Wall of Water Set to Flood English & Dutch Coasts

A wall of water, one-story high, is on schedule to crash into, then flood England's low lying coastal areas Friday morning. The Norfolk coast with East Anglia, Dover and North Kent began evacuations with Suffolk to follow. Gale force winds across Denmark and Norway push the North Sea creating a monster tidal surge worthy of Poseidon. Across the Scottish highlands, hurricane winds in excess of 100 mph are blowing with enough force to compress the sea towards England. Panic is starting to set in and Hilary Benn, the British minister is trying to calm fears as Prime Minister Gordon Brown chaired an emergency Cobra meeting. In May, during historic torrential rains, much of the English countryside and parts of London went underwater for an extended period stretching emergency flood response and resources.

The Environment Agency predicts the highest water levels will hit Immingham, near Grimsby, at around 0430 GMT on Friday and the East Anglian coast along the Broads, Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft between 0700 and 0800.

Mr Benn said Environment Agency staff were patrolling in Norfolk and Suffolk, offering advice.

He said: "If you are advised to evacuate please follow those instructions, there are rest centres that are being set up.

"And it's really important, keep away from the sea because as well as the storm surge there will also be waves and this is dangerous and people need to keep away from it."

The Dutch coast is also bracing for its share of the deluge with the Rotterdam harbor taking the extraordinary measure of closing for the first time since it was built during the 1990's. UK municipal efforts include closing the Dartford Creek and Thames' barriers in advance. Their are a total of 8 severe flood warnings with 10 flood warning and 24 flood watches in effect. The next 48 hours are critical for North Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and the north Kent coast, Great Yarmouth to Shingle Street village with more warnings and updates to come.

Three meters or ten feet of water arriving all at once is an awesome force. Water unharnessed is one of the most destructive forces on the planet. The 2004 Tsunami killed over 250,000 people reinforcing the point about the power of water. With high tide set for daytime tomorrow, the threat will start to dissipate. But the next 48 hours are critical.



Coming 13 Novemeber, 2007 is Extreme Weather: Understanding the Science of Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Floods, Heatwaves, Snow Storms, Global Warming and Other Atmospheric Disturbances from author H. Michael Mogil.