Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Cockermouth hopes to avoid repeat of 2009 floods with new flood barriers



The UK's first self-closing flood barriers have been installed to protect aLake District town hit by devastating flooding.
The £4.4m scheme has been put in place in the Cumbrian town of Cockermouth, where the automatic barriers aim to prevent a repeat of the floods in 2009, when a month's rain fell in 24 hours, destroying 900 homes and forcing hundreds of people to evacuate.
The scheme, which officially opens on Tuesday, has been designed to be unobtrusive so that it protects Cockermouth's Georgian heritage and keeps the town attractive to tourists. The centrepiece is a 120m self-closing barrier that rises only when the river is in flood, preserving views of the river the rest of year.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/jun/11/cockermouth-new-flood-barriers

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