situation combined with downstream flows in the Thames tells engineers when to operate the barriers. If the storm surge coincides with a spring tide, dangerously high water levels can occur in the Thames Estuary. The surge tide is funnelled down the North Sea which narrows towards the English Channel and the Thames Estuary. A storm surge generated by low pressure in the Atlantic Ocean sometimes tracks eastwards past the north of Scotland and may then be driven into the shallow waters of the North Sea. The gates are hollow – they fill with water as they sink and empty as they emerge from the river.Īt 20.1m high and each weighing 3,700 tonnes, they were made by Cleveland Bridge UK on the River Tees.London is vulnerable to flooding. The flood gates are circular segments and move into the raised position by rotating. ![]() It divides the river into 4 spans - each span is 61m across.Įngineers chose the location as the banks were relatively straight at this point and the chalk river bed was strong enough to support the barrier.Ĭharles Draper came up with the concept for the barrier's flood gates, basing their design on the taps on his gas cooker. The barrier was built over a 520m wide stretch of the Thames near Woolwich in south London. The barrier is credited with having helped London grow into a global capital – transforming the lives of millions of people who have worked, lived in or visited London since it opened. Without the barrier, frequent tidal flooding of the Thames would submerge buildings along the river as well as the underground. The Thames Barrier is part of a system of flood defences in London. It was officially opened by the Queen in 1984. The barrier was finished by 1982 and first used in 1983. The former Greater London Council coordinated the barrier project with different contractors building the gates, shore machinery and upstream bank raising works.Ĭonstruction began in 1974. Research led the government to decide that the best long-term solution would be a flood barrier with moveable gates built across the Thames. Until the early 1970s the main flood defence for the capital meant building higher and stronger river walls and embankments.Īlthough walls are permanent and easy to maintain, making them higher and higher would eventually block out the Thames from view. A huge tide surge in 1953 killed 307 people in eastern England and sent high waters up the Thames to spill into the streets of London's East End and thousands had to flee. In January 1928 flooding hit Victoria and Chelsea in central London – 14 people drowned and thousands had to leave their homes. In 1663 diarist Samuel Pepys wrote of "the greatest tide that was ever remembered in England… all White Hall having been drowned, of which there was great discourse". Recorded history of the River Thames flooding goes back a long way. Protect London from flooding with a massive steel barrier that works like a tap How to become a professionally qualified civil engineer. ![]() ![]()
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